Got $20?

We have surpassed our financial goals for April. New patients appear every day that we are open, excited to be able to pursue a course of treatments. ERCA, along with all of the other community acupuncture clinics out there, is changing reality for so many people. In our 10 weeks of being open, we are treating out-of-work teachers, out-of-work screen writers, and people who just quit their health insurance (not by choice). It's not to say that I've never treated people who've been down on their luck....it's just that they could never afford to keep coming. I remember back in Atlanta giving a patient who had a factory job a "special price." She came in for a number of months, got great results and then I never heard from her again. I couldn't understand why. At that time, I was pretty far removed from her situation. Now that I have significantly less money and "security" than I had a few years ago, I can understand the mentality of wanting something that you can't afford. It's not that you want a hand-out or charity -- those make you feel icky, to say the least. You just want to be able to afford what you need.
Another perk of "recliner-style"/ community acupuncture is being able to see groups of complete strangers enter other states of consciousness together. I do enjoy breezing through the treatment room and seeing them on their respective recliners all snoozing away. Each one on their own journey with a look of serenity that keeps me from even asking, "Is everything okay?"
We are forming relationships with other businesses on our street. I am drinking a heck of a lot of coffee (there are coffee shops on both street corners). We are making more trips to the bank (with lots of $20 bills).
We are transforming people's health. We are soaring in a falling economy.