Meet The Team And Patients

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So my name is Mike Poss. I'm a physician, and the name of our business is Virginia Regenerative Medicine and Spa. And the sort of folks that we serve are, are-- whether they sometimes they're, mm, senior folks, uh, they're athletic people, professional athletes, people in the tactical community or college-age kids. I'd say probably are the most common demographic that we take care of are, are women between the ages of 45 and 70 My name is Emily Ugarte. I'm a licensed master esthetician. Most of the people that I see come to me with some kind of a skin concern, whether it be acne or pigmentation. So that's a pretty big range of people that I see. My name is Jeannie. I'm a registered nurse, and I think I do a little bit of everything at the practice. Yep. For sure. We do see a lot of equestrian people as well. Oh, cool. I'm actually an equestrian myself. Oh. Cool. So each of you brings a unique background and perspective to Virginia Regenerative Medicine. Could each of you share your journey into regenerative medicine, wellness, and aesthetics, and what inspired you to

Personal Paths Into Regenerative Care

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build this practice together? I would say that it didn't start out as a business. It started out as a need. I had a rotator cuff tear, and I was told surgery's your only option. And looking at the statistics and, you know, how invasive, I actually told him, "Can you figure something out?" And he did, and it worked. Awesome. Yep Yeah, I think that through in training and in practice for many years, I saw folks that traditional medicine really didn't help. And then not only when I would see folks, they would come in for one thing, but sometimes that would unravel other things that were deeper, and it may play a, a bigger role i-in, in their overall health For me, I got into aesthetics honestly, it was something I'd always been interested in doing. As someone that had struggled a lot with acne, That's helped me so much in my aesthetic career because I know the journey, I know how it feels. I had tried everything under the sun and nothing was working, and it wasn't until I started to look at it holistically that things really started to click, and that has helped me help my clients very much. Yeah. I was gonna say, having that personal experience really helps you understand your clients a little bit better- Mm-hmm because you've been through that same experience. Yeah. Absolutely. It's, it's not just empathy, you know, like you feel what they feel because you've been there. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I saw her confidence level go, you know, through the roof too- Yeah which is great. Yeah. So. Definitely. Awesome. And then over the past eight years, you've grown Virginia Regenerative Med- Regenerative Medicine into a practice that blends regenerative medicine, aesthetics, wellness, and longevity. What was the vision behind creating a practice that offers such a comprehensive approach to patient care? Oh, I'll take that. It was, again, out of need, and, originally it was gonna be like, "Well, we're gonna just do orthopedics." Well, I'm still getting older, so basically I said, "Hmm, we should bring this in. We should bring this in." So it was, um, yeah, it was

Building A Whole Person Practice

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out of a need. And everything that we offer, we've done. Absolutely everything. There isn't anything that we offer that we haven't- All the services we provide have been... W- we've experienced the outcome ourselves or to a member of our family for a long time before we, we felt confident in bringing that service to, to the community or- Yeah doing those for other people. Yeah. 'Cause technically we started in like 2013, '14. Yeah. And you know, we lived in Marshall, and I was driving down Main Street one day and I said, "Hmm, that building's for sale. I got a wild idea." So when he came home, we went back to the building. Awesome. Yeah. Well, I'm glad you took that chance. Yeah. I've seen all of it kind of merge together. You know, from my perspective, s- strictly working with the aesthetics within the practice has been, When a patient comes in and, for example, my acne clientele the approach that I take and what I found worked for myself was to look at the whole picture. Acne, I think, was a symptom of a lot more going on underneath the surface. So we look at, you know, the overall wellness There's a hormonal factor which we address here. Um, there are so many facets to it that if you don't approach it holistically, you're just gonna continue band-aid approach. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, that's interesting because a lot of people don't think about everything that goes into it. They... There's a lot of, I feel like misconceptions that people with acne have dirty skin, where like other w- like it's actually different factors like their diet, it could be, you know, the detergent they use. Yeah. So- There's so many things that- Yeah go into it. Yeah. So just taking a holistic approach and- Yeah everything that we do, it somehow all works together, and it really is, you know, not just the aesthetic or it's not just the regenerative medicine. It, it's just a overall wellness for a person. Right. Mm-hmm. It... I would say too that, um, you know, taking care of yourself, right? Looking good, feeling good, it's confidence.

