Today we’d like to introduce you to Alyssa Brussee.
Hi, Alyssa. I’m so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I kind of entered into the field of women’s health by accident. After going through my first pregnancy and developing a pelvic pain syndrome, as well as a worsening in symptoms from a chronic condition I had, I became desperate for answers and solutions. It was then that I realized how lacking the standard medical system is for female-specific needs, especially in the prenatal and postpartum periods.
After seeing several different healthcare providers about my concerns with no promising explanations or solutions offered, I recognized that I was going to need to take it upon myself to figure out the root of the symptoms I was experiencing. This prompted me to take every specialized women’s health/pelvic health/prenatal and postpartum course within my scope of practice to heal my body. Through it all, I resolved my symptoms and developed a strong passion for equipping other women with the tools, knowledge, and guidance to do the same for themselves.
When I was going through that healthcare journey, I would often think about what the “perfect” women’s health practice would be like. I envisioned a one-stop-shop for women’s health and wellness care in a beautiful space where every woman who entered felt comfortable, heard, and confident that they would receive compassionate, evidence-based, cutting-edge, holistic, and individualized care that made a long-term difference in their quality of life.
Although I hesitated for a while to bite off on such an undertaking while mothering my young children and already having a stable job with many opportunities for growth/advancement, I knew deep down that God walked me through the issues I experienced and gave me this specific vision for a reason. I needed to start somewhere, even if I couldn’t create exactly what I envisioned from the get-go. I also knew that what I had envisioned was impossible to accomplish within the confines of the large medical practice I was working for at the time.
Fast forward to resigning from my job and spending 6 months listening to approximately 6.7 million business podcasts, business planning, learning the legalities of healthcare business, working with a mentor, creating educational resources and treatment protocols, hiring and training a team of [incredible] employees, and finding and renovating an office space, we opened the doors to Femwell Women’s Health & Wellness in January 2023.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
For the most part, it honestly has gone as smoothly as I could hope for. I am 1 of 5 children; all 4 of my brothers and both of my parents are entrepreneurs… so I think I had a realistic idea going into it about how difficult the process would be. Growing always involves growing pains, and I have been stretched to the limits beyond what I thought was possible during the past 2 years. There are moments when trying to wear the many hats of business owner, clinician, mom, wife, and friend have felt very overwhelming and unfashionable. But, I get to work with the most wonderful clients alongside the most wonderful team of providers who make my job incredibly fulfilling and worth all the behind-the-scenes work. Where there is great risk, there is great reward.
We’ve been impressed with Femwell Women’s Health & Wellness, but for folks who might need to be more familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Femwell is a private practice with a team of health & wellness specialists in Hendersonville, NC, dedicated solely to working with women. Women’s health is not something we address as part of our job; it is our job, and we are passionate about doing it well. Specialized care means getting better faster and saving the women we serve time and money in the long run. We take a whole-person, relational approach to women’s health & wellness by uniting a multifaceted team of specialists under one roof. Femwell provides care for women in every stage of life, pre-conception through menopause. All care is delivered one-on-one, with hour long appointments, and is personalized to each woman’s unique health history, symptom presentation, concerns, and goals. Our transparent and competitive up-front costs with no additional costs or surprise bills help to create a simple and stress-free healthcare experience. We currently offer pelvic therapy, holistic fertility treatment, mental health therapy, hormonal health coaching, dietetics, medical bodywork, childbirth education classes, fitness classes, personal training, birth doula support, workshops, and community support groups. We are gradually adding to the services we offer on an ongoing basis.
I personally specifically specialize in women’s pelvic health and women’s holistic hormonal health. I work with women across the lifespan who have issues related to bladder health, bowel health, sexual health, and reproductive health. My greatest passions within my field are working with women during the pre-conception, pregnancy, birth preparation, and postpartum recovery phases, as well as with women who have hormonal conditions that affect pelvic health, such as endometriosis, PCOS, and perimenopause. I am passionate about helping women find true relief from symptoms they have been told are “normal”, or something only long-term medication could help.
In addition to the services we provide in person, I hope to increase the accessibility of valuable women’s health information/resources to women across the country. I have created several free resources for women that have been distributed to healthcare facilities across the United States and are available on Femwell’s website, including comprehensive e-books about postpartum recovery after both vaginal birth and birth by c-section. Additionally, both pelvic health screening tools I have developed, the Brussee Pelvic Health Index (BPHI) and Brussee Pelvic Health Index-Pregnancy (BPHI-P) are available on the Femwell website. My motivation for creating these screening tools was to aid in the early identification of common women’s health issues so that women can receive the care they need and deserve as early as possible. As with addressing any health issue, the earlier the intervention, the better the outcome.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I would be here all day if I listed every single person who has contributed in some way to making Femwell possible. My husband, Jon, truly deserves an honorary doctorate in women’s health because of the many ways he has supported me financially, physically, and mentally in bringing this vision to fruition. This women’s health business would be impossible without that man. My mom and dad, both business owners, have modeled to me from a young age what it looks like to work with all of their hearts using their God-given gifts and resources to turn their dreams into reality. I have watched them persevere with consistency through many hard seasons, and being flexible but never giving up when things got hard. I can never thank them enough for the example they have set for me. The Femwell dream team- Hannah Farman, Michelle McGuire, Lisa Mejia, Emma Mang, Devyn Whaley, Jenny Arch, and Evangeline Hagedorn are each incredible women and practitioners who make the mission of Femwell possible (and a joyful place to work). I am so thankful they saw the potential of what Femwell could be when I pitched the idea to each of them. My business mentors, Sam Tolbert and Hannah Williams, have walked alongside me step-by-step in getting the business off the ground and being my cheerleaders every step of the way. And lastly, my clients. Somehow, Femwell has attracted the best clients in the world. I feel blessed beyond measure to have the opportunity to work daily with women who continually inspire and teach me.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.femwellwomenshealth.com
- Instagram: @femwellhealth
- Facebook: @femwellwomenshealth
