Nestled in a welcoming, serene space in North Tucson is a wellness destination with the goal of offering several healing services impacting mind, body and spirit under one roof. WellnessFirst! began after a conversation between DeeAnn Saber, NMD, Zach Saber, LMT and Lynda Witt, CCT in June 2010, who were seeking to provide efficacious and affordable alternative healing modalities to all who seek it. Since opening its doors in October of 2010, WellnessFirst! has been doing just that.

Today, WellnessFirst! is a collaborative that includes four varied wellness businesses and six main practitioners. They offer services including IV and ozone therapies, thermal imaging, myofascial release, life coaching, hypnotherapy, massage therapy, colon hydrotherapy, naturopathic primary care and more.

“WellnessFirst! was created as an integrative wellness center for people seeking help in regaining or maintaining their health,” enthuses Zach. “The convenience of communication between practitioners allows for continuity of care—knowing that each of us is available to assist our cohorts when it’s called for. We all participant in in-house referring, but we also send clients to other healthcare practitioners throughout Tucson and the surrounding area.”

Made up of Transformational Medicine, Proactive Health Solutions, Very Special Alternatives and Counseling Concepts, the collective of healing professionals has created a positive, healthy and patient-focused environment, where all are welcome. Clients may visit one particular practitioner or seek assistance from several. “We are compassionate and professional and perceive unlimited possibilities in all realms of supporting others in their health and wellness,” Zach says.

Naturopathic Medicine

WellnessFirst!’s resident Naturopathic
Physician, Dr. DeeAnn Saber, takes the time to listen, to be a great medical detective and get to the underlying causes of dis-ease. At Transformational Medicine, PLLC, DeeAnn offers integrated whole-person care with a specialty in endocrinology and particularly thyroid issues. As a Functional Medicine Naturopathic Doctor, she looks at what is an optimal lab range for the client through comprehensive bloodwork and other testing specific to their concerns.

She helps those with hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, Hashimoto’s, IBS, GERD, SIBO, joint pain, gut pain, Lyme disease, brain fog and more. DeeAnn also treats gastrointestinal disorders by targeting food allergies, bacterial imbalances, parasites or inflammation. She is well trained in injection therapies with ProloOzone for relieving pain and vitamin treatments for chronic illnesses.

“Taking the time to listen to you and to figure out what’s really happening aids in identifying what is your underlying dis-ease and takes the guesswork out, so we find the answers you have been looking for,” she says. “Naturopathic medicine is the answer.”

Myofascial Release & Nutritional Support

Also practicing under Transformational Medicine, PLLC, is Licensed Massage Therapist Zach Saber, who has been practicing myofascial release for over 20 years. He is Board Certified in working with grief and depression, as well as learning about nutritional deficiencies/necessities and how they correlate to body pains and brain short circuits. Clients can see him for myofascial release, improving nutrition, controlling Type II diabetes, losing weight or for coaching.

“Emotions control what is held in the fascia and that pain/discomfort is affected through emotional attachment as well as nutritional deficiency,” he says. “When the body is not fed properly—mentally, physically or spiritually—then the body feels pain, discomfort, out of sorts, limited. Your ability to see the whole picture, to see the future, to see your options becomes hindered by trying to just get through right now.”

Zach’s goal is to open the mind to releasing old beliefs, to free the body of pain and limited range of motion, release the limitations that are stopping us or causing pain and create a happiness in the body. This is done through myofascial release, structural integration, conversation and suggestions of nutritional changes. He also oversees the T360 program designed to improve Type II diabetes and assist clients with losing weight.

Metaphysical Life Coaching

Jo Ruddy, Ph.D., founder of Counseling Concepts, LLC, practices as a Metaphysical Life Coach. She provides services related to mental/emotional awareness, hypnotherapy and more. With 35 years of experience, she brings a straightforward solution-focused approach, using specific linguistic and kinesthetic techniques and modalities that enhance her ability to hone in on core issues that hold individuals, couples and families back from attaining their life’s purpose.

“With both secular and theological degrees, I specialize in the study of the unconscious mind where all emotions, memories and repetitive behavior patterns are rooted and held buried away from the conscious awareness,” Ruddy says. “It is here, in the unconscious, while utilizing deep compassion, wisdom and humor, that I unleash these tired, worn-out patterns only to impart a new course of direction toward authentic empowerment in order to make this release conceivable.”

Considered an expert in her field by her fellow peers, Ruddy often receives referrals from other medical and mental health professionals for some of the most challenging cases where other modalities had been exhausted or proven ineffective. She is accepting anyone who is ready to seek deep healing in order to live a joy-filled, authentic life.

Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging

Lynda Witt of Proactive Health Solutions, LLC offers medical Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging (DITI) to women and men of all ages and health standings. “Medical DITI offers a non-invasive, adjunctive, diagnostic technique that allows the examiner to visualize and quantify changes in skin surface temperature,” explains Witt, a Certified Clinical Thermographer.

The effectiveness of DITI is based on each woman’s unique and stable “thermal signature” in the breast. Once this baseline thermogram is determined, DITI is used annually to monitor for alterations from that baseline. Medical DITI does not replace other diagnostic tools but can help bridge the gap between X-ray, CT, ultrasound and MRI and DITI. It is radiation-free, very sensitive and highly reliable.

“DITI is a means to alert women to changes within the breast tissue that require further investigation, affording women the opportunity to make lifestyle changes, address hormonal imbalances, work to relieve lymphatic congestion, determine thyroid status and more, in an attempt to stop disease as early as possible,” says Witt.

Colon Hydrotherapy

For more than 26 years, Very Special Alternatives has provided skilled nursing services for local naturopathic and holistic physicians. With 40 years of healthcare experience, Vonnie Schultz Albrecht, RN provides support and caring when administering intravenous infusions, ozone therapies or colon hydrotherapy. Her diverse offerings also include education for nutritional guidance, home ozone therapy, portable infrared therapy, The One Command and quantum resonance using wearable technology.

Colon health remains Albrecht’s primary focus to help clients as a foundation for all aspects of their health and well-being. Albrecht’s “Slow Flow” method uses a gentle flow of purified water, minimizing the use of pressure to cleanse the buildup of waste and restore natural function. “Colonics are like taking your gut to the gym—think of it as water aerobics and a bath,” she says. “Routine care can facilitate efficient elimination, providing your body with a foundation for effective detoxification, improved immune function and health rejuvenation.”

Massage Therapy and Bodywork

Also joining the team is Licensed Massage Therapist Norma Redhouse, who offers different massage therapy and bodywork techniques. Redhouse began working on people from the moment she was able to reach her grandmother’s feet. She pursued training in Neuromuscular and Massage Therapy at the Southeastern Institute. After which, she was honored to be chosen for a year-long internship with talented bodyworker Mike Elkins, LMBT, CNMT, furthering her knowledge of how to help myofascial tissue dysfunction through postural rebalancing.

“Continued intensive training in human development and energetic systems furthered my understanding of how to help clients heal and improve their own physical, emotional and spiritual challenges. Providing a safe space and client-specific treatments is of
profound importance to me,” says Redhouse. “I was very happy to find a like-minded group to join in providing my services.”

Recent growth has allowed WellnessFirst! to build out their conference room to add two office spaces and allow room for a massage therapist. Proactive Health Solutions has added one newly hired and fully certified thermographer, and the center is anticipating adding another Naturopathic Doctor to the group in the near future.

“Healing does not always come from a pill, but rather from a focused intention to move the body slowly toward health and wellness through daily choices everyone can make that affect their body, mind and spirit,” says Saber.

WellnessFirst! is located at 3861 N. First Ave., Tucson. Hours vary depending on practitioner and client needs. Connect at 520-209-1755 or 3861WellnessFirst.com. See ad, page 3.

Michelle Bense is a freelance editor and writer currently living and exploring in New Mexico. Connect at [email protected].