Today we’d like to introduce you to Alisa Dusan.
Alisa, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I moved to Austin from Oregon to attend UT and swim for the Longhorns. It was an amazing experience, but like many college athletes, I struggled with disordered eating. I found a lot of healing through meeting with a dietitian which drew me to the field of nutrition. I graduated with my B.S. in nutrition from UT and did my dietetic internship at Texas State. For many years, I practiced as a solo practitioner, working a day or two a week while my kids were small and our family was growing. In recent years, I’ve been able to expand the practice and hire on additional dietitians. We opened our own brick and mortar in Kyle in 2022 and have loved getting to serve the south Austin, Buda and Kyle community ever since. While I focus primarily on eating disorder care, as a practice we see patients with all sorts of nutrition-related medical conditions and love serving them from a weight-neutral lens.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I can’t imagine how building a business could be a smooth road for anyone. I can think of two areas that have been major challenges for me. Access to care has always been a central value of mine so I knew I wanted a practice that would take insurance. However, learning to take and navigate insurance was a massive learning curve. It took me a few years, many long holds with insurance companies and many tears over unpaid claims to get my bearings in the insurance world. The second major challenge was moving to our own office space. My husband and I purchased an old house in Kyle that was built in 1930 and was basically falling over. It took two full years from start to finish to renovate the space and navigate the process. It was an incredibly challenging time that stretched us in every direction. If we had know how difficult the process would be, I don’t think we would have moved forward with it. I’m so happy now that we have our beautiful old house as our office space. Having a space that feels comfortable and homey is a vital part of how we provide nutrition care.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We provide one-on-one nutrition counseling and eating disorder care. I love my team of passionate dietitians who walk alongside our patients with their individual needs, medical diagnosis and goals.
We provide care that is evidence based and weight inclusive. Weight inclusive nutrition care celebrates body diversity, honors people’s natural differences, and addresses health in all body sizes by encouraging healthy relationships with food and movement. This also means we use other indicators of health and wellness besides just weight which can really help our patients exit out of diet cycling and pursue long-lasting health.
As dietitians, we have the luxury of longer appointments where we can really sit down and get to know our patients and the unique challenges they’re facing. I am incredibly proud of how we work hard to really see our patients and individualize our care to each person we work with.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
There are national telehealth platforms that are doing a great job of increasing access to nutrition services. But there’s also lot of fantastic local dietitians in the Austin area that are providing the same great services and can even offer in-person options. If you’re needing a dietitian, chances are there is someone local who would love to work with you and most people can get it covered by insurance.
Pricing:
- Initial Consultation: $180
- Follow-Ups: $120
- Major Insurances Accepted- most patients pay $0
- Medicare Providers
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.haysnutrition.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HaysCountyNutrition
Image Credits
All photos where taken by Meredith McCann Photography
https://meredithmccannphotography.com
