HAYDEN LAKEIn the mood for an acupuncture facial? An herbal wrap? A massage, followed by a gourmet vegetarian meal, in stately surroundings?


All of those services are available at Fusion Medi-Spa, a 9-month-old Hayden Lake venture.


Fusion isnt just about looks, however: The spa specializes in offering alternative-health therapies and testing, homeopathic remedies, and naturopathic care, says owner Peggy Parker, a naturopathic practitioner and Reiki massage therapist.


About 90 percent of the people who come (here) come for more health-related reasons, Parker says, but most people who come understand the link between health and beauty.


Clients, who come from the Inland Northwest and as far away as New York, stay for as little as an hour or as much as three weeks in one of the five guest bedrooms that are part of Fusion Medi-Spa, Parker says.


The facility is located in what was once Bridle Path Manor Bed & Breakfast, at 1305 E. Lancaster, in Hayden Lake. Parker says she chose the property for her spa because of its ability to house overnight guests, about 50 of whom have stayed for a night or more since Fusion Medi-Spa opened last January. Her client database totals about 350, she says.


We have some people who come for shorter periodstheyre feeling healthy and want a tune-up or testing or juice-fasting, she says. Others, however, have a big health challenge theyd like to address, which can take a number of days or weeks. Such challenges might include treatment for fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue, she says.


While spas traditionally might be thought of as purveyors of beauty-related pampering, Fusion Medi-Spa is part of a larger trend in the spa business, according to the International Spa Association, based in Lexington, Ky.


There is a strong trend towards medical type products and treatments, the association says in its 2002 industry study, which was conducted by the national accounting firm of PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Respondents viewed the medical spa as a category strongly poised for growth.


In addition, the study found that alternative therapies, such as aromatherapy (using plant oils for health and beauty) and holistic medicine, were the biggest emerging trend from the standpoint of spa consumers.


For her part, Parker says that after four and a half years of practicing naturopathy in Spokane, she wanted to open a business where you could have everybody taking care of you in one place. She began looking for properties and found the former bed-and-breakfast here late last year.


Shes currently buying the home, which was built in the early 1980s, and two and a half acres under a purchase contract, for an undisclosed price.


Parker says she wanted to move her practice to Idaho because the scope of practice for naturopaths is different in that state. In Washington, naturopaths must have graduated from a four-year naturopathic school and have passed a board examination to be allowed to call themselves naturopaths or doctors of naturopathic medicine, a regulation that doesnt exist in Idaho and many other states.


Parker contends that her training was more varied than a four-year naturopathic degree, and includes studies at the Southwest School for Botanical Medicine, in Bisbee, Ariz., and the International Academy of Naturopathy, in Cincinnati, Ohio.


Parker, whose husbands job as an electrical engineer took the family around the U.S. and to Europe, says her approach to treatment follows a European model, mixing new technology with traditional disciplines, such as botanical medicine.


She began investigating alternative medicine as a young woman after being diagnosed with a thyroid disorder, she says. Her interest intensified after she was treated for cancer at the age of 24, but she didnt begin studying alternative medicine in earnest until 1994, she says.


Plans for expansion


Currently, the basement level of the spacious, Tudor-style mansion where Fusion Medi-Spa is based houses most of the businesss testing and therapeutic equipment, including a hyperbaric oxygen chamber and a Jacuzzi tub for hydrotherapy. That level also has a kitchen for mixing homeopathic remedies and botanical treatments, and rooms for massage therapy and body wraps.


In addition to Parker, six other therapists offer different kinds of services at the spa on a contract basis.


The homes main level has a large room that Parker uses for training and education sessions and rents to other alternative-health practitioners for the same purpose. It also has a large kitchen, dining room, and living room, which is used as a reception area. Parker, who worked as a chef in college and afterward, cooks most of the family-style meals for overnight guests, all of which are vegetarian and dairy-, sugar- and gluten-free.


I design recipes that assist people in getting better, Parker says. I believe that food is medicine, and most people eat to survive instead of thrive.


Guest rooms are located on the homes second story, and the top floor is an apartment where Parker spends part of each week, alternating time spent with her husband and teen-age son at the familys home in Spokane. When Parker isnt there, another member of the staff stays the night, she says.


Prices for the services offered at Fusion Medi-Spa range from $15 for a single session on the Chi machine (which moves ones legs in a rocking motion), to a full day of beauty services for $300, Parker says. The spas guest rooms run from $85 to $125 a night, plus $45 for three meals a day.


In the future, Parker says shed like to expand the business to include an art-therapy studioa discipline that seeks to use creative expression for therapeutic purposesand a pool for aquatic therapy, plus more guest rooms and classroom space. She has the space: the old B&B offered horseback riding, so the property includes a number of barns and other outbuildings that could be converted for the spas use. Parker is establishing a separate nonprofit foundation to help fund those improvements as well as to offset the cost of services for people who cant afford them, she says.


Parker says shes aware that some people view alternative health care as voodoo or hogwash. She believes, however, that there are many ways of looking at the body, and her preferred method is to look at the whole personmind, body, and emotions.