South Austin Community Acupuncture
In the halls of Congress, politicians debate health care reform as the American public waits anxiously and often skeptically to see how things turn out. In South Austin, the folks at South Austin Community Acupuncture are doing their part to bring about an entirely different kind of health care revolution.
Walk into the treatment room at South Austin Community Acupuncture and what you’ll see looks more like a living room than a clinic, with people relaxing —and often snoozing — while they receive acupuncture in comfy old recliners clustered around the large room. These patients pay for their treatment on a sliding scale based on their income.
Founded by acupuncturists Wally Doggett and Kelly Jennings in 2006, the clinic is part of a movement to make acupuncture accessible and affordable for all. Acupuncture, which needs only a qualified practitioner, a place for the patient to lie down, and needles, can be helpful to some degree in treating almost any illness, has no side effects, and can be used in conjunction with Western medicine. Acupuncture is a folk medicine, with a history of use stretching back at least a couple of thousand years. It is extremely safe, and costs next to nothing to deliver. Yet in America, acupuncture has become unaffordable for most people, and is often seen as a luxury for the New Agey with plenty of disposable income.
South Austin Community Acupuncture founders Wally Doggett and Kelly Jennings
Doggett aims to change all of that. His work centers on a radical low cost/high volume business model based on principles of social entrepreneurship – and he’s not alone. Inspired by Portland, Oregon’s Working Class Acupuncture, South Austin Community Acupuncture is but one of the many community acupuncture clinics that have opened around the country over the last few years as part of the Community Acupuncture Network.
The thinking behind this movement has been concisely summed up in ‘Acupuncture Is Like Noodles: The Little Red (Cook)Book of Working Class Acupuncture’ by the acupuncturists of Working Class Acupuncture – Lisa Rohleder Et. Al. (2009).
In the book’s introduction, Rohleder makes her case for what those involved in community acupuncture like to think of as the quietest revolution ever staged:
“Imagine what would happen if a pharmaceutical company announced that it had invented a drug which could effectively treat practically everything that could go wrong with a person… And imagine that not only can this drug address all of these problems, but that its “side effects” are positive: it has stress-reducing and mood-elevating properties…. And yet it isn’t addictive and there’s no way to overdose on it. Think about the potential market for the drug—and how it would challenge our assumptions about how medicine works. Now imagine that this drug isn’t a drug; but a practice so old that it cannot be patented or claimed by anyone. A practice that requires almost no materials and costs almost nothing. In a country that is not only in the midst of a health care crisis due to skyrocketing costs, but also sunk in the worst recession in memory. See where we’re going with this? But wait—imagine that this practice that should cost almost nothing and should be available to virtually everybody has somehow become so expensive that almost nobody can even afford to try it… And so what ought to be an inexpensive treasure for everyone, especially in dire economic times, has become an overpriced luxury for a very few. Doesn’t it sound like it might be time to talk about a revolution?”
Acupuncturist Wally Doggett (third from left) with Nepali visitors
But the big question for those who haven’t tried it remains: Does acupuncture work? My renowned orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Ted Spears says it best, “The proof that acupuncture works lies in the fact that people have been using it for thousands of years? So why not use it?” And thanks to forward thinking practitioners like Wally, many of us living in Austin can actually afford to.
Fore more information on South Austin Community Acupuncture, go to http://www.acupunctureworldheadquarters.com/
Wonderful to see some forward thinking, not surprised that it’s in the Austin area. I’m nearer Galveston but would sure love to visit. I NEED to stop smoking, would like to know what sort of time commitment would be required to be treated for this addiction?
Hi Karen,
I’m not sure, but you could sure contact Wally at South Austin Community Acupuncture and he’d give you info. The number of the Clinic is 512-707-8330.
Good luck.