What is community acupuncture?

By Alina Anapreitchik M.Sc., R.Ac., Dip.TCM

Registered Acupuncturist

In the last couple of years Victoria has been introduced to a new complimentary healthcare model called Community Acupuncture. The main goal of this model is to make acupuncture treatments affordable and accessible to a much broader population. In Community Acupuncture patients get personalized treatments in a comfortable group setting and pay what they can afford on a significantly reduced sliding scale, no questions asked. 

The history of Community Acupuncture began with the founding of Working Class Acupuncture in Portland, Oregon in 2002 by acupuncturists Lisa Rohleder and Skip Van Meter. They knew that they could effectively help alleviate their patient’s suffering, but many of their patients couldn’t afford to get the acupuncture treatments they needed. Lisa and Skip “thought outside the box” and came up with the idea of treating multiple patients in an hour, so that the cost of their time and expertize, rent, marketing, etc… could be divided among multiple people. This allowed them to charge a much lower fee per patient.

Most North American acupuncturists treat patients on massage tables in individual rooms and treatments can be quite expensive. This isn’t traditional in Asia, where acupuncture usually occurs in a community setting. The Community Acupuncture business model is based on many of the traditional community styles of treatment often practiced in Asia. In setting up the first Community Acupuncture clinic, the founders asked some simple questions: What are the barriers to people getting acupuncture? What is really necessary for acupuncture treatments? How can acupuncturists provide treatments to more people? The result is the Community Acupuncture model, which includes some fundamental re-imaginings of what acupuncture is and can be, and many systems that help clinics run smoothly.

The Community Acupuncture business model is influenced by the concept of Social Business as defined by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. A social business is a cause-driven business. In a social business, the investors/owners can gradually recoup the money invested, but cannot take any dividend beyond that point. The company must cover all costs and make a profit and at the same time achieve the social objective, such as healthcare for those on a limited income.

Unlike a regular business, the prime aim of a Social Business is not to maximize profits, but to make its products available to the widest population possible. On the other hand, unlike a non-profit, a Social Business is neither dependent upon donations nor on private or public grants to survive and to operate because, as any other business, it must be self-sustaining. The impact of the business on people or environment, rather the amount of profit made in a given period, measures the success of social business.

At the root of every helping profession is altruism, or the desire to help others bear their burdens. But altruism alone cannot sustain the acupuncturists and their desire to bring this beautiful, simple, and effective medicine to the community. Acupuncture is also a source of livelihood for its practitioners. The Community Acupuncture model allows the acupuncturists to bring together the best altruistic aspirations with an ability to make a living.

This business model is spreading across North America and there are hundreds of Community Acupuncture clinics in the US and Canada. Victoria already has several of them and now there’s one in James Bay too.