How This Nurse Turned Hangovers Into an IV Hydration Empire (With Courtney Jones)

Welcome to Club Nurse. I'm Colton Lord, your host. By you being here today, it shows me that you are someone who wants to learn, grow, laugh, connect, and just let your emotions flow. We are here to share real stories and hear real life experiences from real people. You are not alone in this, and Club Nurse is here to show you that. Don't forget to follow the show and share today's episode with someone you love. Now let's dive into today's conversation.

Welcome back everybody to Club Nurse. My name is Colton, your host. I have with me today Courtney. Courtney is the owner of IV League with locations in Boston and Southern New Hampshire. IV League is an IV hydration business where people come in for a variety of reasons from hangovers, uh, before travel, weddings, fatigue, and many more, um, reasons. Courtney spent 17+ years as a nurse at Boston Children's Hospital where she mastered the skill of IV insertion and leadership skills as a charge nurse. With a mission to enhance community wellness, Courtney offers services that enhances health, beauty, and vitality through IV drips, contour therapy, booster shots, and aesthetic treatments. So everybody welcome Courtney, the club nurse. Thank you for being here.

Thank you, Colton, for having me.

Of course. So let's just kind of jump into what exactly, for people listening, like what exactly is IV therapy? Why do people come in and seek treatments here?

So IV therapy Is it's in your vein. So we actually do an intravenous drip for you. So we're all registered nurses. You come in and we have a 1-liter bag of lactated Rares, which is your electrolytes, and it's inserted by an IV, sterile technique. And we hook you up and you sit here and it's, it's a great experience. You can watch TV, you can just enjoy the music and relax and be on your phone while you get hydrated. So the 1-liter bag is equivalent to drinking a little over 2 gallons of water, but it's on a cellular level. So you are instantly getting 100% of the benefits. So—

It's amazing, really.

You know, we start with the liter bag, but there are so many different things that we actually can put in the bag. So we've got Vitamins. So anywhere from B complex to glutathione, which is your master antioxidant. So there's all walks of life that come into IV League for all different reasons. And, you know, it's not just hangovers. That's like the people always think, oh, it's just for— but it does help, hence your hungover question mark shirt. But yeah.

Yeah.

So I was an IV nurse actually at Children's Hospital for 17 years, always Loved being an IV nurse. I don't know, there's something very satisfying about sweating an IV. Yeah. And I happened to be pretty good at it. I actually was on the PICC team for a while, so I placed those long lines. So had a knack for the IV world.

When exactly, what year did you start IV League?

So it's been 7 years now.

7 years. And what was your, like, what was your inspiration? Because that's kind of when These started to kind of pop up, right? Like you kind of, you kind of got in there before the big wave of these companies started to come out. So what inspired you to get into this? Yeah.

So first off, just being really good at the IVs at Children's Hospital, seeing the benefits of IVs. And, you know, I was in the ER for quite a while and, and saw what an IV could do, you know, just turn around somebody. So I actually, I always had the entrepreneurial spirit and then When I was working at Children's, I was kind of like, I had it on the back burner, you know, to maybe try and start something on my own. Wanted to take some Botox classes. I always loved the beauty industry and mixing beauty with nursing was almost like the best of both. So I ended up, I was working nights at Children's and then doing Botox classes during the day at Dr. Russo's. So it was the Medical Aesthetic Associates. That's where I took classes. And kind of one thing led into the other. I just started doing Botox on concierge to like my friends and family. Started that way. And then I had always had in the back of my mind, I went to Vegas like it was like 10 years prior and I actually got an ID.

Yeah. You're like, oh my God, this is like miraculous. Yeah.

I didn't have a hangover. I actually had just flown in and I felt like I was getting the stomach bug. And so I went, you know, right online and saw if anything was around. And they had— it was the first one that was ever in Vegas. It's called Hangover Heaven. And they picked me right up from my hotel and brought me to the clinic down the street. And it like turned my trip around. So That was like, you know, always in the back of my head. And then I went to Dr. Russo and I was like, can we introduce IV bags, you know, into the practice? And Dr. Russo's my medical director. He's been my medical director for the 7 years and he's wonderful and very supportive. And so I decided to buy, like, it's just like on a whim, I had an idea for an event in Nantucket for Fagowie Weekend. I bought 100 IV bags and brought it over to Nantucket. We did a lot of marketing prior to it, but we made these wristbands with— it said hungover question mark with the 1-800 number on it. And we gave it to everybody coming off the ferry. So like when they wake up in the morning, they'll have that and they'll be able to call.

