Meet Sarah Larson of Soluna Holistic Healthcare

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Larson.

Sarah, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
When I was about 14 years old, I had a nurse practitioner as my provider instead of my pediatrician who I had seen since infancy. She was, to me, so amazing! I wanted to be her when I grew up. I started college after high school and changed my major about five times, went to almost every college in Arizona, I graduated from Grand Canyon University in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. It took me 10 years to accomplish that degree (moral is perseverance). Two years into my career working as an RN in the hospital, I knew I wanted more. While working full time and raising my twin sons, I graduated from ASU in December of 2010 with a Master of Science in Nursing. This was one of the most challenging and exhausting times of my life. When I had started my graduate program, I had to make a deal with my sons because I knew that 18 months of our lives would a struggle.

Over the next six years, I worked for three different companies as an Adult Nurse Practitioner. This was when everything changed. I LOVED my job and I LOVED the connections I made with my patients. I also knew that I wanted to open my own practice. I read something on Pinterest that said: “If you don’t build your dreams, someone will hire you to build theirs.” That was unnerving to me and hit me hard. Everything in life happens the way it is supposed to and each step along the way leads me to the decision and that moment to JUMP! I started working more, saving every penny and my sons and I lived on a very tight budget. I resigned from my very “safe” position for a large company and opened Soluna.

Soluna is in homage to my love of the sun and moon. I thought I was being unique in name selection but according to Google, I was not. Holistic is very specifically the care of the whole person: mind, body, and soul. It is also the nursing model of care. There is some confusion with this and being seen as Naturopathic medicine which is a very different practice. I have multiple degrees in science and I practice medicine.

Soluna Holistic Healthcare has been successfully open for over three years. I am blessed every single day and though it is challenging, I am honored that so many people trust me with their health and that of their families, friends and coworkers. I’ve had patients follow me over the years and there is a no bigger compliment. I have not had to advertise either and have grown solely based on referrals. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagining this but by the grace of God, having faith and taking the biggest leap of my life, it happened. I am blessed.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Small business is not for the faint of heart and tears get shed. You really have to love what you do because there are so many yucky parts of the business and it can kick your butt. I unfortunately last year had a devastating loss with a contracted service provider. There are lessons we can learn in each situation we encounter whether good or bad. My lesson was to make sure I know every level of my own business, each computer program, where every dollar goes and every document with my name on it. My name is my brand. Phoenix is a very large city but the medical community is very small. It’s helpful to meet other business owners and assuage me along the way.

Please tell us about your practice.
Soluna Holistic Healthcare was created to promote wellness. It’s a pretty normal medical office but complex disease processes are my specialty especially diabetes. Helping my patients to be successful in weight loss and teaching them about their health is the best part of my day. I am a very hands-on provider. My patients know that I don’t call with lab results and that they will be in my office with me going over results. I take the time to teach nutrition, how to carb count, cook healthy meals and food prep. I do believe in changing health through food. I’ve seen an amazing change in patients over the years who’ve been diligent enough to transform through nutrition.

I don’t rush appointments and I am not in this for the money or to be rich. For the enchantment of my work, I spend the time. I hug, hold hands and praise my patients. I wipe tears, listen to heartache and also share in joys along the way.

Healthcare over the last few years saddens me because “disease” is covered by insurance but preventing disease is not covered. We daily fight with plans for medication coverage, testing and what services may be available. Healthcare should be disease prevention.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My childhood is filled with memories of travel. My Mother and Grandparents exposed us to cultures, sights of the US and the importance of being together as a family. We didn’t have a large number of tangible items but we had the best memories of camping, beach vacations, Christmas in NYC, Thanksgiving in Boston and several road trips across the US. This taught me that life is about creating memories and not about having “things”.

Contact Info:

• Address: 14122 W McDowell Road, STE 102B
  Goodyear, AZ 85395
• Website: www.solunahealthcare.com
• Phone: 623-236-8720
• Email: admin@solunahealthcare.com

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