UTICA, N.Y. — Consumers looking for medical-spa treatments have a new option now that Dr. Stephan Barrientos has opened his Elite Medical Spa & Wellness Institute practice at Slocum-Dickson Medical Group. “We want to make sure we’re bringing the medicine back into med spa,” Barrientos says of what sets his new spa apart from competitors. […]
UTICA, N.Y. — Consumers looking for medical-spa treatments have a new option now that Dr. Stephan Barrientos has opened his Elite Medical Spa & Wellness Institute practice at Slocum-Dickson Medical Group.
“We want to make sure we’re bringing the medicine back into med spa,” Barrientos says of what sets his new spa apart from competitors. Not many spas are physician run, let alone run by a plastic surgeon, he notes. It helps him guide patients to ensure they are receiving appropriate treatments.
Elite Medical Spa & Wellness Institute serves as an extension of Barrientos’ plastic-surgery practice, providing concierge-style surgery, facial, and body-aesthetics services including injectables for weight loss and hydration, radiofrequency microneedling, facials, and PDO threading, which uses sutures that dissolve over time to provide a face lift.
Demand has risen for med-spa services as various procedures have become more affordable and accessible, Barrientos says.
“We actually are filling up our days,” he says of the spas bookings since opening on Dec. 12. “We are getting tons of people coming in through our promotionals as well as from the medical practice.” The spa runs a variety of weekly and month discount promotions.
The spa is currently open Monday through Wednesday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. each day. Along with Barrientos, a nurse practitioner and a facial aesthetician are on staff.
Located at 117 Business Park Drive in the LaPolla and Ford Business Park in Utica, the spa features six treatment rooms, each dedicated to a separate treatment, as well as a lobby area. The lobby features TVs showing before and after pictures for various treatments.
“It’s tranquil,” Barrientos says of the space. “We have our spa music going. It’s really nice.” He leases the space from Slocum-Dickson, which also houses pediatrics and other specialty services in the building.
While the spa is only open three days a week currently, Barrientos expects to expand business hours as demand rises further. He is in the process of outlining an external marketing strategy with Slocum-Dickson.
Currently, Slocum-Dickson promotes the spa on its own website, Facebook, and Instagram, but Barrientos expects the spa will soon have its own pages.
Barrientos specializes in general and reconstructive plastic surgery with a concentration in pediatric reconstructive and craniofacial surgery, according to the Slocum-Dickson website.
He graduated from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in 2009 and completed his plastic-surgery residency at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. He also completed a wound fellowship at Winthrop University Hospital/NYULangone in Mineola and a pediatric craniofacial fellowship at the Craniofacial Center in Dallas, Texas.