Acne As A Whole Body Signal

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Mm-hmm. And con- confidence is not vanity. It's just healthy living I mean. Right. Yeah. Yeah. And each of you brings a unique perspective and expertise to the practice. How do your different backgrounds complement one another? Hmm. That's a good question. Mm-hmm. I think that, um, for me, I have a, a background in healthcare, um, in terms of like the administrative side of it, and that's been so helpful since we're a small family-owned business, we have to wear a lot of different hats. And so having that background, you know, knowing the medical terminology, knowing like the medical side of things, um, and then on top of that, I would say, um- I would say it's very helpful that we work together because we're family. Mm-hmm. You know? Yeah. So, like, we can be in a procedure, and I can tell by his body language that's like, "Okay, I need to do this next," you know? Like, with ultrasound. Yeah, yeah. He gets, like, a, a look, and I'm like, "Okay, this is what I do next," before he even asks me what. Family is very intuitive. Yeah. That's, that's such a good thing. Um... Yeah, I think we got, uh, uh, brought into the aesthetic part because Jeannie and I were at a symposium for- Oh orthopedic procedures, and it was mostly image-guided, uh, orthopedic procedures. And, uh, Jeannie was sitting through the symposium a- and, um, her eyes are rolling back in her head. And then- You can only see so much. Yeah, yeah. And it was fine. And then, and, but right next to, to where we were learning about regenerative procedures for the orthopedic conditions, there was an aesthetic component for aging, and she goes, "I'm just gonna walk over here and check this out." Sure, yeah. Yep. She was gone for, like, two minutes. She says, "You get over here right now." He was like, uh, "You're coming with me." Yes. Yeah. And somehow we talked them into letting me be a model. Yeah, that's right. And- You were- Yes. And back then, PRP was what you microneedle with. Mm-hmm. So I was pretty much a hot mess- when I got into the taxi, and he, the driver just kept looking back like, "Oh my gosh, what happened to that lady?" Oh. And then we make it to the door of the hotel, and the, the doorman opening the door opens, and he goes, And I said, "Oh yeah? You should see the other guy." Went up, stayed in the room for a few days. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But like, yeah, like we were starting to say, we've, all these services, we've, we've seen the difference that it made for ourselves. Mm-hmm. You know? Uh, Jeannie and I age. It's lots of fun stuff, you know, whether it's- Hormone balance, um, skin condition, uh, orthopedic conditions. For, for me, I, um, I was at a-another symposium and, uh, as I, a short while before I'd injured my knee and it was getting worse, and I was really struggling to walk

