Looking Ahead: Nichole Yost

Nichole Yost

Owner and Medical Director, BeautyMed

What was your first job?

My first job was approximately one thousand years ago (Botox works!). I’ve literally done everything. Professional au pair, stewardess on a private yacht, teacher, mental health counselor, owned a bar/restaurant, rental properties, flipped houses, lobbied on Capitol Hill for affordable housing, held public office, and an extensive healthcare career at Indian Health Services in Eagle Butte and Pine Ridge. The road less traveled to owning my own health and aesthetics clinic was paved with diversified experiences and confirms daily it’s exactly what I was meant to do.

Tell us about your current job?

My current position at BeautyMed entails medical aesthetics which involves many anti-aging methods including but not limited to: cosmetic and medically therapeutic Botox, dermal fillers, Kybella, Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP), vitamin injections, IV infusions, weight loss, hormone replacement therapy, vaginal/urinary rejuvenation, microneedling, chemical peels, and limited family practice.

My position is the most rewarding career I could ever hope for. I’ve had my own journey with health issues and medical neglect in myself and family members, some of which resulted in death. I’m extremely passionate about listening, validating, and treating the patient, not just the “numbers.”

Photo by Andy Greenman

How has 2020 changed you?

The beginning of 2020 brought me into my one-year anniversary owning an aesthetics and healthcare-based business. I had far exceeded my professional goals when COVID-19 hit the United States and threatened the reality of closing my non-essential business. With that fear, I took a contract in Brooklyn, New York in an emergency room COVID-19 unit for eight weeks. It remains quite difficult to put that experience into words. It was a war zone where not one day felt as though we could win or get ahead of the battle.

Three days after I arrived home from the East Coast, my spa was demolished in a hailstorm where the building’s roof fell in on my newly remodeled space. I then spent the rest of the summer in a temporary office as I searched for the place BeautyMed would call home. Although COVID-19 has greatly threatened the economy, BeautyMed continued to grow exponentially and needed a much larger space and a staff of nurses to assist in the growing numbers of procedures. Outreach clinics are gaining popularity in Phillip, Pierre, and we have events scheduled in Sioux Falls in January. We are also connected to a rural injector providing services in Faith, Eagle Butte, Mobridge, and Lemmon.

November 20, 2020 we had a grand opening at our new location in Stoney Creek Plaza on Sheridan Lake Road and Catron Boulevard. We are so grateful for immense growth in 2020 and support from the community and those traveling from many hours for our services.

Why are you excited for 2021?

2021 is on target to be our best year yet! We rocked 2020 with record breaking sales almost weekly so the newness and positivity 2021 will bring is sure to catapult increased success. March 2021 will mark two years of business. We are truly fortunate and blessed that our hard work and continuous training is recognized and greatly supported by the community of Rapid City.

Why do you live in Rapid City?

I’m originally from central South Dakota and spent the last few years living west river as a healthcare professional. I chose to live in Rapid City as my friends and I were all traveling to other cities and states to receive upscale aesthetics treatments and felt Rapid City would greatly benefit from a friendly, affordable, and personal patient experience focusing on our unique skin types and aging processes to provide the greatest benefit to our population. I also believe in providing improved and personalized access to care to all populations with family practice services.