By Haley Wilson
The Birmingham Occasions
Elicia Jacob is aware of about survival on knowledgeable and private foundation. She grew up in Los Angeles, California, within the Seventies and Nineteen Eighties, when gangs had been prevalent within the metropolis.
“I had the blessing of rising up in a center working-class neighborhood,” she stated. “I used to be by no means influenced negatively as a lot as I might have as a result of my mother was not going to have it. … It was all about taking good care of one another and getting your training. … My mother was a stickler about that.”
Jacob, who earned a Physician of Nursing Follow (DNP) diploma from the College of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in 2019 did precisely what her mom instructed her—she received her training and is now taking good care of others by Therapeutic Waters Wellness Heart and Spa, which is positioned in Birmingham’s Southside neighborhood.
At Therapeutic Waters, Jacob and a staff of six supply a broad vary of wellness and spa companies, together with colon hydrotherapy, BioCleanse foot baths, and sauna detoxes. The preferred therapy is the colon hydrotherapy.
“By way of that service, we take away toxins out of your physique,” Jacobs defined. “When these toxins are eliminated, it will definitely results in weight reduction, higher digestion, elevated vitality, and clearer considering. Our aim is to advertise extra pure therapeutic practices on your physique.”
Therapeutic Waters’ purchasers come from far and large.
“My most memorable was a girl who traveled all the way in which from Africa,” Jacobs recalled. “Her household flew her in as a result of she had not had a bowel motion for 127 days and her pores and skin was boring. I did a sequence of 12 colon hydrotherapy periods along with her, and the after outcomes had been superb. When she left, she was glowing and wholesome.”
Jacobs believes in “the ability of the physique to heal and cleanse itself.”
“Your physique is able to so many issues, and I actually needed to shed extra mild on our capacity as folks to [heal our own bodies],” she stated. “Earlier than I [started at] Therapeutic Waters, my important aim was to open a wellness retreat within the state of Alabama.”
When Jacobs developed her marketing strategy for the retreat in 2014, she wasn’t taken critically.
“The man from the [U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)] checked out me and laughed,” she stated. “He instructed me, ‘Alabama shouldn’t be prepared for something like this.’”
“My plan was very elaborate,” Jacob added. “I deliberate to supply all the companies now supplied at Therapeutic Waters on the wellness retreat, along with different [amenities], equivalent to a restaurant, backyard, and different good things so folks might come, keep, and heal. … I’ve been into therapeutic since I can bear in mind. … I do know it’s taboo to say that you could heal, however I train folks easy methods to heal themselves. … That’s what I do.”
LA Roots
Jacob, 56, was born and raised in LA and comes from a “household of entrepreneurs,” she stated.
“My father, [who was a longshoreman and still lives in California], owns a number of properties there. My mom has achieved quite a few issues, however her most noteworthy must be proudly owning a seashore resort on the island of Anguilla, [a British territory in the Eastern Caribbean]. And, earlier than them, my grandparents owned a restaurant and mercantile retailer,” Jacob stated.
“So, from my grandparents on either side to my mom and my father, having possession of one thing is in my blood. I used to be destined to open my very own [business] at some point.”
Jacob graduated from LA’s George Washington Preparatory Excessive Faculty with honors because the “high of her class” in 1983.
“Throughout my time at school, I truly did the nursing assistant certification program,” she stated. “I actually have been within the enterprise of well being since I used to be about 14. I served as a volunteer on the Spastic Kids’s Basis, [an organization active in the prevention or treatment of birth defects and genetic diseases], and actually devoted my time to what I actually loved.”
In 1984, Jacob enrolled at Louisiana’s Southern College, the place she majored normally research as a result of she “needed to go to medical faculty at some point,” she stated.
After her first yr in school and the start of her daughter, Yentel, Jacob moved again to LA.
Her “Second Probability”
After Yentel was born, Jacob was working as a receptionist at a trucking firm, and she or he received “actually sick” at some point on the workplace.
“I didn’t know what was happening, so I went to my mother’s home and stated, ‘Look, one thing’s not proper. I’m not feeling effectively,’” Jacob recalled. “[My mom said], ‘Go in there and lay down. My buddies and I are going to wish for you.’ I stated, ‘Momma, I can’t lay down. I can’t breathe. I’ve received to get to a hospital.’ After I received there, they discovered that I had a blood clot in my lung.
“I used to be admitted to the hospital and placed on blood thinners. The physician did a bronchoscopy and unintentionally punctured one in all my lungs; the opposite lung was already collapsed.”
Jacob blanked out throughout the ordeal. When she got here to, she knew that she had been given a second probability.
“I credit score that have for making me who I’m in the present day,” she stated. “I used to be given the chance to reside once more, and I stated, ‘I’ve been given this chance, so I’ve to determine what I’m presupposed to be doing.’ … I felt like that was within the well being discipline.”
“Lovely Place”
In 1992, Jacob moved to Birmingham to enroll in nursing faculty at Lawson State Group School.
“I come from a household of nurses and well being care staff, too,” she stated. “One uncle and three of my aunts are registered nurses, and I’ve numerous different cousins within the nursing discipline. Additionally, one in all my uncles is a dentist. … That’s actually what our household does.”
Jacob earned an affiliate diploma in 1995 and went abroad to follow as a workers nurse within the normal ward and emergency room at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Anguilla in 1996.
“That was a very cool expertise for me recent out of nursing faculty,” she stated. “I used to be on the identical island the place my mom owns a seashore resort. It’s a stunning place.”
In 1997, Jacob returned to Birmingham, the place she took a place as a cost nurse within the OB-GYN division at UAB Hospital. She additionally went on to earn a bachelor’s diploma in nursing and a DNP diploma from UAB, the place she additionally grew to become Director of Nursing within the division of Girls’s and Toddler Companies.
Therapeutic Waters
After greater than 17 years of holding a number of nursing and management positions inside the UAB Well being System, Jacobs determined to transition into entrepreneurship. On the time, a mentor of hers owned Therapeutic Waters.
In 2019, Jacobs assumed possession of the enterprise and constructed a staff of caring and compassionate professionals, together with her aunt Sandra and her now-36-year-old daughter, Yentel.
“Therapeutic Waters is for anyone who is worried about and centered on wellness,” stated Jacob, who works completely at her enterprise. “It doesn’t matter who you’re—you will be in your most tip-top form or you’ll be able to have well being points—the main focus is just that can assist you operate at your greatest naturally.”
“I’ve all the time felt like I had a particular capacity to encourage folks to heal,” she added. “There’s simply one thing about seeing folks go from their lowest to their highest. … That’s all the time the most important reward for me.”
Therapeutic Waters Wellness Heart and Spa is positioned at 720 twenty third St. S., Birmingham, AL 35233. To study extra or schedule an appointment, name (205) 323-7582 or go to morethancolonics.com
