Business & Tech

Two Local Women Create a Resource for Health and Wellness

YourWellnessNJ is a new website that offers a directory and community of health and wellness experts from throughout New Jersey.

Two local women are on a mission to bring health and wellness to New Jersey residents.

Jen McCarthy and Maggie Paterno are in the process of developing YourWellnessNJ.com, a website that is a resource for discovering wellness providers and creating a community with a common interest throughout New Jersey.

“Were not doctors and we are not trying to replace anything a doctor would provide,” said Jen McCarthy, the wellness director at Orange Skye Day and Wellness Spa and co-founder of YourWellnessNJ.com. “We’re really about providing alternative and complimentary healthcare connections.” She said the site will provide connections to some of the aspects of health that are not covered under health insurance.

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Their site will offer a variety of resources. “From nutrition, to movement, to emotional, mental and spiritual well being, to financial. Those are the places where we live,” said McCarthy. “When we have wellness and balance in all off those areas of our life, that is when we can live our best life.”

McCarthy is a Fair Haven resident who has been working in the wellness field for 20 years. “You get to know a lot of really great providers along on the way,” she said. “It just made sense for me to bring all of these people together and develop a resource for health and wellness in New Jersey.”

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McCarthy knew what she wanted to accomplish, but realized she could use a partner.

Paterno is the owner of Orange Skye Day and Wellness Spa in Red Bank. She met McCarthy three years ago when she came into the spa looking for a job. The two made an instant connection and quickly realized they had a lot in common. It was their sons who highlighted their interest in alternative health care because they both suffer from severe asthma and allergies. In the struggle to find remedies for their sons, they saw the need for a resource where people could come to find alternative health care solutions.

Their personal family experience in combination with talking to people at their spa is where YourWellnessNJ was born. Paterno said that she saw her clients often enjoy their day at the spa, completely distress and then dread going “back to reality”.

“We fix them at the spa, but what happens after they leave our couch?” said Paterno. “YourWellnessNJ is just such a nice bridge to that.” She says that her clients need a resource to continue wellness in their lives outside of the spa.

The goal and objective of YourWellnessNJ is “to help individuals, the community and companies big and small to make the connection to where wellness and wholeness meet.” The website offers a directory of expert wellness providers from throughout New Jersey.

They know their directory will be full of quality resources because they conduct in-depth background checks before granting a listing on their page. “We screen all of our providers with a background check before they are allowed to be on our site,” said McCarthy. She said that they look for professionals who have been practicing wellness for a while, have a strong history and following and who are considered experts in their field. “We are really selective,” she said.

Some local groups that are already involved with this new venture include , Center for Letting Go in Rumson and Ship Shape Financial from Little Silver.

Not only is the website a directory, it is also a forum for wellness discussion. There is a section on the site where users can leave comments about what wellness means to them and suggestions on how to achieve it. 

It is free for users to join and browse the site for health and wellness professionals. You can email providers through the website to get to know them before using their services. In addition to discovering health and wellness for yourself, you will be able to purchase gift cards to any of the providers listed on the site. "It is so hard to think of what to give these days, and what is better than empowering someone you love with the gift to wellness," said McCarthy.

Provider packages range from $29-69 per month and include a business profile on the site, live networking and access to “wellness workshops” hosted by the dynamic duo. 

The site is scheduled to launch by the end of March. 


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