Welcome!

Our goal at Community Acupuncture Works is simple — to provide quality acupuncture at affordable prices. Acupuncture in America has come a long way towards social and scientific acceptance in the past few decades. Those that could afford it have enjoyed the many health and relaxation benefits that acupuncture provides. But for most of us, the cost of the usual acupuncture treatment has become prohibitively expensive.

Looking for a way to make acupuncture more affordable, the pioneers at Portland, Oregon’s Working Class Acupuncture created the community-acupuncture business model. In community acupuncture clinics, patients receive care in a group setting while resting in a comfortable reclining chair. This treatment model allows us to give effective, individual treatments while seeing multiple patients per hour, which brings our costs down.

Given the rising cost of health care and the general state of the economy today, we believe that providing affordable acupuncture to all is more important than ever. We are at the beginning of a health care revolution in which acupuncture, made affordable, will play a crucial role.

With flu season in full effect there are a few things CA Works would like to implement to help avoid the spread of the flu to your fellow acupuncture recipients and practitioners. If you have flu-like symptoms and a fever, please do not come into the clinic for treatment until your fever has been gone for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.

If your symptoms become severe, please consult with an M.D.  Also, if you have an uncontrollable expressive cough and you need acupuncture treatment please bring and wear a surgical mask while in the clinic for consideration of others in the room.

Hopefully with these precautions we can stay as healthy as possible through this flu season. And please take these everyday precautions as well as getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night, eating lots of fresh veggies, fruit, whole grains and protein, drink at least 8 cups of water a day and limiting/avoid processed foods and sugars to help support your immune system.

Everyday preventive actions:

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
• Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
• If you are sick with flu-like illness, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.)
• While sick, limit contact with others as much as possible to keep from infecting them.
• Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other measures to keep our distance from each other to lessen the spread of flu.

Some links for more information on swine flu:

• www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/habits.htm
• www.cdc.gov/flu/swineflu/key_facts.htm
• www.cdc.gov/H1N1FLU/

With the change of the season comes a change or two for Community Acupuncture Works. You’ll be seeing a couple of new faces as two volunteers will be staffing the front desk a few times a month (mainly Thurs. and Fri.). They are here to answer any questions you have and to help out, so please say hello to them!

For your convenience, you can download the new client paperwork to complete and bring to your first session. If you have any questions, leave that portion blank and you will discuss it with your acupuncturist during your session.