West Philly location closing in October

It is with heartbreaking sadness that I tell you this news.  In mid October, the west philly location of PCA needs to close down.  After facing a lease renewal and checking in with Bob, Sarah, and Billy, I learned that they all had plans to leave.  Other plans to bring people in fell through.  And I see no other choice at this point but to close.  I am so sorry. 

I hope you will all continue to get as much treatment there as you can up until the end, and then I hope that you will be able to make it out to our Mt. Airy location at 538 Carpenter Lane.  I can also recommend Barefoot Doctor Community Acupuncture Clinic, if Fishtown isn't too far for you.  If you have gift certificates and/or credits in our system, please use them up or if you can't, they will be redeemable in Mt. Airy. 

I realize and regret that this leaves a gaping hole where there used to be affordable acupuncture in west philly.  I know of someone who is thinking of opening something up there in a couple of years, but if any of you are interested in petitioning the People's Organization of Community Acupuncture to try to get another clinic going out here, the first thing to do would be to become a POCA member.  POCA exists in part for this very reason:  so patient members can work through a greater network to try to get a clinic opened in their community. 

The past six years, almost to the very day, have been amazing, thanks to you, our patients and supporters.  I know that everyone who has worked as an acupuncturist at PCA has been able to say that they truly love their job.  I believe I can speak for Korben Perry, Rebecca Parker, Lou Cutler, Sarah Lefkowich, Billy Scott, and Bob Conrique when I say this.  I know I loved every minute of being there, and having the privilege of working with you all.  PCA could not have happened either without the immeasurable help from our front desk POCA volunteers, coordinated by Zem Chance and then Cara Raboteau.  I thank you all, and wish I could say goodbye in person. 

with love from Tucson,
Ellen

$10 deal for Jefferson staff and students!

Through the end of May, any Thomas Jefferson University staff member or student can go to any Philly area POCA clinic and get a first treatment for $10!  Here's the link! 

Ellen is moving to Arizona

It's so weird to be writing this just about a year after Korben left.  I thought I was going to be here forever.  Which was a very strange thought to have!  I have moved around a lot in my life so the idea of staying here, at PCA, in Philly for possibly the rest of my life was really, really strange.  Turns out I was wrong about that anyway.

I have told a lot of you and many of you have heard it through the grapevine anyway, but here it is, all official:  I am moving to Tucson Arizona in the beginning of August.  It has been a crazy year trying to even think about the possibility of moving and all that moving entails, especially considering that I also helped open our second location this year.  And now it turns out that it's actually happening, really soon.

Besides saying goodbye to family and friends, by far the hardest part about this move is saying goodbye to PCA's patients.  I have known some of you for so long that you still think my daughter is two years old (you know who you are).  I literally hate to think about leaving you.  I don't want to leave you.  If I could bring you with me I would, because I wouldn't want to live without seeing you on a regular basis if I could help it.  I don't care if this sounds unprofessional, it's true:  I love you.  Thank you all so much for being such a huge and beautiful part of my life.  I hope you know how much your presence at the clinic has mattered to everyone else there.  It matters to the people who work there and it matters to the other patients too.  It matters to the whole community.   I have tried to tell some of you this, and I hope it got through, but please...  don't disappear just because I'm not going to be there anymore.  You are too important.  It's not going to be the same, I know.  It will be different.  It always is though, isn't it?  Life.  It will be good.

You will see me again.  Not on the regular schedule, but I'll be back in Philly.  Probably when you least expect it.  I am grateful to Billy and Sarah and Zem and all the front desk volunteers who will be taking good care of West Philly.  I'll be keeping my eye on things from afar.  Bob Conrique, a new graduate, is also going to be joining the team in September.  And check this out -- my mother was his high school librarian!!!  Such a small world.  As for Mt. Airy, Meghan will be working solo in August until Erin gets her license, and then it'll be a nine-shift clinic!  Thanks to everyone who helped get #2 up and running this year, and especially to my business partner Erin Schmitt.  I will be back there too for sure.  And in the meantime, I will miss you.

oh -- just in case you want to know, I will be working with my friends at Tucson Acupuncture Co-op.  I found a good school for Uma and she is excited about the move too.  Wish us luck.  And come visit.

love,  ellen

Community Acupuncture documentary!