Yeah.

Yeah, get the IVs.

I think that that's genius actually, because especially when people are like, when you're desperate and you just like any, like you just want anything to make you feel better. And I think people don't like what I realized when I first did an IV, like for myself, I was like, oh my God, like this is, it's amazing how much faster you can recover. And just to like get rid of that hangover, like you, people will almost pay anything to just like get that, just get that feeling over with.

Yes.

Yeah.

Yeah. So it was It was quite a success. You know, it took a few days. You know, people don't know what Foggawi Weekend is. It's a sailing regatta. And a lot of people from the city actually go over for it, especially in South Boston. And they go over and they rent the nice houses there. And they're all packed in and drinking. It's a drinking fest for sure. So the IVs really were ahead. you know, kind of by the end of the week when everybody's kind of feeling like dehydrated and hungover and stuff. So yeah, we ended up like pretty much, I think, selling out of the IV bags and stuff. So it was one of these first like aha moments, like this could work. So like maybe I will be able to actually start my own Guinness store, you know? And South Boston was—

Was this where you started with South Boston? And then you, and then you had the store in New Hampshire as well. So you started here in Boston and then branched out. To New Hampshire.

Yes.

Okay.

Okay.

So yeah, 36 A Street. It was our first location. It's only like 800 square feet, but we renovated into like a little treatment room too. So I did Botox out of it. We had a bunch of different things over there. You know, we had an M sculpt machine and we did like body contouring fillers. So yeah, it was like my little baby for a while, but. It became just so successful. I was like, we need to like, you know, pop more of these up. And yeah, I had met my husband that was from New Hampshire and we, we settled in Salem, New Hampshire and found that it was probably a great spot for another IB League. So popped one of those in there about 5 years ago now. So Salem, New Hampshire IB League's been there for 5 years. And then we just kept on going. You know, Southie was just such a hit that we put one on more of like the seaport side, so L Street. So this is where we're at today, is our newest location that's been here for 2 years now.

Okay. Yeah, yeah, that's like—

yeah, Coulson, you've worked here a lot.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

We miss you though. Yeah, we miss you.

And I'm just so busy. It's so hard. It's so hard to do all these things. I do— I love like the The IV, I loved it though. It's something I really enjoyed. When I moved to Boston from Arizona, it was something that I seeked out because I just enjoyed the job. It's a nice little break away from bedside. And that makes me kind of curious, do you miss working bedside? When you went into this, did you go all in, quit your job? Were you able to do that financially or did you have to kind of keep per diem and kind of phase out of the hospital? How did that work for you?

Yeah, so it actually kind of happened pretty quickly. So I had started doing like the Botox on the side while working nights at Children's and was doing so well with it that I was like, I'm, I'm gonna be all in. I, I didn't even have the brick and mortar at the time. I, I kind of just went all in. I remember taking a class with Dr. Russo. This was like are my next class. So, uh, the filler class, this is like Juvederm fillers, and you, you know, it's where you get the lips or the cheeks and all that kind of stuff. So Dr. Russo goes, raise your hand, like in the class, um, for anybody that's quit their day job. And I was the only one in the class.

Yeah.

And he goes, oh wow, you're all in. But, you know, mostly the people that are all in are the people that are gonna make it because they don't have anything to You know, go pop out, really. And I knew I like always would have my nursing sure, like I could go into the hospital, but this isn't really where I wanted my path to go.

Yeah. So do you miss that? Like, do you miss?

So I do. I miss the camaraderie with like all the nurses and stuff. Like I loved working nights, you know, in the ER. And you know, I love like the Toronto piece of it. I miss you know that, you know.

Yeah.

I felt like I was really good at trauma and, um, just kind of keeping my skills up that way. And I don't know, I, I loved being a children's hospital nurse.

Were you always children's? Did you ever do adults? Yeah.

17 years at children's.

Okay. So you never, you never dipped into the adult world? You just send, send them over the bridge?

When I was even in, uh, nursing school, I was like, I can't do adults.

