MEMBER PERSPECTIVES
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The Cause + Medic team opened their spa in 2020 , during the pandemic ' s early days .
“ When we do interviews , we let them know , yes , we need to have massages , but we want to have other workshop opportunities and teaching and sales , other things that are available to you when you come on board as a partner with us .”
— ROBIN VEGA , spa director , Cause + Medic Spa spoke to each therapist and service provider to gauge their comfort level returning to the spa in the midst of the pandemic . Because they were also operating on limited hours — five to six hours a day — the spa had to be especially selective about which employees they could bring back .“ We did lose a few therapists who were just not comfortable ,” says Nate Smuin , assistant spa director . On the therapist side of things , Smuin notes , the numbers largely worked out . The spa invited full-time staff back first , and found that demand exceeded their expectations , allowing those who had returned to stay busy .“ The real challenge came at the desk — receptionists and attendants ,” Smuin says .“ Just because we ’ re in a remote area , to get people to come on is still , at this time , our biggest challenge .”
In Buena Vista , Colorado , the Cause + Medic Spa ( which opened last year during the pandemic ), is limited to just 20 % occupancy , although the low figure is less of an issue due to the spa ’ s size .“ We ’ ve got a small spa — one treatment room right now — so it still hasn ’ t really affected what we ’ re doing ,” says Spa Director Robin Vega . Still , even in a spa with a single treatment room , the pandemic can create staffing challenges .“ We had a therapist in line to open the spa with us and she had to move to take care of a parent out of state . We started trying to include another therapist and esthetician . We ’ re in a really small town , so staffing has been challenging ,” Vega says . Though the pandemic cost the spa one therapist , it also gifted them another . A seasoned spa professional with resort experience moved nearby to be with her parents during quarantine after her own job opportunity was put on hold due to the pandemic . Finding an esthetician locally has been a challenge , however , so Vega and her team have gotten creative , bringing in an esthetician from a couple of hours away in
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28 PULSE ■ MAY 2021