Brian Lindstrom came to Philadelphia Community Acupuncture last January to film a segment for the amazing documentary that is now available to watch at bliptv.  The entire documentary is about 35 minutes, and copies of the DVD are available for sale at PCA.

Korben and family moving in August: a thank you note to my patients

With great sadness and also excitement, I’d like to let those who don’t already know that my family and I are moving back to New England in August. This is one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever made, trying to reconcile our desire to be closer to family (especially in regards to my son, Julian) with the profound sense of belonging that you’ve all given me as your community acupuncturist.
I’m afraid I’ll never be able to express my gratitude for being able to work so closely with all of you. I have never felt more alive and connected and useful as I do each time I spend I few moments with a patient like yourself, listening, maybe laughing, or maybe saying nothing at all, surrounded by other perfect and mysterious and resting someones, and with the sun at whatever angle it is, and hopefully helping you to settle into a slightly more cooperative and flowing place within your body.
So, a huge thank you to everyone I’ve ever treated here at PCA. I will not remember your symptoms, but your beauty and the very particular way you went ahead and believed in your body and your mind despite the challenges.
Also, thank you to the unbelievably righteous band of volunteers who made this place work logistically and who give it nearly all of its flavor and rhythm. And, thank you to Ellen Vincent, Pascal Vincent, Amy Walsh, Waliyyah Muhsin, Jacks Cody, Lou Cutler, Danielle Stimson, Zem Chance, and Linford Martin for building this thing together. I hope it lasts forever.
Thank you to the rose window on the Hickman Temple for reflecting back perfect design from the north. Thank you to the countless sunsets and occasional violent storms coming from the west. Thank you to the gigantic oak I can see out the back, south window, probably on Springfield, which always focused me when I washed my hands, and to one of the neighborhood hawks which lands in that tree sometimes. Thank you to the many moon rises behind the skyline and to that beautiful (unfinished?) mural, both of which woke me out of complacency when I started feeling like I was “working”. I hope to come back often and bask in the very special energy which is this exact place on earth at rest and at peace.
I will work my regular schedule up through the last week in July. If you are a regular patient of mine, I encourage you to go ahead and get a treatment with one or two of the other fantastic acupuncturists now, so that if you want you can still schedule with me and give feedback and get encouragement.
Please stay tuned for info about a going-away party in July.
With love, Korben. (korbenp@yahoo.com)

History and Myth in Chinese Medicine

If you are interested in Chinese Medical History, there is a lecture on "History and Myth in Chinese Medicine," on June 5th from 3 - 5 pm at the Won Institute. Here is how Salguero describes his presentation:

"Practitioners of Chinese medicine often characterize their healing arts as “ancient,” imagining an unbroken tradition stretching back over thousands of years. Historians of Chinese medicine, on the other hand, have emphasized the ever-changing nature of Chinese medicine and have shown that modern practices have little to do with ancient precedents. This presentation will introduce the audience to the latest historical research on the origins of acupuncture, and the transformation over the past 2000 years in theory and practice. At the heart of the presentation are the questions of why history matters to practitioners, and whether facts and myths can be reconciled."

Pierce Salguero is Assistant Professor of Asian History at Penn State's Abington College. Dr. Salguero has a Ph.D. in the History of Medicine from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and has published numerous books and articles on Asian medical history. He is a historian of medicine in China, specializing in religious healing in the medieval period.

Introducing: People's Organization of Community Acupuncture (POCA)

The Community Acupuncture Network (CAN) is the world-wide organization of which Philadelphia Community Acupuncture has been a part since opening. Within the next several months that organization will transform itself into a multi-stakeholder cooperative entitled POCA, the People's organization of Community Acupuncture.

