Summer Strategies: Navigating Family and Clinic Schedules
May 20, 2025"Our society is not built for two working parents." — Kendall Hagensen
In this relatable and practically-focused episode of the Wellness Center Creators Podcast, hosts Anna Rudel and Kendall Hagensen dive into one of the most challenging aspects of being both a wellness practice owner and a parent: navigating summer schedules. Their candid conversation creates a space where other practitioner-parents can feel seen while gathering valuable strategies for managing this annual balancing act.
The episode opens with both hosts acknowledging they're behind on summer planning this year. With characteristic humor, Anna admits, "I have my head in the sand and this is the worst planned summer yet," a sentiment many practice-owning parents will find refreshing in its honesty. Kendall shares her family's spreadsheet approach to summer scheduling, explaining how she and her engineer husband copy and paste previous years' templates to organize camps, grandparent support, and family activities for their 7 and 10-year-old children.
This personal sharing naturally transitions to a critical realization about the scope of the summer challenge: "I think we have 12 weeks, which by my estimations is a quarter of a year," Anna points out. This framing highlights why summer planning represents such a significant organizational challenge for business owners with school-age children—it's not just a brief disruption but a sustained period requiring careful management of both family and business obligations.
The hosts discuss age-specific challenges in summer activity planning. Anna details the difficulties of having a 13-year-old who has "aged out of most camps" but isn't old enough to be a counselor or drive independently. This "in-between" stage presents unique challenges that many parents of tweens and young teens will recognize.
The conversation then shifts to clinic management during summer months, revealing how personal and professional planning necessarily intertwine for practice owners. Both clinics operate with similar rules about practitioner time off—generally allowing only one provider per modality to be absent simultaneously. However, both hosts acknowledge the difficulty of maintaining this policy during summer months, especially in larger departments like mental health services.
"Having multiple practitioners out that are taking paid time off, that's something else that needs planning for, isn't it?" Anna observes, highlighting the financial implications of managed time-off policies. This leads to a discussion of practical tools, with Anna recommending VacationTracker.io, an application that allows team members to see colleagues' scheduled absences and receive automatic notifications when requested dates conflict with existing time off.
The hosts share contrasting approaches to extended time-off requests. Kendall reveals her reluctance to approve four-week absences after previous experiences where team members returned from extended breaks only to resign shortly thereafter. However, she distinguishes between practitioners who need extended breaks due to burnout versus those traveling to visit overseas family, showing the nuanced decision-making required of practice owners.
Both leaders emphasize the importance of preventative measures through regular communication. "We both kind of have this practice where we meet with every team member once a quarter," Kendall explains, describing how structured check-ins help identify burnout before it reaches critical levels. This proactive approach to team wellbeing reflects the holistic values that often draw practitioners to wellness fields in the first place.
The episode concludes with Anna considering creative solutions for her teen's summer, including teaching him to navigate public transportation independently to visit friends—a skill-building approach that transforms summer challenges into growth opportunities.
Throughout the conversation, both hosts maintain a tone of compassionate realism about the competing demands of business ownership and parenting. Their willingness to share personal struggles alongside practical strategies creates an invaluable resource for wellness practitioners navigating similar challenges. The episode validates the complexity of summer planning while offering concrete tools and approaches that can help fellow practice owners maintain balance during this demanding season.
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Vacation Tracker - Manage Time Off with Confidence: https://vacationtracker.io/
About Anna Rudel
Anna Rudel, L. Ac is the owner and founder of Lokahi Acupuncture Clinic in San Jose California, founded in 2003. Anna is a master organizer and clinician, and as a Coach she specializes in working with Clinic Owners in the state of California, and Acupuncturists and Acupuncture Clinic Owners, or groups wanting to add Acupuncture worldwide, as well as teams that need support with employee retention and satisfaction. Born in the UK, Anna has traveled extensively in Asia and now has a thriving multi-practitioner clinic in the US!
Anna's Website and Links
- Website: https://lokahiacupuncture.com/
- Learn Group Coaching: https://www.wellnesscentercreators.com/group-coaching
- For info about Individual Coaching: https://www.wellnesscentercreators.com/individual-coaching
About Kendall Hagensen
Kendall is a Somatic Mental Health Therapist, Multidisciplinary Clinic Owner and Business Coach. She specializes in, and is passionate about, working with healthcare professionals to create the businesses of their dreams. Big goals always have a psychological component beneath the surface, so Kendall uses her background in Somatic Psychotherapy and EMDR Therapy mixed with Business Coaching tools to help clients develop a healthy relationship with their business and their strength as a leader.
As someone who lives with a chronic illness herself, Kendall feels that health happens best within community, which is why she takes a holistic, integrative, and collaborative wellness approach to her personal and professional life.
Kendall’s Web/Social Links