Yeah. But you still have to, like with the kids, like you're still dealing with Like all the parents.

Yeah, that was the hardest part. Yeah, especially, you know, when you're on the IV team, they're kind of, you know, parents are hovering over you and speaking to you, doing everything, right?

Yeah, I think that's almost— that's like scarier to me than adults. I mean, because yeah, you have, you know, parents go into protective mode, as they should, right? Like, what are you doing to my child? Um, I just— yeah, when I remember doing like peds in school and I was like, I don't want any part of this. Like, I've never worked in a I, okay. I've worked in one ER where like, it was like a community hospital that had kids as well, but it was, I hardly ever took care of them. So I've really never, I've never taken care of kids.

Yeah.

Yeah.

There are some things with it for sure. I don't know. I, I love kids and I loved working with them and yeah. So it, it was my passion at the time for sure.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Like what have you found to be the biggest, uh, Like, like looking back, like biggest benefit to like taking the leap into this entrepreneurial role? It's scary to do. I mean, there's no, you know, there's no roadmap, there's no guaranteed success. So what have you found to be like your, your biggest benefit or something that you find just most fulfilling about doing this kind of work?

Yeah, well, being your, your own boss and being and making your own money is like one of the most satisfying things you could ever do.

Yeah, like you're not stuck to like the hourly pay that you get. Yeah, yeah.

I'm not working for the man. I'm working, you know, like this is, This is my own, is there's something just extremely satisfying about it. You know, I'm such a creative person that it's like, you know, I feel like it's endless for what I can do with this. And, and, you know, this is an ever-evolving field and it's just like there's something new every day with things. So I, yeah, I, I just find that it's, yeah, it's very self-satisfying to like make your own money for sure.

Yeah. Yeah. And the flex— the flexibility, that's what I, I'm drawn to is that, that freedom, that flexibility. And although you, Theoretically, probably put in more hours doing this than you were working in the hospital. It's your own, right? And like you're saying, you're not having to answer to somebody else in that way. And so for somebody who was wanting to, like if there's a nurse out there and they're thinking about starting their own business as far as IV hydration goes, do you have to be like a nurse practitioner? How does that work as far as opening one? Where are the logistics that you have to kind of jump through?

You have to obviously be a nurse and have a medical director. Dr. Russo, he's the medical director for a lot of nurses in the area that have med spas. So yeah, you know, we have a— it's called SimPlus. It's actually a medical records app that in real time nurse practitioners are signing off orders. So yeah, yeah. So it's been a beautiful way of actually, you know, I'm just a nurse, but it's been a beautiful way of actually Being able to have your own, you know, store and, you know, in real time having those nurse practitioners signing those orders off, it's awesome.

Yeah. When I, uh, that's kind of the, and it probably varies state to state with different, different rules. Um, and I don't know how it is now in Arizona, but when I was there, we had a medical director. I couldn't even tell you what their name was, but my boss was actually a paramedic. He wasn't even a nurse. Um, so really anyone can own these businesses. And he, and the way we did it was we had standing orders. So we never, I never spoke to a provider. It was just like we had these standing orders. I would show up to somebody's house or hotel or wherever they were. And I just kind of had like that, you know, if they wanted whatever they wanted, like it was my clinical judgment to give it to them or not. First, yeah. How you're saying it's different here. Like you have to send it off, nurse practitioner signs off, which I think is more, for me it feels a little bit safer that way. Yeah. 'Cause you're just a second set of eyes to just be like, hey, like maybe not. And so for somebody who's wanting, who's never done IV therapy, are there any contraindications? The people maybe who should not be doing this or should consult with their providers first?

Yeah. So anybody, you know, that has any heart issues, cardiac issues, kidney issues, those are really the, the biggest things. We have people do a medical intake. It's a pretty short one. I've been doing this for 7 years and literally the only thing that's ever happened in here is somebody like fainted from like the IV. So it's extremely, extremely safe. And then, you know, the amount of fluid that you can have is like based on your weight as well too. So we take all that into, but like we actually, even pregnant women, we can give you a liter bag of fluid. We can give you a little B complex, but that's, that's about it.

Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. I think a lot of people like, cuz my, I remember my cousin had terrible She like nausea bombing during her pregnancy. Yeah, I remember they can, they can have Zofran, right? You said?