We hope that you'll read a little bit of the following, and see how we're trying to figure out how to even more effectively deliver affordable healthcare, and how POCA will help us acknowledge even more how central you are to the every day and to the future of community acupuncture.

Since its inception, the Community Acupuncture movement has been led by practitioners to serve patients. The movement has grown from a single clinic in Portland, Oregon, to hundreds of clinics around the country and the world. Practitioners and acupuncture students turning to this model of affordable, sliding-scale care in a group setting have generated a critical mass of energy that is propelling the Community Acupuncture movement into its next stage of growth and development. To date, the Community Acupuncture Network (CAN), a 501c6 non-profit professional organization, has been the main vehicle to foster the growth and proliferation of community acupuncture.

However, needs have arisen that will be best met by a new type of organization—a multi-stakeholder cooperative. One of the most basic issues addressed by the cooperative that was not served by CAN is the direct involvement of patients in the process of governing the organization. Participation in a coop means that membership is a shared responsibility – everybody is invited to become involved.

WHY DOES COMMUNITY ACUPUNCTURE NEED A COOPERATIVE?

• Acupuncture is important to our health – as individuals, families, co-workers, and community members – because it provides inexpensive, non-invasive relief from pain and suffering.

• Community Acupuncture defines and supports a mode of direct delivery of affordable care for people of ordinary incomes regardless of insurance coverage.

• Community Acupuncture provides a new model for healthcare and self-care empowerment.

• Community Acupuncture has at its heart a commitment to social justice and the deconstruction of barriers to care and resources.

• Community Acupuncture’s commitment to social justice is expressed in part by addressing specific barriers to accessing care and training in the field of acupuncture, namely cost.

• Community Acupuncture has created, just in the last 5 years, employment opportunities where there were none. However, because of the debt load that graduates bear coupled with the culture of the acupuncture profession, many of these positions have yet to be filled.

A COOPERATIVE WILL ADDRESS EXISTING NEEDS FOR:

• Proliferating and sustaining affordable acupuncture

• Offering affordable training and education for acupuncturists

• Articulating new paradigms of healthcare and health empowerment

• Growing vital local economies

• Creating social and financial capital – both in our local communities and within the community acupuncture movement

• Expanding into currently un-served communities

• Linking with other communities working for social justice

• Meeting the many needs of existing clinics: employees, micro-lending, training materials, personnel materials, managerial materials, mentoring, other hands-on support
  
  

WHY JOIN A COMMUNITY ACUPUNCTURE COOPERATIVE?

• Patient/Community member benefits: coop’s (vs. non-member) sliding-scale, 10^th tx free, special offers, initial fee waived at member clinics, three “Free Treatment” cards to share, newsletter, (poss. access to membership list for cross marketing purposes)

• Punk/Student member benefits: forum, employer support, collective buying power, LOC directory, low-interest loans, employment network (poss. malpractice ins.)

• Every Voice Matters—It starts with “how you feel” after coming for acupuncture—once, ten times, fifty times. When acupuncture is able to provide lasting relief from a problem or help to optimize one’s health, it is important to share this feedback with others. The riches of our collective knowledge are a valuable community resource. Sharing this resource by sharing our experiences will help to bring students, practitioners, patients, regulators, and others to the movement.

• Every Vote Matters—Individual coop members each have one vote in the decision-making processes that will define and guide the coop towards its stated goals. Annual elections for coop board members and specific projects are a shared responsibility of the membership. In this way, the accessibility and proliferation of an effective form of health care is directed by the very people the coop serves: its practioners, its patients, its community.

• Coming Together—we create mutually beneficial relationships where patient/community members can give hands-on support inside the clinic and out in the community. We continue our advocacy as patients and practitioners to bring affordable acupuncture to places where it is still needed. We manifest our vision of vital local economies and healthy, empowered communities of individuals. Through our collective resources, we create training and employment opportunities. Our collective voice speaks our purpose to the acupuncture profession, its regulatory bodies, and the health care field at large.