Family Teamwork And PRP Origins

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to the meeting. And a-at the meeting, there was a-- One of the presenters was kind of at the end of the hall, and he was watching me, and a-as I got closer, I thought, "Wow, this guy's a real jerk for just- staring at me." When I got up there, he goes, uh, "Hey, could I use you as a, a model in my, i-in my, um, talk?" So I agreed, and he did a procedure on my knee there at the meeting, and I was just amazed at what a difference and how quickly I felt improved and how much better I was even able to walk back to the room that day, so. And then he wasn't a jerk anymore. Right. He's actually a real nice guy. Yeah. And how about being able to help your patients in that way as well feels so rewarding to, you know, watch their-- like, even quality of life- Mm-hmm change after this service? It's transformation. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, just hormones alone. Right. You know, women come in and say, "I went to this doctor and this doctor," and they keep hearing, "You're just aging," or, "It's just menopause. Deal with it." Mm-hmm. Yeah, it's normal. It, it is not, because she'll tell you when mine start to get low, she's like, "Hmm, it's time again." It's time again, mom. Yeah. Yeah. But it is, it's life-changing. Mm-hmm. Yeah. It, it was... And actually as a couple to experience that- Yeah it was even, I think, more powerful. Yeah. Plus I can tell you, if I, you know, me doing the hormone replacement therapy, one of the biggest things was brain fog, and I was in nursing school. I was in school for five years. Mm-hmm. And had I not had that, I don't think I would've made it through. Yeah. It really is providing quality of life, and I think anybody can provide services, but when you have that empathy and that personal journey, people connect with that, you know? And the way that you interact with them, they feel seen and heard, and they're like, "Oh, you get it. You've been through it too." Yeah. Yeah. And then one thing that also stood out was, um, that you mentioned patients often feel like family when they come into your practice. What or why has creating that kind of personal experience always been such a important part of what you guys do? Well, I think that they, when they first walk in the door, it doesn't feel like a doctor's office, right? We kind of remodeled a house built in 1905. Mm-hmm. So we made it warm, cozy. It's, you know, people walk in, they're like, "Oh, this is great. Fantastic." Yeah. And then they see a family, right? And they, sometimes when people don't know we're married and, you know, I might like give him a little kiss or something. They're like, "Whoa, what you got going on?" Or I'm bossing you around, and they're like- Uh-huh Yeah. "Whoa." I'm like, "No, that's my mom." Yeah. Okay. But they see that connection that we have, which is very special, you know? Yeah. I, I mean, I get to work with my best friends, both of them- Aw. Aw every day, so I think they see it and they're like, "Wow, this feels good." Yeah. They've even said the energy in here feels good. Mm-hmm. And so it's just, it's- Yeah we're just extending it. Yeah. The most of the folks who come in have already failed multiple other traditional options- Mm-hmm um, or, or been disappointed or, or... And so when they come in, they, they already have that sort of cloud over them. Um, and Jeannie's awesome. The, she walks in a room and it lights up. Mm. Yeah. Everybody says that. He might be a little

Pain Relief And Hormones Change Life

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pu- um, partial. Yeah, I am a little biased, but it's okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I was gonna say, it can feel intimidating walking into a space where you haven't been before, so that type of environment I bet feels like- relieving to walk into, you know? Every person that leaves gets a hug. I mean- Aw that's who we just, because we become, like, they're our friends. Mm-hmm. And it's family. That's the difference, too, of taking your time. I mean, we're not pushing people in and out- Mm-hmm and on a really strict schedule. We purposely have built that time into the day to where we can spend time with each person, and it's not, "All right. Let's go up and get your treatment done." I sit down, I'm like, "Hey, how's it going?" Mm-hmm. "What brings you in?" I wanna understand the whole story- Yeah you know, and not just what they need, you know, from us, but what do they need, you know, on the inside. And so many people leave saying, "You guys changed my life." Mm-hmm. And that's really special. Yeah. Spending that quality time, um. Yeah, I had a question about that. How does that extra time allow you to better understand their needs and deliver more personalized care? Well, because we have, we hear them. I mean, we listen. Yeah. You know? We have a- We, we validate what they, that- Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And, um, when somebody comes in and says, "I've just been told no, no, no, no, no" Mm-hmm and the more you talk, then they kind of, you can just see them kind of relax, you know? Mm-hmm. We may not have an answer either, but it, even just to be able to, to sound off and, and share what they've been through- Mm-hmm and for, uh, to recognize or to tell them, "You know, we kinda went through some of that stuff, too." Yeah. seen, uh, women that, you know, that w- they were single when we first opened- Mm-hmm and go through this relationship of them getting married. Yeah. And, you know, babies. Yeah. And they bring them in and we show pictures. Aw. It's like- It must feel so special to be with them- It is through those milestones. It is. Yeah. It is. We're lucky. Yeah. And then o- one example you shared was a patient that came in for a facial and ended up receiving an orthopedic consultation because of another concern. How often do you see those opportunities where helping someone with one issue, um, leads to improving another aspect of their health? 99% of the time. Yeah, almost everybody. It happens all the time. Yeah. Especially even just, like, discussing someone's skin with them. Mm-hmm. You know, I start to hear maybe, um, they're having certain other symptoms or, you know, been more tired or, uh, depending on their age, I might start thinking in my head, "This might be somebody that could benefit from the hormone replacement therapy." Mm-hmm. And I talk to them and ask them questions like, "What are you doing for your hormones right now? Okay, that has a huge impact on your skin

