Intravenous, more commonly known as IV, is a method of injecting substances through a needle or tube directly into someone’s vein. Those bags of fluids hooked up to hospital patients are examples of IV therapy.
For many years, people only saw IVs used on those severely injured in movies, on the news and in hospital emergency rooms. In recent years, the use of this method has expanded so people who want more nutrients in their bodies or other greater health benefits, can get them.
The expansion of IV usage also has allowed medical professionals like Dr. Jheneale Grandison to launch a business to help people be at optimum health to keep them out of the hospital. This trend is growing and could mean positive results for the general public.
“One of my goals for my company is to keep people out of the emergency room. With companies like mine, we can prevent this excessive use of healthcare and be less taxing on the system so people who are more ill can be seen urgently,” said Dr. Jheneale Grandison, DNP, co-founder and medical director of Face it with Dr. G, a Baltimore-based mobile IV hydration company.
Grandson goes to the customer’s home or location to perform IV therapy for those who want to consume their nutrients and vitamins differently.
She inserts a small tube into the vein, and the fluids – which she refers to as “drips” – trickle into the bloodstream, allowing the body to absorb more nutrients than regularly ingested pills and liquids. She explains that digestion affects the supplements and medicine people take. The body absorbs only 20 to 30% of the nutrients in supplements and medicine.
“You go to the store and buy a bottle of multivitamins. When you swallow the multivitamin, it’s broken down by gastric acid and digestion. By the time they work, you only get about 20% of it. We’re looking at six to eight weeks for the supplement to reach the effective concentration,” Grandison said.
Grandison launched the company in October 2022 in an effort to offer affordable options for those in recovery – a need she understands from personal experience. In August 2022, she underwent surgery, and couldn’t walk during recovery. She wanted her immune system to be at its best and found an IV therapy company to boost it. Unfortunately, that approach was expensive.
“When people need this for immune health and recovery, it costs a lot. The drip was $100; tack on another $300 to get someone to come to my home and do this, and we are looking at $400 or more. I felt like that was egregious,” Grandison said.
Services from Face it by Dr. G start at $200 with no fees for travel. People with FSA and HSA cards can use those to pay for the services. Grandison has more than 19 drips available. The most popular is the Myers Cocktail, which has vitamins B and C plus magnesium and calcium. The Myers Cocktail is named after the late Dr. John Myers, a Baltimore physician who created the material in the Myers Cocktail in the late 1960s.
“John Myers is the one who started all of this, and the drips that we see today stem from this one drip. The Myers Cocktail drip is your most complete drip. Patients who feel fatigued or recovering from the flu or COVID have used this drip and feel the difference by the next day,” Grandison said.
What’s next for Grandison is expansion. Recently, she partnered with a spa in Baltimore to offer IV therapy at their location. She aims to collaborate more with spas, gyms, and health and wellness centers. Grandison wants to make a difference in people’s well-being by introducing them to IV therapy.
“A lot of people associate IV with being sick. That is the cycle I am trying to break, especially in the Black community. I got into health care to keep people outside of the hospital,” she said. “Coming to Face it by Dr. G, you’ll get comprehensive and compassionate wellness and care that will do that.”