WHAT CAN I DO RIGHT NOW?

Watch the CAN blog for POCA updates

Raed POCA's mission and vision statements, and our goals and objectives.

Join POCA on Facebook (until the official POCA website launches, we hope in early May)

pocacoop@groups.facebook.com

Download and read “Solidarity as a Business Model” at www.uwcc.wisc.edu/pdf/multistakeholder%20coop%20manual.pdf

Community pitches in for local artist's medical bills

On Thursday Novmber 5th, , local artist and educator, Hope Rovelto was hit by a car crossing 2nd and Girard in Philadelphia. The accident left Hope with severe injuries to both her knees and since then Hope has had multiple surgeries and extended hospital admission.

The driver who hit Hope fled the scene.

Please support Hope by subscribing to this blog as there will be updates and news on fundraising events and ways you can support her recovery.

Please have a look at the beautiful work dozens of artists contributed to be sold at a January 30th fundraiser.

a piece on the state of community acupuncture by Larry Gatti

Great blog post from fellow acupunk in Tuscon, Arizona. Please read.

"People of ordinary income treating other people of ordinary income devoid of the idea of charity or philanthropy have together created a new culture. One that has at its root the principles and values of equality, access, social change and social justice. One that is willing to put the people first, always. One that is ready and willing to confront racism, classism, sexism and ableism. One that is both altering the current professional landscape while continually undergoing its own evolutionary process."

Classism in coverage of community acupuncture by New York Times

Community Acupuncture Network was mentioned in a New York Times article last week. Great. Except that it likened our services to chair massage (nothing wrong with chair massage) and said that our style of acupuncture was for problems that are not serious or complicated. Please read this letter to the author and editor written by C.A.N. founder, Lisa Rohleder.

Blog Post and video's about PCA

Here's a nice article from the blog, Philadelphia Neighborhoods, a publication of Temple University's Multimedia Urban Reporting lab.

New video intro to community acupuncture

Filmed largely at Turning Point Community Acupuncture in Frederick, Md., here's a great, 8 minute intro to what we're doing, and to the network we're a part of.

How to Stay Healthy During Cold and Flu Season (…or nip one in the bud if it starts!)

Article by acupuncturist, Rebecca Parker

When everyone around you is sniffling and coughing, you need a strategy. Here’s how to avoid getting sick:

Become obsessive about washing your hands. Especially before eating or when coming home from being out and about.
Get enough sleep! Can’t be overemphasized. 8-10 hours is best.
Eat clean (fruits, veggies, whole grains, good quality protein and fats) and limit alcohol. Keep sugar to a minimum, it’s been shown to depress the immune system for hours afterwards. Eat a serving of dark leafy veggies daily.
Take Yu Ping Feng San (Jade Windscreen Powder), which contains herbs like Astragalus to boost the immune system. Do not take this if you are already sick.
Take Vitamin D: the FDA says 2,000 ius is the safe upper limit, but this is very conservative. Darker skinned people and those who are obsessive about sunblock need more than lighter skinned people. Research shows that 10,000 ius can be safely taken daily. It is important for immune support, and can help prevent the flu. Go to vitamindcouncil.org to read up on this topic in more depth. The best thing to do if possible, is get your blood levels tested.
Exposing yourself to things you love or that create a good feeling can go a long way to boosting your immunity.

Pay attention to the warning signs!!! If you feel like you are going over the waterfall toward sickness and misery, take action right away. Now is the time to wipe it out.