Yeah. So we, we, we, we are doing away from Zofran. Okay. Yeah.

Okay.

You know, if anybody needs that, it, we're, our medical director has kind of gone a different way with that. But yeah, it's just the liter bag and B complex is the most that we do.

Just to rehydrate. Do you have any stories of, uh, people like that, that stand out in your head that people have like passed out in here or anyone that's like freaked out?

So in Nantucket, actually, for Fogarty Weekend, it was a, it was a bunch of guys that, you know, they were partying all night, all night. And, um, I was, you know, doing their IVs on the couch and one of 'em just like went like, uh, this. And one of his friends just like reached for like a cold beer in the fridge and said—

Smart. That's what you feel. That's what you do though.

Yeah.

So yeah, that's, that, that happened in here. Yeah. We, you know, we put like the ice to the chest and yeah, there has been, you know, one or two incidences where we've, you know, we just wanna make sure, cuz we, we have, we take a blood pressure and, uh, make sure they're stable. But yeah, we've had to call an ambulance just for people that have had too much of a, a naive stuff. Yeah.

And that's usually what I think it is, is it's, it's like the people that are coming in here in rough shape. from drinking, it's like, yes, you may have passed out from the IV or had some kind of like whatever reaction, but it's probably from just the alcohol.

Exactly.

And I mean, with anything you do, of course there's, you know, there's a risk always. But the part that I find funny, like even in the hospital, are the people that are the most afraid of the needles are like the big dudes that like just don't want to say anything, you know? And then I'm always like, just if you are going to pass out, just tell me, you know? Or if like, if you're afraid of needles, it's okay. I'd rather, I would rather know. I have a specific instance that I remember when I was in Scottsdale and these 2 guys had been on just like a week bender. Like they'd been at some, a wedding and they had just been like partying all week. So I went, it was 2 guys, they were probably early 30s. The first IV I started got him going. They were poolside as well. So they had like family running around, whatever. The second guy, again, did not tell me he was afraid of needles, but I, or even if you're not afraid, some people just faint. It's just a reaction sometimes. Right. And they bagel, but I put the IV in him and he, he actually like, he bageled down, passed out. and like started convulsing. And I was like, oh my God, like what is going on? So I'm like asking the family, like, does he have seizures? They're like, no. And I'm like, okay. Come to find out, I guess actually you can, like, like rare, but you can start convulsing from like vagaling like that, which I didn't know. And so anyways, I just was like, okay, we'll call 911. Scottsdale Fire gets there and he ended up refusing to go to the ER 'cause he was like, I'm fine. I just wanna go take a nap. The friend who had the IV going, I think seeing him freaked out and he like, he was like having a panic attack. So then Scottsdale Fire's like, oh, do you want us to take your vitals? And I'm I'm like, oh gosh, here we go. So like they take him, of course they're like off the wall. They convince him he needs to go to the ER. So I like asked his girlfriend, I'm like, okay, like will you please just text me so that I have the peace of mind knowing that he's okay? And she's like, text me later. She's like, yeah, he just had a panic attack. I'm like, oh my gosh. But so I think like just like the, the, the seeing of the, you know, somebody like passing out or like convulsing and you have the IV going like, oh my God, what's gonna happen to me? But other than that, like it's normally like you said, like people come in, they feel much better afterwards.

Pretty cool to see the transformation when people come in and You know, they're not feeling well either from a stomach bug or, you know, however, or just, you know, really dehydrated. A lot of people come in, they have, you know, muscle cramps in the middle of the night, and we give them, you know, like, which is like the Myers cocktail that has the magnesium in it, helps with like those cramps and stuff. It's pretty cool to see the transformation when people like really start feeling much better. You know, we have our membership program and it's been taking off because like people like to keep up with their hydration, you know, it's pretty important. So we have a membership program for anybody that's, you know, just wants to come in once, once a month to people that want to come in like every week.

Yeah.

So yeah, depending on kind of what works for you. I don't know about you, but like what I have found, like when I love getting IVs is like before a vacation, especially because before vacation you're just, you're not sleeping as much, you're being exposed to all the airport germs and just everywhere you're going. And then, you know, most people indulge more in alcohol. when, when they're traveling. So that's why I usually do it. Or I know that you get really busy here around like the marathon. So is there any specific time that you like to kind of like maybe prehydrate versus like always doing it like as a recovery?