Designing A Warm Patient Experience

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and how it's gonna respond to treatments." You know? And they end up talking to Dr. Paz or Jeannie about that, and that was something that they hadn't even considered before. Mm-hmm. So that happens all the time for me. For sure. Yeah, and just paying attention. Mm-hmm. Like, when people walk in, you notice everything about them. Like, you take the time to notice it. Yeah. And that patient was actually yesterday. Yeah. She was gonna go up for a facial, and she had, uh, her ankle wrapped up. Yeah. And I was like, "Whoa, what'd you, you know- Yeah what happened? Hey, I have this peptide cream. Let's try this." And he wrapped it up pretty. So, but, um, you know, w- by the time she left, it was like she was in the, our chair downstairs, and we did an ultrasound, and we could actually identify the problem, and now we have a procedure set up. Wow. Yeah. She- She left renewed 'cause she was like, "Man, that was the best facial of my life." Wow. "And you guys helped me with my ankle." Yeah. "You guys are amazing." There were hugs and- Aw. She's also- And you, you know, the other thing that happens a lot is, uh, somebody will come in, especially see one of you two, and then bring their kid back- Mm-hmm for, you know, whether it's, you know, acne or- Some other, you know, concern Or their mom. Yeah. The other- Or their dad. Yeah, yeah. That's why it always feels like a f- a family thing, 'cause I'm like, our family takes care of you and your family. Right. Right. Yeah. And then looking ahead, what developments or innovations in regenerative medicine, aesthetics, and longevity are you most excited about over the next several years? Where do we start? Yeah. Yeah. There's a lot. Yeah. I, I think that, um, the whole, um, a- as we go through it ourselves, the aging process, you know- Mm-hmm um, aging has a component of appearance, function your quality of life. So your appearance may involve skin laxity, sun damage. Your, your function may involve your, your muscle mass, your strength Your joints and tendons, and your quality of life, your, just your nutrition, your gut biome, your hormone balance. So kind of putting all that together- is. Yeah. And there is also a shift towards more natural-looking aesthetic results and treatments that stimulate the body's own collagen production. Why do you think patients are embracing that more natural approach? I think- Go ahead. You want me to go? Sure. I think that people are becoming very mindful of