Drink tons of water (no ice!) to flush it out.
Eliminate all sugar, alcohol and dairy. Soup is perfect food now.
Rest rest rest! Taking a little time off now could save you from days of incapacitation.
If you have a sore throat, gargle with salt water. Echinacea-goldenseal tincture is helpful when there seems to be drippy suppuration in the back of the throat. Do not take Echinacea if you think you have H1N1.
Take vitamin C. I like emergenC because it’s easy and tasty, though it does have sugar. A few thousand mg per day is good. Vitamin D is very important too. You can take a high dose (up to 50,000 iu) safely for short term. See the above section.
Zinc has been shown to limit the duration of illness. Take up to 50mg for just the duration of symptoms, not longer, or you can induce a mineral imbalance.
Sweat it out: take a hot bath, put on your warmest sweats and crawl under the covers. No need to drench the sheets, a light sheen will do the trick.
Take herbal formulas appropriate to the symptoms. For a hot-type sickness, with sore throat, and feverishness, Yin Qiao or Forsythia 18 helps in the very early days. For cold-types with head and body aches and chills, Gui Zhi Tang tea or ginger tea followed by wrapping up warm can really knock it out.
Protect your neck. Wear a scarf and keep your ears covered, avoid drafts and getting chilled.
Other products have worked well for people I know in the past, such as Wellness Formula and Alpha CF, but as with herbal formulas, there always seem to be exceptions to the rule. The best bet is to do everything you can to keep the bugs from getting a foothold instead of relying on one magic potion while you continue to abuse your body.
Stay away from orange juice. It creates phlegm.
Take responsibility for your health and go to a doctor if symptoms are severe and things seem to be getting worse despite all your actions.

Baltimore Ave Visioning?

Here's a project by Cedar Park Neighbors everyone ought to know about.

Health insurers post record profits

Here's the article.
Sorry about all the ads.

Some Warming Foods for Winter

The following is taken from an article called Seasonal Harmony by Ellesara.

Learning basics about each season, foods and having basic seasonal recipes become foundations from which we can easily incorporate more information and fall back upon when we have simple questions. For example, last week an elderly friend of mine got a chill and couldn’t get warm. When I went over to her home with my “ginger tea kit” her fingers were like ice cubes. I made her basic ginger tea, (recipe below) and before she finished her first cup, she felt warm and the circulation had returned to her fingers. Ginger is a yang food that aids digestion and generally balances the forces in your body.

Basic Ginger Tea

1” fresh ginger – sliced, chopped

4-5 scallions – whites only

Rind of one dried tangerine

4 cups of water

Rock/Brown sugar/honey to taste

Add all the ingredients together and bring to a boil Simmer for no more than 5 minutes as it will get bitter. Remove the foods. Drink hot.

Additionally, I want to mention that every culture has food cures and food combinations for increasing health. Often, the purposes for these foods have been forgotten, even when the custom has been retained. For example, the parents of a friend of mine are from Poland and her mother makes bone marrow soup in the winter simply because “it is good for you to eat in the winter.” When we consult Five Element Theory, we see that bone marrow soup is an excellent winter energy soup that supports the Kidney function (recipe below).

Basic Bone Marrow Soup

Ingredients

1 lb marrow bones

1-1/2 quarts water

2” sliced ginger

6 scallion whites

1 bay leaf

Part 2

1 diced carrot

1 diced stalk celery

1 quartered plum tomato

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup cilantro/;parsley

Directions

Put the marrow bones, bay leaf, ginger, and scallions in the water and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for at least 3 hours

Let cool--Poke marrow out of bones and discard everything except water. You should now have about 3 cups of broth.

Add veggies, cover and cook till veggies are done. add salt and pepper to taste.. .serve and sprinkle with cilantro

To this basic recipe you can add other root vegetables, such as turnip, or green vegetables such as kale. Adjust this to your own taste. Bone marrow soup is considered to be a strengthening soup that is good for prevention and also if someone has been ill.

Further, it is helpful to have seasonal guildelines. Things that are particularly good to do or pay attention to in a given season. Often, they remind me of things my Mom said when I was growing up. Simple things such as, eat a good warm breakfast, especially in the winter.

Winter Energy Cereal

Ingredients

1/2 cup of rice

6 cups of water

½ cup toasted black sesame seeds

½ cup TB toasted crushed walnuts

3 TB honey

½ tsp salt

Directions

Cover the rice in 2 cups of water and soak for 2 hours.

Toast the walnuts and crush. A simple crushing method is to place the walnuts in a plastic bag and roll with a rolling pin.

