DOTHAN, Ala. (AP) — After spending years as a registered nurse, Marteen Lewis decided to change how she helped people.
So she left the hospital setting and, more than a year ago, opened Earthly Wellness Bar, a health and wellness spa providing handmade products as well as services designed to help with relaxation, lymphatic drainage, and feminine care.
Developing the business is a dream come true for Lewis.
“The fact that you can simply turn a thought of a dream into a reality, stay focused and do the work,” Lewis said. “I really want to let people know it’s possible. Entrepreneurship has been one of the hardest tasks I’ve ever tried to complete, but it has been one of the most rewarding outside of motherhood.”
The Marianna, Florida, native attended nursing school at Wallace Community College in Dothan and worked at Flowers Hospital after graduating. Over the course of her nursing career, Lewis worked as a cardiac care nurse, as a dialysis nurse, and eventually as a travel nurse.
During the first year of the pandemic, Lewis helped care for COVID-19 patients during her travel assignments. The emotional and physical strain of the pandemic on health care workers was far worse than anything portrayed in the media, Lewis said.
“The news shared as much as they could but to be in it was a different story,” she said. “If you give me a scale, it was probably 10 times worse than the scale that you can give me. It was bad. The hours and the exposure, the lack of eating, the lack of sleeping because you go home thinking about all you were exposed to — Will I give it to my family?”
During a travel assignment, Lewis was caring for a dialysis patient in a hospital COVID unit when five members of the same family all hospitalized with COVID-19 coded during the same shift. That was it for Lewis. She began to rethink how she could use her skills as a nurse to help people strengthen their immune systems and live healthier lives.
“I had to make a change, and I just started researching the immune system and detoxification and healthy living,” Lewis said.
It was a difficult transition because she loved being a nurse, and Lewis still works one day a week as a dialysis nurse. Her family, including her two sons ages 20 and 11, have been supportive during her days as a travel nurse and her transition into business owner.
Earthly Wellness Bar is located on the Ross Clark Circle in Dothan. Services, products, and information on booking can be found at earthlywellnessbar.com. Or, call 850-557-8530 for more information.
Services include aromatherapy, detoxification, vaginal steaming, dry brushing, body contouring, and manual lymphatic treatments with wood tools designed to help with post-operative care following cosmetic procedures. Handmade soap, yoni oil, bath balms, foot soaks, and exfoliating scrubs are available for purchase. While the soaps are made by a fellow nurse in Atlanta, Lewis makes other products herself.
Products at Earthly Wellness Bar are made from all-natural ingredients, Lewis said.
While there’s an emphasis on feminine care, Earthly Wellness also offers services for men — such as a beard facial — as well as a package designed for couples. Lewis plans to also bring in a massage therapist to offer massage services.
Prices vary depending on the service but can range from $65 to $100. Services can also be bundled in a package. Soap, oil, bath balm, and exfoliating products can be packaged in a $60 bundle or bought individually for $8, $10, $12, or $35 depending on the product.
Lewis does a consultation with clients prior to their first visit and said she tries to educate her clients about how to live a more healthy life and the benefits they will experience as a result.
Services offered at Earthly Wellness Bar were influenced by Lewis’ own wellness journey when she was still working as a nurse. She began by learning more about clean eating, fasting, detoxifying, and the importance of good gut health. Lewis said as she began eating better, she saw the connection between eating healthy and reducing her stress levels.
“That helped me along the way when I was out travel nursing,” Lewis said. “I was able to make better food choices, I wasn’t as tired. I had more energy because the gut is where the serotonin is stimulated, which gives you happy thoughts.”