Keilin Isaacson, co-founder of Lush Lifestyle Medicine in Polk City, Iowa. Photo by Jennifer Marquez.
From Honduras to Polk City, Iowa, Keilin Isaacson built Lush Lifestyle Medicine around listening to women and evaluating their health concerns individually.
By Karlha Velásquez Rivas
Anxiety is often the starting point. Many of the women between the ages of 35 and 50 who come to Keilin Isaacson’s office arrive exhausted, worried about changes they do not understand and, in many cases, frustrated after searching for answers without finding them. Some cannot sleep through the night; others experience weight gain, persistent fatigue or a sense of unease that was never part of their lives before.
“I don’t feel well. I’m so tired, I can’t sleep, I have so much anxiety. I wasn’t like this before,” Isaacson says, echoing words she frequently hears from her patients.
Many have already seen other healthcare professionals. Some have been prescribed medication to help them sleep or manage anxiety, yet they still feel that something is wrong. For Isaacson, these experiences underscore the importance of listening before drawing conclusions.
At Lush Lifestyle Medicine, a center specializing in comprehensive health and aesthetic medicine that she runs with her husband, Greg Isaacson, Keilin seeks to provide care that considers different aspects of a person’s health. Her goal is not simply to treat isolated symptoms, but to understand what may be happening in each patient’s body.
“So many women come in with almost the same story,” she explains. Isaacson says some patients report improvements in their sleep, sense of calm and overall well-being after receiving care.
From Adversity to Entrepreneurship
The sensitivity with which Keilin listens to her patients is deeply rooted in her own story. She was born in La Ceiba, Honduras, and was just six years old when Hurricane Mitch devastated her country in 1998. Among the memories she still carries is the image of her Papi Jorge lifting her onto his shoulders as the floodwaters rose dangerously high. She also remembers the food shortages and uncertainty her family faced after the disaster.
With opportunities scarce, her mother made a difficult decision: to immigrate to the United States in search of a more stable future for her two daughters. Keilin and her sister remained in Honduras in the care of their aunt and uncle for six years, until they were finally able to reunite with their mother in Iowa.
Keilin was 12 when she arrived in the United States without speaking English. Adjusting to a new culture, learning another language and trying to find her place in a setting with very few Hispanic students became another challenge. She remembers being reprimanded by a teacher in sixth grade for going to the bathroom without asking permission. The reason was simple: she did not know how to ask in English.
That little girl who once felt different went on to become a nurse, a nurse practitioner and a captain in the Iowa Army National Guard. Her path was not without difficulties. She became a single mother at 19, worked at a restaurant while trying to get ahead and continued her education until she achieved her professional goals.
Yet working as a nurse did not fully satisfy her ambitions. She felt she could do more for her patients, so she pursued further education to become a nurse practitioner. After graduating in 2021, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, she encountered a job market with limited opportunities and began exploring other professional possibilities.
That was when the idea of starting a business took shape. With no business experience, but with Greg’s support and their own financial resources, she began preparing to open a center where she could offer more personalized care.
Lush Lifestyle Medicine opened in November 2023, initially in West Des Moines, Iowa. In September 2025, they moved the business to a storefront facing the main square in Polk City, Iowa, where they found the welcoming, close-knit community atmosphere they had been looking for.
Keilin Isaacson, co-founder of Lush Lifestyle Medicine in Polk City, Iowa. Photo by Jennifer Marquez.
More Than a Hormonal Issue
The young Honduran woman has found that anxiety and sleep problems are among the most common concerns of women seeking her services. Although these changes may be associated with perimenopause or menopause, she emphasizes the need for individualized evaluations.
Not everything can be explained by hormones. Nutritional deficiencies, medical conditions and other factors can also affect physical and emotional well-being.
That is why her approach begins with an in-depth conversation, a review of symptoms and laboratory testing when indicated. Some consultations can last as long as an hour and a half.
“You have to do a really good job educating your patients,” she says. For her, patient explanations are essential in the face of misinformation circulating on social media.
Initially, Lush Lifestyle Medicine focused on aesthetic treatments such as Botox, facial fillers and rejuvenation procedures. However, Isaacson came to understand that improving a woman’s appearance did not necessarily mean she felt well.
That realization led her to study hormonal and metabolic health more deeply, expanding the services offered at the center.
She also had to reconsider some of what she had learned during her clinical training, as the risks associated with hormone therapy had been heavily emphasized for years. Evolving scientific evidence prompted her to deepen her knowledge of these treatments.
On February 12, 2026, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved labeling changes for six menopausal hormone therapy products. The changes removed statements concerning cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and probable dementia from the products’ boxed warnings. Other safety information remains in the labeling, and treatment decisions must still be evaluated individually with a healthcare professional.
Isaacson continues to stay up to date on developments in this field.
A Hispanic Voice in a Small Community
Lush Lifestyle Medicine is in Polk City, Iowa, a town with an estimated population of approximately 6,630, according to 2025 U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
In this setting, where Hispanic representation is limited, Isaacson has found an opportunity to reach a population that often faces cultural and language barriers in the healthcare system.
She estimates that between 70% and 80% of her own patients are Hispanic, most of them women, and hopes to expand that reach.
With a sweet, melodic voice, she explains each procedure calmly and patiently.
“I know what it feels like when someone can’t understand you and you can’t explain what you’re feeling,” she reflects.
An Aspiring Public Speaker
She is also the mother of three children—two girls and a boy—with whom she strives to keep her Honduran roots alive. She prepares baleadas, tortillas and other traditional dishes, maintains the custom of eating dinner together as a family, and visits Honduras approximately every two years to see her aunt and uncle and Papi Jorge.
In this new chapter, Keilin hopes to expand her center and bring in professionals specializing in mental health, nutrition and physical training. But she also wants to take her message beyond the consultation room.
At 34, Keilin Isaacson has a new goal in mind: becoming a motivational speaker and advocate for women’s empowerment. She hopes to share a story of hardship, mistakes and new opportunities, convinced that no woman should feel defined or limited by her past.
“I love my life,” she says when speaking about her family, patients and work.
Disciplined and hardworking, Isaacson starts her days at five in the morning, exercising with her husband before taking their children to school. Her days are divided among the center, her military responsibilities and family life. When she returns home, she makes a point of sharing dinner with her family and going to bed early. Among her personal favorites is sushi, her favorite food.
Her greatest satisfaction comes from messages from patients who say they feel better and more confident. She encourages other women to pursue their dreams without letting fear of failure hold them back.
For Keilin Isaacson, listening is much more than part of a medical consultation: it means offering other women what she once needed herself—understanding, trust and a space where their voices matter.
More stories: Explore JEFAS Magazine profiles of Latina entrepreneurs.
