Our Clinic

We’ve been in our new clinic space for about 3 weeks now.  Saturday is our first Open House/Free Day.  Part of me has been busy and even overwhelmed with all the logistics of the new space and trying to get the word out.  My old friend, anxiety, has kept me up several nights this week with worries about bills, the lease, etc.  What if no one comes?  What if things don’t take off?  Etc., etc., etc.  

Our patients are not worried.  They are baking banana bread and cookies for Saturday and dropping by plants and flowers to liven up the clinic.  They are passing out fliers and telling all their friends.  “How can I help?” I hear several times each day.  It’s lovely.

Late last week one of our patients said she told a friend to come visit “our clinic.”  I was so touched that she sees the clinic as hers, so much so that she speaks about the clinic with a sense of ownership and pride.  Other patients speak of the clinic in this way too.  It’s much like the overflowing-with-love extended family I always wanted.  This just couldn’t happen in a one-on-one acupuncture practice.  

So, I’m going to let my patients treat me.  I’m going to follow their enthusiastic lead, water the plants, eat some banana bread and have faith that all will be well.  

To be honest, it helps that a reporter got hold of one of our fliers and added a little blurb about our event on the website of our community paper.  I needed that boost.  But it also helps to know that even if no new patients walk through the door on Saturday, the Open House will be a celebration of our community and the blessings such a community brings.  How amazingly fortunate I am to have community acupuncture in my life.

Author: Nancy Sutton

I've been a member of POCA since the early CAN days. My first CA training was in Oct. 2006 and I've been hooked ever since. In 2010, I started a CA clinic in Salem, Oregon. We've grown to about 150 visits per week. I'm moving to San Luis Obispo this summer (2012) for my partner's job and to be near family. I'm not eligible for licensure in California so my acupunk days are limited and will be on hold for a while. But I plan to stick around POCA.