Listening Time And Connected Care

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what they're putting in and on their body, which is a great thing. And, um, there's been a shift from doing things without any regard to how this affects me in the future, and looking more towards, the natural how can I not maybe fill something artificially, but to get my body to regenerate or repair that? And it's a more natural result when it's your own collagen regenerating versus, you know, just kinda putting a Band-Aid on, filling something. So I think patients are looking more towards natural aesthetics and the collagen-building treatments. Yeah. Too, I think we're getting out of the filter era- where everybody's on Instagram, and they're filtered, and they look amazing. Yeah. You're like, "Wow." Yeah. Perfection- You know? is so unobtainable and unhealthy, and- Yeah. And it's not real life. Yeah. And when... I mean, if you looked at our Instagram account, you'd see there's pretty real stuff on there. We're very real. There's hair on our head one time. Yeah. But, um, it, it's just about we're all human, we're all in this together, of course, but it's being authentic. Mm-hmm. You know? And if we do get a patient that comes in and says, "I want frozen face," then we're like, maybe this isn't the right practice." Or they say- Mm "I, my pores are so big. I don't wanna have pores." And I, I'm like, "Hey, you think that people don't have pores? 'Cause that's all that your feed is showing you. But I can assure you look at my skin." Mm-hmm. "I'm an aesthetician, and that is completely normal. Skin should have pores." Yeah. We have to get that idea of perfection out of our heads because- I agree it's not healthy. Yeah. You know? We, we wanna be our best self and to be well. I like that. So sh- steering them away from, you know, striving to look a certain way rather than having their body be in the best condition. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, like, it, that overall must really help their self-esteem- Mm-hmm much more. A- and that- Yeah that there's a lot of payback. Mm-hmm. And it, it carries over into life because you can see... How about that patient with the Ultherapy? She's- I was thinking the same. Yeah. Um, she comes to us From Arizona Wow Even after she moved. So, you can see the before picture, and she's, she's looking down. She's like just kind of not confident, right? Mm-hmm. You know, didn't look that happy. Six months later, here's a picture. She's got makeup on. She's, her hair is a different color. Mm-hmm. You know, she's got a big smile. Yeah. And we're like, it is life-changing because now she's out in the world. Yeah. What would she have missed had she not? Right. So I always say it's confidence is not vanity. Yeah. Yeah. It's just living. And as Virginia Regenerative Medicine continues to grow, what are you most excited about in this next chapter for your practice and the community you serve? Oh, longevity. Yeah, I think so. There's, we, you know, the, the science behind

Natural Results Over Filter Culture

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that is just exponentially improving in our, our overall understanding of the aging process. The, uh, and the, lots of different components to that, and most of it traditional medicine, um, still, we're still learning a lot about that. And then the things that we thought we knew, then we find out, doggone it, we didn't really know. The, uh, and then a lot of the- medications that, uh, um, actually insurance pays for. Uh, then we find out, wow, that, that really didn't make my overall condition better. Yeah. And for anyone interested in learning more about regenerative medicine, aesthetics, or your apo- approach to longevity and wellness, where can they connect with Virginia Regenerative Medicine? You're the go-to with that. Yeah. Um, so they can find us either on Instagram which... They can find us on Instagram, Facebook, um, or our website. Our Instagram handle and Facebook is V-A-R-E-G-E-N-M-E-D, varegenmed. Awesome. So lots of different places to find you guys. And they can text the office. We can text at 2 o'clock in the morning. We'll wake me up. Text, call, email- Yeah or just come on by. Awesome. And as we wrap up today, is there anything you'd like to add that I haven't touched on? It's an honor and a privilege, again, to get to work with them every day. W- a lot of people come in and they say, "Are you guys for real?" I'm like, "What do you mean?" But yeah, it, it's just we're unique, and we're special, and we care. You know, it's, it's a whole, like a whole approach, and it's a system, taking the time to get to know a person, their lifestyle, their goals, and where they've been, it has a lot to do with where they wanna go. So we're just there to help. I think, too, the three of us, we're very empathetic people. You know, we've all been through things, and

Longevity Focus And How To Connect

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I think that that really comes into play in our interactions because it feels different. You know, it... People feel that connection, and it's special, and it does take, uh, not just the sympathy, I understand, but, like, I've felt that before, too. Yeah. You know, people really do appreciate that. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And I think they really appreciate us not saying, "Oh, no," don't brush them off. It's like, "Hey, no, it's not just aging. It's not just menopause. We don't have to live like this." Yeah. Funniest thing, though, when I don't know, maybe five years ago, he says to me, we should probably look into this hormone replacement therapy." "I mean, just for fun, you know. Maybe you could be the first patient." And I was like, "What?" So anyway- Yeah glad I did, but... And then I said the same to you. Yep. Mm-hmm. And it sure worked out, so... Yeah. That's awesome. Yeah, it's been so fun working all together. Oh, I love that. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you all so much for joining me on the podcast and sharing your knowledge, passion, and inspiring story with us. I wish you the very best in all that comes your way in the future. Thank you for having us. Thank you for having us. Thank you, gentlemen. Yep. Very fun