Kara Wilfong
Doctorate Prepared Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner
Fleming IslandA doctorally-prepared nurse practitioner who spent a decade as an emergency room nurse before moving into aesthetics and wellness.
Peptide Therapy · Fleming Island, FL
A supervised Sermorelin program, built around your labs
Our peptide therapy program is centered on Sermorelin, a growth-hormone-releasing peptide that supports your body’s own production. Get individualized dosing, real monitoring, and an honest timeline from a clinician-led team.
Written by the Well Labs+ editorial team · Last updated July 2026
Treatment Overview
What our peptide program does
Peptide therapy at Pura Vida is built around Sermorelin, a growth-hormone-releasing peptide that signals your pituitary gland to release more of your own growth hormone rather than introducing a synthetic version directly. In plain terms: we work with a system your body already has, and we monitor it with labs at every step.
This page covers the specific, local program you would actually start with our team in Fleming Island. For the bigger picture of how peptide therapy connects to medical weight loss and hormone optimization, see our peptide therapy overview.
Common Goals
Where Sermorelin helps most
Peptide therapy is not a fix for a single symptom. Instead, it supports systems that touch several parts of how you feel day to day.
Energy & everyday vitality
The dip in energy that shows up as pushing through the afternoon instead of enjoying it. Sermorelin supports your body’s own growth-hormone rhythm rather than overriding it.
Recovery & sleep quality
Slower recovery after activity and lighter, less restorative sleep are common reasons patients ask about peptide therapy. We evaluate whether Sermorelin is the right, supervised answer.
Body composition & active aging
Supporting lean mass and vitality as you age is a long game, not a single visit. Peptide therapy is often one part of a plan that also includes medical weight loss or hormone optimization.
Peptide therapy is often paired with medical weight loss or hormone optimization for patients working on more than one goal. Your provider builds the combination that fits.
Fleming Island · Northeast Florida
Why Fleming Island trusts us with peptide therapy
Our patients here tend to be research-first professionals and NAS Jacksonville families, the kind of people who notice a real dip in energy or recovery long before anything shows up on a routine physical. A supervised, lab-guided peptide program fits that mindset. We would rather monitor and adjust than promise a shortcut.
Northeast Florida’s UV index climbs to extreme from spring through late summer, and sun exposure drives much of the collagen loss and visible aging we treat, so care here is as much about prevention as it is about correction.
The practice Fleming Island trusts for medical wellness. Voted the area’s best medspa six years running, we serve from our Medical Spa on Island Lane.
Serving
- Fleming Island
- Orange Park
- Middleburg
- Green Cove Springs
- Jacksonville
- Clay County
The Pura Vida Approach
Labs first, hype never
Every peptide program at Pura Vida starts with your bloodwork, not a request for a specific compound. Kara Wilfong, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, builds each plan individually and rechecks labs on a schedule, because a growth- hormone pathway responds gradually and deserves to be watched, not assumed.
That is the difference between chasing a trending peptide and getting care from a team that treats Sermorelin as one tool in a plan, part of our full peptide therapy program built around your labs.
Is This For You?
Am I a Candidate?
A Good Fit If…
- you have noticed a real, sustained dip in energy, recovery, or sleep quality
- you want a physician-supervised program with real labs and follow-up, not a self-directed one
- you are comfortable with a self-administered injection as part of your routine
- you are open to pairing peptide therapy with medical weight loss or hormone optimization if your labs point that way
Let’s Talk First If…
- you are looking specifically for a compound beyond Sermorelin, so let’s talk about what we can honestly offer
- you have an underlying condition we need to rule out first, so bloodwork comes before anything else
- you are pregnant or breastfeeding, so we will ask you to wait
- you are expecting a dramatic, immediate change, when this works gradually with your body’s own rhythm
If Sermorelin is not the right fit for your goal, we will tell you honestly and point you toward what is, whether that is our medical weight loss program, hormone optimization, or a referral. Declining a treatment that would not serve you is part of how we work.
Ready to Start?
Sounds like you? Let’s build your Sermorelin plan.
Request an appointment and we’ll review your labs and goals before building a supervised peptide plan around them, here in Fleming Island.
Our Process
What to expect, from labs to follow-up
A real consultation, not a menu
We start with your history, your goals, and current labs. If we do not already have recent bloodwork, we order it. A peptide plan is never guessed at.
