Affordable Acupuncture, Community-style

Shu-Hsien Ho leans back into her chair, falling deeper into a meditative state at her weekly treatment at Living Room Acupuncture clinic. Ho can breathe easy knowing she is not burning a hole in her pocket to pay for the frequent acupuncture visits.

After trying Western medication and private acupuncture clinics to treat chronic eczema and acne, Ho has embraced the community acupuncture model offered at Living Room Acupuncture clinic.

“I couldn’t sustain going to acupuncture at the higher rates,” said Ho. “Basically, I reduced my treatments to fit my budget and went only twice a month. But I noticed that with the slower pace, I wasn’t really getting the results I do when I go more frequently.”

Cupertino has several acupuncture treatment clinics, but for some, the cost of private treatment near home is prohibitive.

Living Room Acupuncture opened on July 9, 2010, with the goal of maximizing convenient and affordable health care for the many patients in a similar situation as Ho. Its community acupuncture model is based off the traditional group-based acupuncture of Asia, which provides high volume and low costs to patients seeking frequent treatment.

The community acupuncture clinic, at 1630 Oakland Rd., No. A110, in San Jose, offers a calm, comforting environment, with a sliding scale of $20-$40 for regular clients, for treatments averaging 45 minutes. However, patients are allowed to stay at the clinic with the needles in as long as they wish to feel the full benefits of the treatment.

“Some patients have a lot of underlying fatigue or deficiency, and they need to stay longer to recharge their battery,” said co-founder Paul Wang.

After an initial consultation, patients are evaluated for their acupuncture needs and proceed to a specified treatment plan. Founders Paul Wang and Faye Luong, both alumni of American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, say the focus is on giving frequent, regular treatments of acupuncture to provide natural, side-effect-free health care. The clinic serves approximately 50 patients a week.

To make their service both efficient and high quality, Wang focuses on distal acupuncture points, which are mainly located on the hands and forearms, the feet and lower legs, as well as some scalp and ear points.  This makes for quick and comfortable public acupuncture.

Customers seemed to embrace the community aspect of the clinic.

“I like it better going as a group,” said Royd Hatta, who attends with his wife, Shu-Hsien Ho. “It’s fun—like going on a hike with your friends.” Hatta had done acupuncture only once before, but exposure to the clinic from his wife changed his mind. “I think after all these months of seeing what people’s reactions were to acupuncture, it made me feel more comfortable with acupuncture,” said Hatta.

“I actually enjoy the community part of it,” adds Ho. “I always got the sense that if I need some more privacy, I could go into another room and have some more specific attention.”

The clinic has a family-friendly environment where young children can paint watercolors on a "Buddha board" while parents relax and have acupuncture treatment. Likewise, the clinic has the option of a private room for patients who want more privacy or need treatment requiring access to other non-distal areas of the body.

Perhaps the biggest strength of Living Room Acupuncture is the sheer magnetism of the two owners, who have created this environment for acupuncture aficionados. Their generous, holistic perspective has won over clients, who say both go out of their way to suggest complementary things in addition to the main acupuncture service.

Ho said Luong once brought some aloe drink to help her treatment of cooling down her body system. Later, Luong also gave some coconut oil to try as a substitute for corn oil. 

“Faye and Paul are awesome, and they’re fun to talk to,” said Brad Piontkowski, who’s been treated twice a week since August. “I had been to older Chinese medicine acupuncturists who knew their stuff but were grouchy and not very helpful. It wasn’t very fun, and I didn’t get much out of it after a while. Here, it’s the total opposite experience.”

Both Luong and Wang openly share information, which comforts patients wanting to know the reasoning behind certain treatments. The clinic has services to support English, Mandarin Chinese, Vietnamese and Spanish speakers.

“I felt it was easy to ask Faye and Paul, ‘Why are you putting the needle in this particular area?’” said Ho. “They would teach me, ‘Well, that’s specifically for your large intestine, or liver.’ Or they would teach me that certain points are the main meridians.”

Living Room Acupuncture is now expanding and offering some new initiatives, like more hours, more staff and a special deal for senior citizens, such as the discount that started earlier this month. Senior citizens pay $15 for each acupuncture treatment on specific evenings.   

“Before I had to turn away patients from care,” said Luong, who previously had her own private clinic. “They are older and can’t afford $65-$75 a treatment. Now I am treating a new segment of the population that I couldn’t before.”

More staff will be added to make way for longer hours of treatment. The owners believe in giving back and providing opportunities for younger acupuncturists to prepare them to start their own clinics. “A lot of acupuncture students are really motivated with the healing side and not familiar with the business, entrepreneurial side,” said Wang.

Starting an acupuncture business in this economy is particularly difficult, given that it can cost anywhere from $10,000-$50,000. Wang says Living Room Acupuncture offers a low-risk way to get started, from student to practicing professional.

Dat On, a recent graduate from Five Branches University in San Jose, will join Living Room Acupuncture this month. “It’s good to get clinical experience right away and see many patients to refine our skills,” said On.  

 “It really fits together,” said Wang.  ”We are not only able to treat people in this economy but also employ and mentor people who can’t afford to start their own clinic just yet.”

Click here for more information on Living Room Acupuncture, or call 408-260-2458.

For more information about Community Acupuncture, click here.