Meet Christen Quezada of iHYDRA8, “ihydrate”

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christen Quezada.

Christen, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’ve always saw myself being in the medical field in some way. Initially, I planned to be a physician and majored in Biology Pre-Medicine as a freshman in college. As life and God would have it, I gave birth to my son at 19, after being in college for one year. My adoptive mother saw something in me and encouraged me to return to college after having a baby, but not to just any major. Nursing school was what she had in mind, as she had been as nurse for over twenty years. Both me and my sister, who was on a sports medicine track, enrolled in nursing school together.

After graduating, I entered into the hospital realm, starting out as a medical-surgical nurse and shifted my way through critical/cardiac care, worked in psychiatric care, as well as pediatric care. My career has always been very diverse and rich in experience. Each facility that I went to, I gave my absolute best to my patients and enjoyed my work, but there was always something “missing” for me. A lot of nurses pick a specialty and stay within that specialty for an extended duration of their career. I differed from this because I would switch positions or pick up side jobs, almost every other year. It wasn’t until I landed a position as a traveling Clinical Educator, that I realized that I had a real knack for healthcare economic and business development, but also that I had an undiscovered love for entrepreneurship. Being in this position at the age of 25, allowed me to have my eyes opened early to a different way of leveraging my clinical skill set, to create something innovative that can act as a solution to one or many of the healthcare problems that we face today. My diverse background also gave me a plethora of fields that I had learned that I could refer to when brainstorming new ideas.

I opened my first business, which failed (lol) around this time. It was a make-up, lash, and teeth whitening service. A lot, right ?! I made a novice entrepreneurship mistake of jumping into an industry that I knew nothing about but did have some level of passion for. After spending thousands of dollars on classes and products (cosmetics are expensive!) I determined that this wasn’t for me and that the only passion I had for makeup was when I was getting mine done! Shortly after this, my sister told us about a clinic that she went to that gave her an intravenous bag of fluids (an “IV”) and vitamins. We were shocked by this and our interest level piqued at the concept. In short, we began to research this newer model of healthcare delivery and immediately fell in love with its character, ease of access, and branding opportunities. After a year of intense research and structuring, we opened iHYDRA8 at the start of 2018. We have grown and developed a brand so unique, even with the recent spike in similar services, that we have earned our spot in Atlanta as a preferred option for concierge medicine and as a disruptor of traditional healthcare option and methods of access.

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?
Having a child at 19 was not easy. In fact, when I was supposed to be learning myself, my likes/dislikes, my talents and weaknesses, I had to begin to shift and make decisions that were for the good of another life. I was still a baby myself. In addition to the lack of mental astuteness and maturity, there is also the limitation of a 19 year to be able to financially provide for themselves and their child. I had a family, my son’s father’s family, who came into my life, adopted me and supported me in everything. It was still very difficult. I didn’t have a car yet when I started nursing school. So everyday for a year and a half, I rode public transportation for almost 2 hours to get to school, then work, and back home. Eventually, I needed to send my son to live with his grandmother in Virginia, while I finished clinical rotations in school. I lost my job, then my apartment, because I was constantly late to work due to having to catch the bus. I moved in with a classmate for a few months while my son was away and got it done. And I graduated at 21.

iHYDRA8, “ihydrate” – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
iHYDRA8’s motto: “We are revolutionary clinicians, seeking to make luxury mainstream.”

This saying encompasses exactly what we believe in: that having readily available, affordable, and top tier healthcare should be accessible to everyone. In-home IV hydration and vitamin replacement has been practiced by celebrities, athletes, and executives for years. It was previously a status symbol of the upper echelon. Recently, companies have brought this service into walk-in clinic-like facilities and capitalized on its convenience and virtual low risk. We saw the same opportunity but thought of the everyday consumer when structuring the company and our branding. Yes, we do provide “hangover” recovery IV bags, which most places are famous for, but most of our bags are solutions to everyday problems, such as: stress, lack of proper nutrition, dehydration, lack of energy, skin breakouts, etc.

From the types of formulas we developed, to the price points, we kept everyday people in mind. The stay at home moms, the student, the hairstylist who is on her feet for fifteen hours a day, the medical professional. We all deserve to have a proper assessment by a licensed medical professional and receive nutritious essentials while avoiding the 2000+ dollars that we would spend going to the ER for fluids instead. We also spend a lot of time educating our clients. It is at the cornerstone of our methods. For example, we find people who didn’t know that they had high blood pressure until we come in the home and take their vital signs. We have a platform where we are present in the home, someone’s most sacred space, and we get to inform them of their options, of the costs of not maintaining proper health.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of my career actually just took place! I was recently in NYC to do my part in fighting the COVID crisis and spent two weeks serving in the emergency department there. It was a heartbreaking but enlightening experience, and one I’ll carry with me forever. It opened my eyes to the deep fracture that the American healthcare system suffers from, which has been swept under the rug for years. This pandemic has wielded a magnifying glass to the flaws of this system, and those at the center of it suffer the most. During this time, I worked hands on with ER physicians who were discovering different and new clinical guidelines to fight this disease. A poem I recently wrote from my experience:

To the Resilient people of NY & the ER Nurses that that stood together w/ me on the frontlines:

“No one told you it was going to be like this .”

A place where everyone is covered from head to toe to the point where you can’t identify any faces. That you would experience the sensation that you must breathe just a little faster because you feel like you’re drowning. That you would feel all alone, on another planet, where friends/family cannot come. That you would become accustomed to real fear, as no one is telling you anything & you don’t know what to expect, but groups of docs keep coming by & discussing you like a science project. That you would lose sleep as you’ve been on a stretcher in a hallway for days waiting for a bed upstairs. That you would feel kidnapped being suddenly shipped to another hospital far from your neighborhood because there is just no… more… like they came from nightmares.

“No one told me it was going to be like this .”

All you could see was my eyes. All you could hear was my voice. I fought seasoned docs for you who believed that your life just wasn’t clinically viable enough to save. I made decisions on your behalf when no one else could. I skipped lunch & sweat through my scrubs/ PPE to wait with you until your O2 saturation got back to a comfortable level. I panicked when no one would help me, help you, but swallowed my fear & did what was necessary for you, on my own. I explained that yes, this virus can be deadly, but that your life was in OUR hands, mine & God’s, and that WE would do everything to shift the trajectory towards recovery. I shed tears in my goggles while we attempted to resuscitate you. And after we ran out of bi-pap machines, I learned what true joy ✨ felt like when the makeshift ones worked miracles for you.

“No one told us it was going to be like this .”

That we would be given the chance to walk w/ you between living this life & transitioning to another. To the citizens of New York, and especially Brooklyn, you have my heart forever. To the five that left their mark on me, you made me prove myself to you in your darkest hour. And yes, you made … me, who I am.

Pricing:

• Vitamin C Mini Booster $75
• Vitamin C Mega Booster $125
• Add a Shot of Zinc $30
• Add a Vitamin D injection $30

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ihydra8.com
• Phone: 1(855) IV-NURSE
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @ihydra8
• Facebook: Facebook.com/ihydra8

Image Credit:
First two photos (with water bottles) and personal photo credit: @shotbysed; Fifth photo (five girls at pool) credit: @marquis.garden

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