Toast the black sesame seeds.

Drain the excess water off the rice.

Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and mix.

Add 4 cups of water and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the rice is thoroughly cooked and all the water has been absorbed. Stir the cereal frequently as it is cooking. The texture of the cereal at this stage is like a thick porridge or cornmeal mush. The rice is creamy and the sesame seeds are still slightly crunchy.

To make into a breakfast cereal: add ½ cup boiling water to ½ cup of cereal – optional: a touch of cinnamon Yield: 4 cups

Serving size ½ cup

Basic Congee

1 cup of white rice (or ½ cup short grain rice and ½ cup of long grain rice)

8-10 cups of water

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low simmer for about 3 hours.

This makes a basic rice porridge which is very easy to digest and which can be eaten at any time of year. To it, you can add shredded ginger, chopped scallion whites, lightly steamed vegetables, pieces of fish, pickled vegetables, etc.

A few other winter guidelines that are in accord with TCM/Five Element Theory are: Raw foods are cooling and should be avoided in the winter when warming foods are best emphasized, such as eating warming, hearty soups*, cooked whole grains, root vegetables and toasted nuts. These kinds of foods warm the center of the body and their heat stays with you longer. Since winter energy is about storing and rest, it is good to go to bed earlier and get very restful sleep, lighten one’s activities list, if possible and spend more time in contemplation and meditation.

*Kidney Bean, Tomato & Winter Squash Soup

Ingredients:

2TB walnut oil

1 medium red onion

4 cloves of garlic – slivered

½ cup chopped celery

½ cup chopped parsnip

½ cup chopped yam

14 oz can of plum tomatoes

½ tsp rosemary

3 half dollar slices of ginger

2 small dried hot red peppers (or to personal taste)

1 15 oz can of kidney beans

5 cups of water

3 cups of Kombachu or butternut or hubbard squash, diced into 1 inch cubes

Salt to taste, ground pepper

Chopped cilantro/parsley garnish

Directions

Heat the oil in a saucepan/wok/dutch oven and add the onion. . .cook until it is just softened. Add the garlic, parsnip, yam and cook for about 3 minutes over medium heat.

Add the tomatoes, rosemary, ginger, peppers, beans and water

Bring to a soft boil, reduce heat, cover and let simmer for about 1/2 hour – stir occasionally

Add squash and simmer for about 1 hour until squash is tender. Check liquid levels, add water if necessary and don’t forget to stir occasionally.

Add salt and ground pepper, adjust seasonings to personal taste.

Garnish each bowl with a sprig of cilantro or parsley

Music to wind down by

Here is a really wonderful mix-tape you can download created by local artist, Eric Ruin, specifically for play during community acupuncture. Really gorgeous, textural sounds put together with the idea of "Winding Down".

Go to the link, and then look for mix # 19.

And, by the way, here is some of his amazing art, which he sells at a sliding scale, and some of which can be seen at the clinic.

The First professional Doctorate in acupuncture. Oh boy!

Please, next time you're at the clinic, remember to read our petition against the proposed requirement of a Doctorate degree for acupuncture licensing. If you're interested in acupuncture being affordable to people with ordinary incomes, or in acupuncturists being able to make a living with their work without help from a trust fund, or in the profession not becoming even more white, then you you will find the proposal for the "First Professional Doctorate" quite ridiculous and unjust.

Here's a wonderful article by Lisa Rohleder which does a great job with humor describing the debate. This stuff really makes a difference to us, so it would make a difference to us if you read this and/or signed the petition. 

Thanks, Korben and Ellen and Rebecca.

The Case for Working with Our Hands

One reason we love our jobs is that we're lucky enough to work with our hands, and with other people, every day. Here's a great article about the "trades" and working with one's hands.
(Thank you once again to Nora from Detroit Community Acupuncture for this link.)

Local TV News Story on PCA

Philadelphia Community Acupuncture was featured on Fox News in Philly last night. Check out the clip here.