Yeah, I'm actually gonna do an IV probably today or tomorrow because we're going to the beach for the week with our kids and it's gonna be a hot week too. So, and you know, just want the energy and Mental clarity, stay away from illness. So, and actually when you're out in the sun a lot, um, so vitamin C and glutathione actually can really help, like exposure to the sun. I find when I do it before a trip, I like don't peel, I don't burn as much.

Okay.

But we do, we have a lot of people that, you know, come right from Logan, like from all over the country.

Yeah.

And that A Street location's popular for that 'cause it's like 10 minutes from the airport. And, um, we get people that like wanna do it before they, you know, for Boston and stuff. So yeah. Yeah.

I think it's a, it really is one of those things that people like, you just get hooked. Like, 'cause once you do it, you just, you're like, oh my God, is this how I'm supposed to feel if I'm not like deficient in all of these things? And yeah, I, I just, I just feel like it's, it's helpful. So as far as, so we've talked about the IDs.

Yeah.

What, I mean, what else do you offer as far as, uh, I know that you do like things with, uh, like Botox, fillers, things like that. I don't know a whole lot about that. So my terminology is not the best. And then the cold plunge, the sauna, the people can get just like IM injections.

You know, we've kind of— we call ourselves performance spas because we want, you know, everything that we have in our stores actually like help performance. So in everyday life, so we have the cold plunge and the sauna. A lot of people like To do what's called contrast therapy. So going from hot to cold, cold to hot, it's very, very popular. A lot of athletes like to do it. It's really good for stress, decreasing cortisol levels, detoxing your body, helping just mental clarity. Really, it's, it's amazing. Like, have you ever done the contrast therapy?

Yes. I think I've only, I forget which way I've done. I've, I've not like gone back and forth, but I have gone like, I think I did. I, I think I had Googled it and had like asked like what was the most beneficial, but I don't remember if I went like hot to cold or cold to hot, but I, I have. Yeah.

You have a room, the room for the hour. A lot of people like to kind of go back and forth, back and forth, you know, 20 minutes in the sauna and then in the cold plunge for 3 minutes and then back.

Yeah. I mean, I could stay in the sauna for a while, but that cold plunge, man, that it is like, it is really like you have to, no, no matter how much I mentally prepare, it's just as miserable. But After, it really does feel amazing.

Yes.

Do you, do you do the cold plunge?

I do occasionally. You know what's my favorite thing is the cryotherapy. So it's the Cryo in, in Salem, New Hampshire. So cryotherapy is, it is cold. It's vortex air. So you are in this chamber, your head's out of it, and you wear like a swimsuit or like shorts, sports bra. And we give you like the mittens and the booties. to wear, and it's 3 minutes of like the coldest you'll ever be in your life. But it's—

So does it like— it feels like you're freezing?

What it's doing, like the science behind it, is your body feels like it's going into hypothermia, but it's not.

So sounds so fun.

So all your blood's like being directed to your vital organs to protect it while you're in there. Like, you're— everything is becoming like nutrient-rich, like your blood's Becoming like nutrient rich and oxygen rich. And, um, so it's almost like your, your blood's being filtered. So when it goes back into your extremities, it's like new.

Like you feel like that when it goes back?

Like, feel like you had like the best cup of coffee without the jitters. Oh, like it's just, yeah, kind of invigorating and you're, you're sharp, you know, like you're, the dopamine levels are through the roof. Yeah.

So you just like feel really good afterward.

Yeah. So we have a lot of people that are You know, we've got a lot of back issues, like a lot of people that have back pain, they love it. Including my husband who's got like 3 herniated discs in his back. You know, been pretty life-changing. Helpful doing that. Yeah.

Nice.

And so better sleep too.

I think a lot of this stuff does. I mean, even like, I feel like the IV, like I've noticed, like I even sleep better. Just like, I think when your body's not so dehydrated and feeling like crap, like you just, you rest easier. So I think that there's just like a really well-rounded benefit to doing these things. Um, as far as like from, uh, a, like a nursing perspective, like if you were to give like a nurse advice on like taking a leap into like a being an entrepreneur or like, or like chasing something else that's like outside of just bedside nursing, like what kind of advice would you give them? Because I imagine, I mean, you had to learn a lot of this along the way as far as like the business side. I mean, we don't learn how to run a business in nursing school. So how did you, how did you learn all of that? Was it kind of trial and error or like, did you go to classes? Like how?

