Functional Medicine Practitioner Spotlight: Jonathan Streit

3X4’s new Functional Medicine Practitioner Spotlight series features interviews with practitioners, consultants and functional medicine thought leaders to explore everything functional medicine practitioners need to know about successfully building, managing, and growing their private practice. 

The following is an interview we recently had with Dr. Jonathan L. Streit, Founder, Institute For Restorative Health

What can you tell us about your practice?

JS: The Institute for Restorative Health was created for those suffering with chronic illness. We address illnesses like Lyme, MS, autoimmune disease and “mystery illnesses” through functional, energetic, and biological medicine.

Our patients travel from across the United States as well as internationally. Our approach is unique in the healthcare arena. We offer all-inclusive packages ranging from single-day visits to one- or two-week intensive programs.

Our patients receive functional labs, pre and post heart rate variability (HRV) assessments, and energetic testing. They will also receive a comprehensive work-up through our BioRestorativeTM Method.

Our office is located in Derby, Kansas, a great setting for our chronically ill patients. It provides a slower pace as it is less overwhelming than larger cities.

The clinic was created in 2018. Each of our current providers have at least 12 years’ experience with chronically ill patients.

We strive to provide a comfortable, compassionate atmosphere. We also provide health coaching and a full suite of therapies. These include the use of light, sound and vibration, herbs, homeopathy, and plant stem cells to support the healing process.

What surprised you the most when you started your practice?

JS: I would say it was the amount of time and money it took to create a fully operational healing center. After spending almost a year of strategizing, we were excited to start!

Despite having well-organized lines of communication and multiple people, we were surprised when it took 7-8 months to open our business.

There are many moving parts to creating and maintaining an office. Now that it has been built, it still does not run itself. Businesses like ours prosper through clear communication between all departments and their many moving parts.

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome as you built your practice? How did you overcome it?

JS: A challenge for me was being emotionally open. As previous colleagues, we had already developed great camaraderie and communication.

Now that we owned this business together, we had to be emotionally open about our blind spots. Being open to feedback about our individual skill sets had to be addressed early and often.

Looking to peers for guidance on strengths takes trust and vulnerability. Had we not put in a lot of communication, or had we not been vulnerable, our office may have never been fully realized.

What advice would you give to other practitioners considering launching their own practice?

JS: It is difficult to create and maintain systems when owning a functional medicine clinic. Every patient needs the same system yet individualized care. Systems are necessary for everything from tracking the ideal client to lab orders, communication, and accountability.

When owning a clinic, the greatest risk of failure involves overconfidence and lack of preparation. It comes down to systems and emotional intelligence.

When maintaining and creating our office, one of our founders is the systems starter, refiner, and authority on all things operational. This is a highly valued position that many businesses don’t realize. The systems you create give the client the same good experience each time they come. You have to have systems if you want to succeed.

Emotional intelligence is knowing how to interact with your team, clients, and prospective clients. It is a hallmark for creating a successful business.

What excites you most about the field of functional medicine?

Health care is the restoration of the body’s ability to heal. The more people seek functional medicine, the better. It makes me excited when people take their health back from current trends in health care.

I am excited to be a part of the movement to create lasting change in an industry that needs it.

Where do you see your practice 5 years from now?

JS: We have created processes and systems like no other clinic. In the future we look forward to helping other providers learn our system and methods. Two of our core values include education and learning. A part of our 5-year plan is creating online and in-person training platforms.