An individualized Sermorelin plan
If you are a candidate, your provider builds a dosing plan around Sermorelin specifically, sized to your labs and your goal, whether that is energy, recovery, or supporting a weight or hormone plan already underway.
Comfortable, routine administration
Sermorelin is a self-administered subcutaneous injection. Your provider walks you through the timing, technique, and what to expect, so it fits into your routine.
Labs and follow-up, on a schedule
We recheck labs and how you are responding at planned intervals and adjust from there. Peptide therapy at Pura Vida is a monitored program from start to finish.
What Our Patients Are Saying
What Fleming Island patients say
4.9★ From 1,400+ verified Google reviews across both Fleming Island locations.
"Kara is incredibly patient, understanding, and knowledgeable. I never felt pressured or rushed to do or buy anything extra. Super professional and clean atmosphere. Will be back again and again."
"Can’t say enough great things about this place! Everyone is so nice!… All are so knowledgeable and really tailor treatments to the person. I’ve been seeing them for 2 years and I’ve been happy with every visit."
"The Pura Vida facility is always very pleasant and professional… She always explains every procedure in detail and gives great recommendations. Always very satisfied with all the services I receive there!"
Prefer to Talk First?
Questions before you book? Call us.
Talk through whether Sermorelin is right for your goals with our Fleming Island team before you schedule.
Proven Excellence
The most-reviewed medspa in Clay County
Peptide therapy is available at our Island Lane Medical Spa, serving Orange Park, Middleburg, and greater Jacksonville.
1,400+
Five-Star Reviews
More Google reviews than any other medspa in the region.
4.9★
Average Rating
Verified on Google across both Fleming Island locations.
2
Fleming Island Locations
Serving Clay County, Orange Park & greater Jacksonville.
Meet Your Care Team
Clinician-led, every step
Kara Wilfong leads our wellness and hormone team, backed by our nurse practitioners and physician assistant. You get the same expert care team, visit after visit.
Brittany Smith
MSN, APRN, FNP-C
Fleming IslandA certified Family Nurse Practitioner specializing in advanced aesthetic medicine, with six years in trauma and progressive care before aesthetics.
Emily Arnold
Physician Assistant-Certified
Fleming IslandA board-certified physician assistant specializing in aesthetic medicine, with a Master of Physician Assistant Studies from Augusta University.
Portrait coming soon
Brooke Taylor
Medical Assistant
Fleming IslandSupports the clinical team through every appointment so your provider can deliver attentive, unhurried care.
Patient Care Team
Scroll to meet the full team
Frequently Asked Questions
Peptide Therapy Questions, Answered
What does Sermorelin peptide therapy actually do?
Sermorelin is a growth-hormone-releasing peptide that signals your own pituitary gland to release more growth hormone, rather than introducing a synthetic version directly. That mechanism is why our program is built around monitoring and gradual response instead of an overnight change.
Is Ozempic a type of peptide therapy?
No. Ozempic and other GLP-1 medications work by suppressing appetite and are the foundation of our medical weight loss program, while Sermorelin peptide therapy works through a different pathway that supports your body’s own growth-hormone rhythm for energy and recovery rather than weight loss. Many patients ask about both, and your provider will tell you honestly which one, or which combination, fits your goal.
Do you offer any peptides besides Sermorelin?
Sermorelin is currently the only peptide we build supervised programs around at Pura Vida. If you have questions about other peptides, we’re happy to go over them with you.
How long does it take to see results from peptide therapy?
Results from Sermorelin build gradually over months, not days, because it works with your body’s own hormone rhythm rather than forcing a fast change. We track your labs and how you feel at each follow-up instead of promising a specific timeline.
Who oversees my Sermorelin peptide program?
Kara Wilfong, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, leads our wellness and hormone care, building every plan individually from your labs and rechecking them on a schedule, backed by the same medical team voted Fleming Island’s best medspa six years running. Health content on this site is medically reviewed by our Medical Director.
Where can I get Sermorelin peptide therapy near Fleming Island?
Peptide therapy is delivered at our Medical Spa, 1590 Island Lane, Suite 28, in Fleming Island, FL, serving patients from Orange Park, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Clay County, and greater Jacksonville.
Ready When You Are
Let’s build your peptide plan around real labs
Request an appointment and we’ll review your history and labs, explain honestly what Sermorelin can do for your energy and recovery, and build a supervised plan around the goal you actually have.
Not ready to book? Send us a question instead.