The Ponte Vedra Wellness Center recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the practice during an “after hours” event hosted by the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce Ponte Vedra Beach Division.
“I opened Sept. 7, 2004, and initially it was just me and one part-time employee,” said Dr. Erika Hamer, who founded Ponte Vedra Wellness Center. “It has grown to where I have hired other doctors now.”
It is that looking back at that growth and the patients she has that has made it quite the journey over the past two decades.
According to Hamer, since day one she has made it a focus to get involved in the community, because she understands that the people that have become her patients over the years call the local community home just as she does.
“It’s great to know the patients that walk through our doors are probably referrals of patients or the nonprofits and other organizations I’m involved with,” Hamer said.
Part of the growth has also included moving office locations, as she started out in the Ponte Vedra Pointe Shopping Center off State Road A1A, before moving twice, with the second of those moves ending up at the practice’s current location at 615 A1A North, Suite 102 in Ponte Vedra Beach earlier this year.
Each time, the move was a calculated decision and was one she made with her patients in mind as she looked to add new features and expand what the practice offers its patients.
“When I named it a “wellness center,” the vision was to oversee patients in their health paths by helping them with ways to eat, exercise and even getting them to the point where they could exercise,” Hamer said. “I’ve been able to design each office with that in mind.”
Some of the additional services offered in the new office include personal training and nutritional programs, which according to Hamer have been crucial when encouraging all the pillars of health.
Twenty years is a long time, and not only has Hamer seen herself grow as a doctor during that time but also as a person.
“The first 10 years felt like they took a while to get to that point, while the next 10 years seemed like they went by so fast,” Hamer chuckled.
One of the things that has helped make time fly is that she not only enjoys what she does, but also the time she gets to spend with her patients and the relationships she has built over the years.
“That is what makes me so excited,” Hamer said. “So many of them, I’ve known before I was married and now my kids have grown up around them.”
She even has some that have been coming to see her since she started the practice and in some cases were children when she first started seeing them, only to have jobs and families of their own now.
“In many ways, I’ve grown with them during that time,” Hamer said.
Hamer is set to be the upcoming president of the Florida Chiropractic Association’s Board of Directors and will serve her second term as the chair of the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce Ponte Vedra Beach Division for the new fiscal year.
