Welcome to Our Community
Please take a minute to read this introduction to our clinic. We are delighted that you are interested in joining us.
What is different about Room for Health?
·        We treat in a community setting.
Most acupuncturists treat patients on tables in individual cubicles. This is not traditional in Asia, where acupuncture usually occurs in a community setting. In our clinic we primarily use recliners, clustered in groups in a quiet, soothing space. Treating patients in a community setting has many benefits. It’s easy for friends and family members to come in for treatment together. Many patients find it comforting and a collective energy field becomes established which can actually make the individual treatment more powerful. In some styles of acupuncture the needles are removed after only a few minutes or a half hour at most. The style of acupuncture we practice here at Room for Health allows the patient to leave the needles in as long as they want, and the “right” amount of time varies from patient to patient. Most people learn what is right for them after a few treatments when they feel “done”. This can take from twenty minutes to a couple of hours! Many people fall asleep, and wake feeling refreshed. 
 ·        We have a sliding scale

Most acupuncturists in the US see only one patient per hour and charge anywhere from $60 to $175 per treatment. They tend to spend a long time with each patient going over medical records and asking many questions. We don’t. The only way we at Room for Health can make acupuncture affordable and still make a living ourselves is to streamline our treatments and see multiple patients per hour. We have returned to a more traditional approach. Instead of asking lots of questions we ask only pertinent questions and rely on pulse diagnosis on how to treat you. This is exactly how it is done in Asia….many patients per hour with very little talking.
Our sliding scale fee is $15-$40 per treatment based on what YOU feel you can afford.

Our Commitment to You

 Responsibility
Room for Health does not provide primary care medicine! Acupuncture is a wonderful compliment to Western medicine, but it is not a substitute for it. If you think you have a problem that is not “garden variety” (meaning you think you have a malignant growth, a serous infection or an injury that won’t heal) or if you need someone knowledgeable to go over the details of your medical history with you, you need to see a primary care physician. We can provide you with referrals, but you can’t expect us to diagnose and treat a serious illness. We can provide complimentary care for conditions which require a doctor’s attention. Ex. we often treat patients for the side effects of chemotherapy. It is important you take responsibility for your own health. Room for Health does not receive grants, state, federal money or insurance reimbursement. Room for Health exists because patients pay for their treatments. It is a sustainable community business model.

Flexibility
The community setting requires some flexibility from you. For instance many patients have a favorite recliner. When we are busy, someone may be sitting in yours. Similarly, we have patients who snore. If this bothers you we have patients who bring in earplugs to their treatments. We also have patients who bring in their favorite pillows or blankets with them because they prefer theirs to ours. That’s fine with us. Basically, we need you to participate in making yourself comfortable in the community room before we arrive to treat you.
Let us know if you need to be out at a certain time so we can be sure to accommodate you. In general, if your eyes are closed we will think you are asleep and want to stay that way. If you want to be done open your eyes and give us a meaningful look and we will unpin you.

  Community- Mindedness
The soothing atmosphere in our clinic exists because all of our patients create it by relaxing together. We appreciate everyone’s presence. This kind of collective stillness is rare and precious in our rushed and busy society.

Maintaining this reservoir of calm requires that no one talk much while in the clinic space. If you would like to speak to a practitioner one on one or at any length, please let us know. If you want to have a substantial conversation, we will probably need to schedule that separately and may need to do it by phone.

Part of our success is that our patients learn the “routine” and take on a lot of the responsibility for the appointments. Re-scheduling and making payment happens at the front desk BEFORE each treatment, so you can relax and enjoy the treatment. Please take all of your belongings (bags, purses, jackets etc..) with you to the treatment room. Also, please turn off your cell phone.
Commitment
Acupuncture is a PROCESS. It is very rare for an acupuncturist to resolve a problem with one treatment. In China, a typical treatment protocol for a chronic condition could be acupuncture every other day for three months! Most of our patients don’t need that much acupuncture, but virtually every patient requires a course of treatment, rather than a single treatment, in order to get what they want from acupuncture.
One big reason that we are able to keep our prices so low is because of the extraordinary amount of marketing our patients do on our behalf…we don’t have to advertise. We cannot express how grateful we are for this. Our patients are such effective marketers because they have first hand knowledge of how well acupuncture works. On your first visit, your acupuncturist will suggest a course of treatment, which can be anything from “we’d like to see you once a week for the next 6 weeks” to we’d really like to see you every day for the next four days”. This suggestion is based on our experience with treating different kinds of conditions. If you don’t come in often or long enough, acupuncture probably won’t work for you. The purpose of our sliding scale is to help you make that commitment. If you have questions about how long it will take to see results, please ask us. If you need to adjust your treatment plan, please let us know. We need you to commit to the process of treatment in ordLast but not least…enjoy the space. We do, and hope that Room for Health can be an important part of your community. Thank you.