If you”™ve ever been to the hospital, you”™ve likely had an intravenous (IV) drip administered by a nurse. A growing trend in the health and wellness industry, however, is getting IV hydration treatments at specialized spas and clinics to combat anything from a common cold to jet lag to a hangover, or even just to provide a little extra energy boost.
Consumers in Westchester looking for an option for this service now have a new one with Prosper IV, which has just opened in the Rye Ridge Shopping Center, in the space formerly occupied by Ridge Barber Shop. It is the business’s second location in the county.
Prosper IV joins only a handful of businesses exclusively offering this type of service in Westchester. Founder and CEO Christina Broccoli, originally from the West Coast, saw how popular the IV treatments have been in that part of the country
“I’m from California and vitamin IV drips have been around for a very long time ”” I didn’t create anything new,” she said. “They are much more prevalent on the West Coast. There’s a lot in Las Vegas, and a lot of people in Las Vegas liken them to, you know, a hangover drip.”
Broccoli had spent time in New York as a college athlete and decided to return to the state with her family about six years ago. It wasn”™t until she got sick that she realized how much more the Northeast was missing these beneficial treatments.
“About three years into it, I got mono and I was going to an integrative doctor, because it had just sidelined me,” Broccoli said. “And obviously with small kids and a job, you can’t really take a break. I did hydration and vitamin C drips, and they prescribed it twice a week for six weeks. I did it for three weeks and felt like I did when I was like in the best athletic shape of my life.
“The problem for me was they were really, really expensive. They were $450 every time I did one, so I just couldn’t keep up with that price. So then I was going into the city and getting them done, where they’re a lot more reasonable at shops like mine. And I was like, this is ridiculous that I have to take the train into the city to get this when they’re so readily available, you know, where we came from. So, I did a bunch of research and found some really great nurses and a medical director and I opened the store.”
Broccoli intended to open Prosper IV”™s Yonkers location, the company”™s first, in March of 2020.
“I signed a lease on March 1st, 2020, then on March 11th, obviously everything closed,” she said. “I was like, ”˜Oh my God, what did I do with my career?”™ Fortunately it’s worked out really well though.”
So well, in fact, that the Rye location is Prosper IV”™s fourth, with one location on Park Avenue in Manhattan and one location in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, having opened since then.
“What’s been fun for me is educating people, because you don’t have to be hungover to get one of these drips and feel better,” Broccoli said. “And to be honest, in Westchester County and in New York, those are not our best sellers. Our best sellers are the wellness drips.”
Aside from the classic hangover treatment, Prosper IV offers a wide variety of different kinds of IV drip bags, including those targeted toward anti-aging, brain power, immunity, inflammation, hydration, metabolism boosts, athletic recovery and performance, PMS and menopause symptom relief, migraine relief and skin health. Customers can opt for add-ins like vitamins B12, C or D, nausea medication Zofran, pain reliever Toradol or biotin, among others. Even if patients are not targeting a specific problem, treatments can give that extra boost for a feeling of well-being. According to the business, the whole process takes about an hour and patients usually continue to feel the effects of hydration for three to four days. The vitamins can stay in your system for up to two weeks.
“They make you feel great,” Broccoli said. “Just by design, everybody is dehydrated and you don’t really know that until you receive a service like this,” she said. “There’s a reason that when you go in to the ER, anytime they admit you, the first thing they do is give you a liter bag full of saline, because, it”™s what our bodies need ”¦ People come in not necessarily because they are actively vomiting or have the flu, or are in severe medical distress, but they come in because they have arthritis or they have migraines or they’re athletes that need to recover quicker. But all in all, it gives you a lot more energy. You sleep a lot better and then you’re hydrated, and I think we all know, when you’re dehydrated, the headaches are a real thing.”
Broccoli noted that all IV treatments at Prosper are administered by experienced registered nurses, to whom she attributes much of the business”™s success.
“What makes us really special, and what I’m really proud of is our nursing staff,” she said. “We hire only very experienced ICU, ER or infusion nurses as well as labor and delivery. So these are nurses that, you know, their bedside manner is incredible.”
Prices start at approximately $99 for just a saline drip, with costs added for drips with vitamins and boosters. Broccoli estimates the average cost at about $240 per treatment, although memberships are also available for roughly $170 per month. The company also offers concierge services for a nurse to come directly to a patient or group. While the Yonkers location is open seven days a week, the Rye location is starting off with a Monday through Friday schedule, to be expanded once the business settles in more to the new space.
