Green Room used for relaxation between treatments or the perfect place to hold a bridesmaid luncheon, girl’s day out or an event.

If you think a spa is just a place where women go to get pampered with manis and pedis, think again. Today’s hospital-affiliated spas also focus on healthy living and illness prevention for both sexes and all ages.

 “For every dollar you spend on wellness, you save $16 in healthcare costs,” said Suzie Foote, RN, director of The Sanctuary Body Spa, which opened in November 2011 in The Township, a planned community in Madison that integrates homes, businesses and recreational facilities.

The Sanctuary, which is open to the public without a doctor’s prescription, is owned by St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson, a not-for-profit medical center noted for its coronary care department. 

“It is the mission of St. Dominic’s to heal people, but it’s cheaper to keep them well,” Foote said, adding, “We can make you feel better about yourself.”

The 5,000 square-foot Sanctuary offers a full range of spa treatments, from facials, massages, manicures, pedicures and saunas to minimally invasive treatments provided by board certified plastic surgeons, including rejuvenating laser treatments and injectable products including botox and Juvaderm. They use the state-of-the-art Reveal 3D imaging system to help practitioners and patients identify skin conditions and treatment options. William Dotie Jackson, MD, is medical director of the spa. 

In addition to the regular spa treatments, Sanctuary Body Spa offers a full wellness encounter that includes a Healthy Weight Advantage program for individuals and families who want to lose weight under a doctor’s supervision.

Sanctuary also has a signature, organic skin care line as well as the medical-grade SkinCeuticals product line.

“We help open those pores up and facilitate the release of toxins. It’s a fun way to maintain your body,” said Foote, who also founded The Spa at St. Dominic’s six years ago.

Sanctuary isn’t just for women, though.

“We have a men’s locker room, sauna and steam room,” Foote said. 
While spending a day at a spa might seem like a luxury, especially during these hard financial times, Foote said more and more people are realizing the benefits of a little pampering from time to time, although Foote hesitates to call it pampering. She considers it preventive maintenance.

“It’s really hard today,” she said. “The demands on us today are very different than they were on our parents. This is a quiet place you can come to self-care. It’s good housekeeping to take care of your body.”

Massage has been proven to lower blood pressure, Foote said, and it can help alleviate edema, muscle tension and other health problems.  
The spa’s ambiance is sleek, contemporary and elegant. The soothing aroma of lavender greets visitors when they walk through the doors, and eucalyptus is used in the steam rooms to open the sinuses. Calming music is piped throughout the spa.

The massage and skin therapists are medical grade. The spa has the only certified oncology massage therapist in the state, Foote said.

“We hand pick them very carefully to come to our spa. When people come out of our treatment rooms, they have ‘the look,’ which makes us very happy. It means we’ve done our jobs.”

Hospitals have embraced spas as a new source of income, as well as a way to deliver healthcare, Carol Freshley of the Kaiser Institute, a Colorado-based company focusing on the development of future healthcare systems, said in an article on the website www.massagetherapy.com. 

“Healthcare organizations seeking to enhance revenues, attract new customers and appeal to the health-conscious movement will have to do more than add new ICU equipment,” Freshley said. “Moving into consumer-driven areas such as spas is a part of this broader approach.”

According to the article, Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, N.J., was the first to open a hospital-owned spa, in 2000. The goal was to create a relationship between beauty, medicine and wellness. A woman could have a massage at Beyond Spa in the morning and her annual mammogram in the afternoon. Beyond Spa eventually built a staff that included massage and shiatsu therapists, estheticians, cosmetologists, nail technicians and reflexologists, with services ranging from massages to facials, manis and pedis.   

“The integration of these services in a hospital setting is a unique and innovative way to provide clients with complementary services not always offered in the traditional hospital setting,” John Ferguson, president and CEO of the Hackensack University Medical Center, said in the article.

Sanctuary has only been open a short time, but Foote said she and her bosses are pleased with its success so far. They booked several Christmas parties in November and December, and offices were also booking group sessions for employees. The women’s lounge and Green Room are set up for “girlfriends parties” at the spa, which are also proving popular with the public.

“We’re very fortunate to have St. Dominic’s so dedicated to wellness,” Foote said.  

Sanctuary Body Spa of St. Dominic’s is located at 340 Township Ave., Suite 200, Ridgeland. For more information visit www.thesanctuarybodyspa.com.

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