Content paid for by Solid Wellness & Aesthetics
Kate Marciniec finds joy in helping people, guiding them to improve their health, and witnessing their health transformations. That’s likely why she became an emergency room nurse in the first place, and a decade later earned her master’s degree as a nurse practitioner (NP).
She worked in a traditional primary-care office until one day something clicked for her.
“I came across a documentary that talked about functional medicine and I thought, ‘We’re doing things all wrong in primary-care medicine,’” Marciniec said.
She, along with her husband, Mike, also an NP, opened Solid Wellness & Aesthetics in the spring of 2023 with a different approach to health care in mind.
Functional medicine is a patient-centered, science-based approach to health care that focuses on identifying and treating the root cause of symptoms and disease.
“Oftentimes women specifically go to the doctor and tell them she’s tired, and she’s told, ‘You’re getting older’ or ‘You’re a mom,’” Marciniec said. “I want people to know if you don’t feel great, we can do something about it.”
Weight loss, for example, is one of Solid Wellness’ most requested services.
“Weight loss medications are big right now but people can get into trouble if the underlying issues aren’t addressed,” Marciniec said. “They might come through the door for weight loss but we spend an hour with them, talking about gut health, mood, hormones and other issues so we can get the weight off and keep it off in the long run.”
Their services are meant for everyone. Mike treats the men’s side of weight loss and hormone therapy – an underserved area of medicine, according to Marciniec.
They also treat what they call the three pillars: hormone, thyroid and gut health.
Often patients believe symptoms like headaches, fatigue, constipation and food sensitivities are just something they have to deal with. However, Marciniec said that’s just not the case. These are just symptoms of underlying issues that need to be addressed. The traditional medical model sometimes might not have the resources and training to get to the root cause of these chronic issues.
“We talk about very personal stuff,” Marciniec said. “It can be eye opening to see what people are struggling with. They have to feel comfortable to be vulnerable and trust you, and that’s an honor for us.”
Outside of internal gut health and hormone treatments, Solid Wellness helps patients with aesthetics as well.
They’re not practicing any extreme procedures, but like functional medicine, the belief is, with small tweaks here and there, patients can walk out of the office feeling more confident.
“We do Botox, fillers and other skin-care treatments,” Marciniec said. “That’s the fun part because we can get people feeling more confident in their own skin. We see a lot of people who want to fix that small thing that is bothering them and it makes a big difference. From day one, our focus has always been on giving patients a natural result.”
It’s the little things that keep bringing patients to their doorstep. The one-on-one focus, and the relationships that are built, are what Marciniec feels sets them apart.
“Owning our own practice has been a great adventure,” she said. “The decision to open my own practice was a difficult one, but once I did, I could see right away that there was a need in our community for the services we provide, and we have just continued to grow. I just think every day, I’m so grateful that I get to help men and women who have been struggling.”
