about Us

My name is Jen Penisten, Owner of vIVid Life Spa and Medical Director of vIVid Wellness + Mobile IV, and although I wear a lot of different hats, my favorite ones are “girl mom” and nurse practitioner. I graduated from Grand View University in 2006 and worked as a labor and delivery nurse for 8 years until I graduated with my master’s degree from Graceland University and became certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner! I worked in urgent care for 7 years before dreaming up my own practice. I have spent my career loving what I do but never being completely satisfied. What I wanted to build was never going to be through employment but in building services of my own, in my own hometown. That is when vIVid was born! I wanted to bring the tools to you that will make you look, feel, and perform your best!

Hey there! My name is Lauren Shira, Owner of vIVid Wisconsin. I’m a proud wife and mom to four beautiful and amazing little girls! I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree in Science and Nursing from Winona State University in 2009. Since graduating I have spent a majority of my nursing career taking care of patients at their sickest in a busy ICU. I have always had a passion to focus on health from a more functional and holistic route, especially being able to have the ability to bring health and wellness options directly to you, where convenience is truly key! Since opening vIVid Wisconsin I have worked closely with our Medical Director and creator of vIVid Wellness + Mobile IV at our sister location in Iowa to bring the Chippewa Valley cutting edge, safe and effective treatments. My ultimate goal is to bring you a full suite of wellness services, combined with top notch, professional, and trusting care, so by the time you end your appointment, you always feel better than when you came in!

Hi! My name is Josie and I’m the Business Manager and Lead Aesthetic Nurse at vIVid. I graduated as a Registered Nurse in 2019 and later obtained my Bachelor’s Degree in Science (Nursing),  but have worked in the medical field for over eight years as a phlebotomist and a certified nursing assistant. The majority of my experience is in Cardiology in the Progessive Care Unit. I live near Eau Claire with my husband and two kids and when I’m not working, I’m usually busy working on house projects. I believe in being a knowledgeable and educated, compassionate provider for all of our clients and I am constantly striving to improve in each of those areas. In my downtime, I’m always researching to stay up to date and educated, bringing the most effective and evidence-based aesthetic treatments to vIVid. While I enjoy the wellness side of vIVid and work on that side as well, you will find me frequently providing aesthetic services to our clients, making subtle and natural enhancements in a variety of modalities to help people feel confident in their skin while enhancing their natural beauty.

Hello, my name is Heidi Dowd and I am a nurse practitioner at vIVid. I graduated from UWEC in 2005 with my BSN. I then worked in cardiology at Mayo Clinic Health Systems for 6 years before graduating with my MSN in adult health. Since that time, I have been working in cardiac surgery at United Hospital in St. Paul then Prevea Health/Sacred Heart Hospital until making the switch to functional medicine this year. That might seem like an abrupt switch to many but my interest in functional medicine goes back almost a decade to when I was having some health struggles that traditional medicine failed to address. It was at that time that I knew there had to be another way to provide healthcare. That lead me to functional medicine. I started working with functional medicine providers and attending professional conferences to further my knowledge. As my skill set built over time I took what I could and attempted to incorporate that into my cardiac surgery practice. It wasn’t until recently I had the courage to pursue functional medicine full time. So here I am ready to share all my knowledge and insight with the people of the Chippewa Valley. I can’t wait to help patients see the options they have for gaining back their health and wellness.