Over the last few months we’ve gotten to know the ladies of Newtown Medi Spa and after chatting with Debra we knew she was the perfect fit as a Meet a Mom. Even though she lives in Newtown she’s has been very successful in the Fairfield location over the last year. They were welcomed with open arms and are now been a staple in Fairfield. Newtown MediSpa is the place to go for Botox, Cool Sculpting and so much more, and boy do they know how to throw a party, just wait to see in March! This week’s Meet a Mom Debra Sullivan, the owner of Newtown MediSpa right in the heart of downtown on the Post Rd!
Where are you originally from and how long have you been in the area?
I was born and raised in Staten Island, NY.
I studied at Downstate Medical School and became a board certified Physician Assistant with an elite Surgical residency completion in 1996.
I moved to Newtown, CT in 2005, three years after having my 1st of 3 daughters.
Children / Age(s)
Time truly flies. I have a senior in high school (Lianna, age 17) a middle schooler (Kaila, age 12 3/4) and a 4th grader (Mia, age 9 3/4)
Complete basket case about my oldest getting ready to go to college in the fall.
One thing people would be surprised to know about you?
I love Karaoke but have ZERO musical ability to sing or play an instrument. It still does not deter me from getting up to try.
One thing you wish someone would have told you about motherhood?
Motherhood really should not be looked at as a “job”.
I hear that all the time, how motherhood is a “hard job.” It certainly has challenges at every stage but the rewards are priceless.
Being a mom is my best and most favorite part of “me”.
Favorite local things to do in Fairfield?
Shopping along Post Road with my girls, getting a treat at Playa Bowls or a great dinner most anywhere.
What’s your favorite thing about raising a family in a small community?
One of the most common bumper stickers in Newtown is “Be Kind”. Since the Sandy Hook tragedy, “Be Kind” is at the epicenter of how my kids have been educated and raised. The community becomes an extended family. The support we give each other in healing, on the fields, in carpooling/babysitting (it takes a tribe!), in friendships and in business is unsurpassed.
It is truly a special place to raise a family and to own a business.
Do you have a favorite family friendly restaurant? Date night?
Our family friendly restaurant is Toro hibachi in Newtown. They will even involve the kids in throwing the eggs and mixing the food on the table. A lot of fun.
My favorite date night is Lucas Local. After our first time there, the waiter remembered what I ordered the last time we were in! Impeccable service, FRESH seafood and yummy artisan drinks.
What is your go-to activity for your family? For yourself?
My husband always says the “best way to start a day” is snorkeling in blue water. I am a Caribbean junkie and try to get to an island at least twice a year. All three of my girls love it as much as I do. This spring we are going to scuba dive together for the first time as a family.
At home, I am a Crossfitter since age 42 (8 years!) I only go 3 days a week but it keeps me fit and sane.
Best mom hack that makes your life easier?
Any time we take a vacation, I put ALL of the dirty laundry in a laundry bag, pack it into one suitcase and drop it off directly at the “wash and fold” when we get home. (Who wants to be stuck doing a weeks worth of laundry coming off a relaxing vacation??)
Name one thing you regret when learning the ropes of parenthood and what you learned from it?
I don’t have regrets as a parent. I have kept an amazing line of communication open with my daughters. I will discipline them but will always try to let their fire shine. I feel that it is easy to dull the wonderful, beautiful sparks of childhood just because we want the “perfectly behaved child”. My girls are taught to be respectful, always look an adult in the eye, to put yourself in someone else’s place, greet everyone in the room and keep their promises.
That being said, we all have hiccups. One of my favorites is a day in the Disney store when my daughter was 3 1/2 years old. She wanted a plastic flip phone. I told her no and she proceeded to lay in the center of the floor in the store, scream and yell “I want the phone!“. I gently leaned over and whispered “get up. You’re in big trouble”. She started screaming “Don’t kill me!”. I walked out of the store, everyone in the store staring me down, with a child in my arms kicking me and screaming at me the entire way out. Yes, we’ve all been there.
Tell us about your business, when & why you started, and the reason behind it?
I worked in women’s healthcare for the first 11 years of my career. During this time I was certified in Botox injections. When I first opened my business eight years ago, I never dreamed that we would be in the top 0.5% of practices in the USA.
I always enjoyed working with women. Empowering a woman physically, spiritually and through healthcare is, to me, the best career on the planet.
The Newtown MediSpa started as a “weekend Botox” adventure and organically migrated into a 22 person team of the best practitioners in the NorthEast. We just won the My Face My Body (equivalent time academy awards in aesthetics) “Highly Commended Aesthetics Practice of the Year” for the USA.
We have never had a practitioner leave the practice and we have grown together as a family.
How did you decide that this was the right career move for you while having a family to raise? And then deciding to open a second location?
Prior to opening the first Newtown MediSpa, I was working in healthcare but had to work many night shifts, weekends. The ability to be there for events in my girls lives was limited.
The Newtown MediSpa has given me the flexibility to attend school functions, games, or just to be there after school.
I hold the same standard of flexibility with my staff. If they have a child’s concert, science fair, game, etc, they know they have the ability to be present.
What is Newtown Medi Spa all about?
Newtown MediSpa is about making you feel better about yourself.
Whether you are looking for a prettier pucker to your lips, to erase a few lines or a few sunspots, to never shave your legs again (or underarms), to lose 20 pounds with our medical weight loss program or to finally get rid of the fat bulge that you thought would never go away, we will deliver results but most importantly, we will care.
What makes you different from other MediSpas?
Being an educator (I was a high school teacher for three years prior to medical school and also an adjunct professor at Bridgeport University PA program) I was given the opportunity by Allergan (the makers of Botox) to train and become one of two educators in Connecticut for their “Allergan Medical Institute”. (This means I train doctors, PA’s and APRN’s how to inject Botox and fillers).
I am a master injector, I have studied under the most talented and educated doctors in the world from England, Canada, Sweden, Texas and Brazil. I have trained each and every one of my staff in extremely elite techniques used for facial fillers, lip fillers and Botox.
At Newtown MediSpa you can be assured that you are being treated by the most experienced staff in the state of CT.
We have performed over 5,000 successful Coolsculpting procedures and we have more volume of Botox and fillers than 99.5% of practices in the USA.
We also understand that a MediSpa is an “experience”. From the moment you become a patient you will feel the care and support that our staff offers to each and every individual to ever walk through our door.
Best of all, our consults are always complimentary and confidential.