A lot of Trial and error. There's been this through the years of you know, like good months, bad months. Like what? You know, what did I get myself into? You ah, and honestly, the first year over at A Street, it was it was hard. Like I actually contemplated if like I made the right decision because you know, it was you know, there would be days and I was there seven days a week. There there would be days that not one person would come in.

Yeah.

And, you know, it takes a lot to get up and running. I say, you know, to people that want to start a business, you really need to be all in and you need to like have all of the passion for what you're doing because, you know, and you got to know that you will succeed like you, you know, because you can really get down on yourself. And now, and so what I did, I, you know, over at A Street, You know, it, it was a lot of guerrilla marketing going out in the street, like just educating because we were kind of the first in the industry to do IVs in Boston. Like we were the first like dedicated IV lounge. And, um, it was so weird for people like, oh my gosh, like you can do an IV like not in like a clinic setting.

Well, especially I imagine like when you're marketing for these things and trying to convince people Like, you're also— most people are afraid of needles, or— and even if you're not afraid, like, you don't want— you don't like the idea of being poked, right? So, like, people coming in here, like, are having to consciously make that choice of, like, I'm going to go in and, like, allow somebody to, first of all, poke me with a needle, and then second of all, you know, infuse these fluids into me that, like— and I— so I can understand that concept.

And yeah, so I would say, you know, to a nurse, you know, like, go for it. It's just, you have to be all in. You have to be all in, you know?

It reminds me of like how an artist makes it as far as, you know, like a singer and an entertainer. They almost, if you hear a lot of their stories, most of them never had a plan B. They didn't have something to fall back on. And that kind of reminds me of entrepreneurship because like you're saying, yes, you know, technically you always have a backup plan as far as nursing. You could always go back if you really wanted to or needed to, but kind of like having to force yourself in that mindset of like, I'm going all in, like this is my only option, um, really kind of forces you to, in those moments where like nobody's coming in maybe for a couple days in a row, like having to, okay, how do I pivot? How do I do this better? Um, what kind of resources can I, can I use to increase, you know, foot traffic into here? So it's really like a game, right? Like you're kind of just trying to like figure that out all the time, which I think is fun, um, and can also be very stressful.

Yeah. Yeah. You know, there's been lots of failures along the way that have taught me so many different things, you know? Marketing has always been a big challenge.

You know where to put your money into the marketing, and it changes all the time. Like where it should be going, right?

Exactly. And like you know, like you can spend a lot and then like not get anything out of it. You know, and I've learned a lot from those lessons. Yeah. Social media, you know, through the years has been wonderful for us though. You know Instagram, TikTok, all that. Yeah. I like that, like organic, like rather than putting your marketing money into billboards and that kind of thing that you don't know if that's ever gonna—

Yeah, 'cause social media too, you can like kind of track like who's seeing this. Um, and a lot of it is just word of mouth, you know, people tagging you and things. Um, is, is more helpful than people realize. Yeah, especially like somewhere, somewhere, you know, like here I feel, I don't even, I mean, I don't know, I've never gone around Boston and explored like all all the med spas. But I imagine now there's probably a more competitive market.

The competition is real now. Yeah, everybody's caught on.

Yeah, everybody's caught on, caught on to it. And you were working as a nurse in a hospital with nothing, no business experience, and now, you know, without having to go get a master's degree— I don't know if you had your MBA or not, but like, if you— without having to do that, like, you, you can still now teach somebody how to start a business. And it's just like a whole different set of skills that Like, I don't think people understand the value in that. I think it's highly valuable. Yeah. So thank you. Appreciate it.

Colton, thanks for having me.

Of course.

From the bottom of my heart, I wanted to thank you for being here at Club Nurse. I hope you gained something valuable from today's episode. And if you did, remember to share this episode with someone that you love. Follow me on socials @NurseDaddies or @ColtonLord17, and be sure to follow nurse.org to stay informed with all of the hottest healthcare topics. Until next time, take care of yourself the way you take care of everyone else.

Love ya.

Bye.