Today we’d like to introduce you to Molly Hutto
Hi Molly, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I actually had an epiphany nearly twenty years ago; I was teaching high school outside of Baltimore and while I did love teaching and my students, I knew I didn’t want to teach forever. I’d been searching for a long time for what to get a Masters degree in, in order to switch careers.
Meanwhile, I’d been working at a local yoga studio and had really fallen in love with yoga and alternative medicine which I used to manage some depression and anxiety. Acupuncture and yoga had been a game changer for my mental health, and then, one day it occurred to me I wanted to run my own wellness center. I decided to apply to acupuncture school and was surprised to learn it was a four year, full time degree. I was accepted to Southwest Acupuncture College in Boulder, Colorado after coming out of a longterm relationship. I sold most of my things and moved across the country, never looking back.
Though I’d thought I would always stay in Colorado, not long after I graduated, I became a single parent and moved home to be near my parents for their support. I worked for five years as an acupuncturist for another Wellness Center before I branched off and opened Annapolis Family Acupuncture. Merely five months after I opened my doors, COVID happened and I had to shut down for a couple of months, but once I reopened our doors, we have been booked solid ever since and we’ve been three time winners of Best of Annapolis.
I had no idea it would take so long to get to the point where we have a whole center with six treatment rooms. We hear all the time from our patients that AFA is a really special place and that you can feel it the moment you walk through our doors. We put a lot of emphasis on the intention to be driven by both compassion and evidence. We take time to connect with our patients and on any given day, I laugh hysterically, hold hands while a patient cries, have hard conversations about tough things such as divorce or terminal illness or severe depression. We work with every age from infancy through palliative care, and particularly as of late, as I have had the wonderful opportunity to learn from a new doctor, we have been integrating some new treatments including SAAT which permanently eradicates allergies and Auricular Medicine which has the capacity to reset one’s immune system; these treatments are life altering for the patients who seek them, and it’s reawakened the joy I feel in my career to watch people find success in their healing every single day.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Running a business is very challenging! Being a boss is harder than I anticipated too. I used to say that I just don’t want to micromanage anybody because I don’t want to be the sort of boss who nags employees, but I’ve learned over the past few years as we’ve expanded, my employees expect me to guide them with clear and concise direction. I’ve gotten better at having candid conversations with employees to help guide them to their highest level of performance and I believe they are all grateful for the clear communication.
We have had a few struggles growing our team with the right practitioners and staff, but I can finally say we have the most incredible team. Everybody who works at AFA is important and vital to our growth as a company and to the top-tier level of care we are known for providing. Our front desk staff receive as many testimonials as our practitioners do which is something I’m extremely proud of.
As a single parent, my son is my priority of course, but it’s a delicate balance between being present enough at work to ensure things are running smoothly so that I have a business at all, and being home with my son as much as he needs me. We strive to maintain work-life balance for everybody at AFA, but it’s impossible to understand the “behind the scenes” details that are cold hard facts. In order to pay well, we have to be busy, and in order to get busy, we have to have satisfied employees and high morale, but in order to have high morale, we have to be able to deliver what we promise. I’ve navigated this just by being clear about what we can provide and what we can’t and what our future goals are and how close we are to achieving them. I think my staff trusts me and they are all on board with the direction the company is moving which is making it all run very smoothly.
We’ve been impressed with Annapolis Family Acupuncture, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Annapolis Family Acupuncture is an award winning acupuncture in Maryland’s capital. We currently have four acupuncturists on staff as well as reiki and nutritional consulting. We are an anti-racist organization and we strive to make every patient feel safe, comfortable and deeply cared for at our business. Our practitioners are commonly praised for incredible bedside manner and customer service.
Dr. Molly Hutto is a certified SAAT practitioner. SAAT is technique developed by Dr. Nader Soliman MD which has been scientifically validated to have 96% success rate at permanently eradicating allergies and intolerances in just a few easy treatments. This includes seasonal allergies, food allergies, Alpha Gal, mold and more. While Dr. Molly still practices regular acupuncture, a huge percentage of her practice is now booked out with SAAT patients. In addition to SAAT, Dr. Molly has also learned Auricular Medicine from Dr. Soliman, which is a method used to reset the immune system to successfully treat just about any ailment one can think of, though we commonly treat tick born illnesses and complex autoimmune ailments or Long COVID.
Our other practitioners use acupuncture to address any ailment one can think of such as headaches, digestive disorders, insomnia, mental health concerns, women’s health, fertility and pain.
More than anything, AFA stands out amongst other similar practices because we offer truly personalized compassionate care. When you walk through our doors, you have our attention. We are comfortable guiding our patients through some of life’s greatest trials and tribulations. We are grateful to our patients for allowing us to fulfill our greatest life’s purpose which is giving back to our communities with our training as healers and doctors.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Patients can book with us online at www.annapolisfamilyacupuncture.com or by calling 667-204-2979. We love to give back to our community in Annapolis and many of our practitioners would be happy to set up either free acupuncture days at businesses that need that sort of support or talks about Chinese Medicine and how it might help different communities. Of course our time for these events is limited, but we generally participate as vendors or do community outreach days about once every 1-2 months. We can be reached via email at info@annapolisfamilyacupuncture.com.
Pricing:
- We offer discounts to veterans and any family member under the same roof
- We offer discounts to seniors
- SAAT: $400 for the new patient appointment and $300 for followups with additional allergens (8-9 allergens per treatment)
- We accept Carefirst and Aetna and have package rates for those paying out of pocket
- Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture is $200 for the hour
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.annapolisfamilyacupuncture.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annapolisfamilyacu/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnapolisFamilyAcupuncture/
