Acupuncture Blog

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"If you are considering acupuncture, ask people you trust for recommendations," says this worthwhile article that just came out in the Chicago Tribune, recently.

'Acupuncture growing in popularity for variety of medical conditions'

At MAS, we pick and choose our advertising targets carefully.  At the same time, it is a truism that word-of-mouth is the bedrock of our marketing over the past 12 years. 

I'm remembering when all the school bus drivers from a nearby town started showing up for treatments around the same time. They were hearing about MAS from one another. 

Over the years more and more people have found out the benefits of acupuncture through affordable, community clinics.  They tell (and show) their doctors and other health providers that acupuncture is helping them.  Now a few times a week, new patients will tell us that they heard about us from their doctor or their doctor suggested for them to give acupuncture a try.  Word travels, indeed.



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10 years ago, WMUR's NH Chronicle produced a piece for their long-running local show on the new sliding-scale, community acupuncture facility that had opened right down the street from their offices in the millyard in Manchester. At that time, Manchester Acupuncture Studio was just a year old, and much of the focus of that episode was on our lone owner/full-time acupuncturist.  Fast forward to June of 2018, MAS is a 501(c)3 non-profit, boasting a Board of Directors, two clinic locations, a staff of 13 employees and 5 full-time acupuncturists along with thousands of people who can confidently speak from the perspective of seasoned recipients of acupuncture treatments. 

In order to update viewers, NH Chronicle got together a follow-up production with the focus largely from a patient's perspective. 

We're happy to share it with you here.

 

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Why is MAS now a non-profit?

MAS has always existed for one purpose only: to provide acupuncture to as many people as possible while supporting sustainable jobs for its workers.
In other words, MAS has been provided for by staff and patients.

The decision to change the legal structure of the business from a for-profit to a non-profit was based on several different factors. As it turns out, all of them in the interest of providing MAS an opportunity to continue to do its work for decades to come, while not relying on a particular person or persons to make this possible, legally speaking.

The goal of the organization has been to serve the public by providing acupuncture services and not endeavoring to amass an excess of money. MAS blossomed as a for-profit social businesses. Over the past few years, it's become clear this social business will be better served in the long run if recognized as a 501(c)3 non-profit by the IRS. This allows for the varied expertise and capital of many parties to continue to push MAS forward in its mission.

Simply put, MAS has grown too big to rest on one owner's shoulders.

It now rightfully belongs to all of us – patients, staff and the public in general.

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So let's make a few things clear. Here is what won't be changing:

- The sliding-scale. $15-$35. The basic math stays the same – we charge as little as we can, haven't raised prices in 10+ years, and have no plans to do so.

- The Staff, front desk and acu-punks. We will all continue to be here, happy to be working!

- The overarching mission of MAS: ongoing work to expand availability of acupuncture in Manchester & Nashua-area communities by increasing clinic hours and bringing on additional qualified, passionate acupuncturists.

- Membership and affiliation with POCA (The People's Organization of Community Acupuncture)

Here's what will be changing:

- MAS is now overseen by a terrific, thoughtful and wonderful Board of Directors, made up of MAS patients and staff.

- Former owner Andy Wegman now works as the Executive Director, continuing to manage day-to-day operations as well as continuing with full-time acupuncture at MAS.

- We can now accept donations in cash or kind, that are entirely tax-deductable. Donations are welcome throughout the year. On the donation front, you will see and hear much more about our upcoming efforts to secure a permanent home under our control, for MAS Manchester - and with your help!

- We can begin endeavoring to pursue outside funding for the purpose of opening up the availability of acupuncture to people who wouldn't otherwise have the chance to use it.  An example of this is our recent partnership with the VA in Manchester.

On behalf of the entire MAS Staff & Board of Directors, Thank You for your trust in us and thank you for your business. We look forward to being here with you for a long, long time to come.

Onward,

Andy Wegman, Executive Director @ MAS

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MAS 10th anniversary party

 

Manchester Acupuncture Studio was established in 2007 in the millyard of Manchester, NH. It’s hard to believe ten years have gone by already, but here we are, ten years in and 200,000+ acupuncture treatments later! We have certainly grown from our start in a single treatment room on the ground floor of Stark Mill. From hiring more talented acupuncturists and front desk workers, doubling our treatment space a few years later, having a hand in launching POCA (the People’s Organization of Community Acupuncture), opening a second MAS clinic in Nashua and then steering the Manchester clinic to our current terrific home two-plus years ago, it's been an honor to take part in this work. It has been our pleasure to meet so many excellent people in the clinic and around towns, becoming a part of the communities of Manchester and Nashua whom we serve. 

The story of MAS is quite simple: endeavoring to offer affordable acupuncture as often as we are able. We are in the final stages of becoming a non-profit, and we have always run our business in a way that places our patients and accessible acupuncture at the forefront. It's been a great ride, and we are all looking forward to continuing to be present and available to you for years more to come.

In this spirit, we welcome all to join us on Saturday, June 3rd in Manchester & Nashua during normal clinic hours for a mellow celebration of 10 years’ worth of Manchester Acupuncture Studio and affordable acupuncture in Southern New Hampshire with FREE acupuncture and light refreshments.  Bring a friend and put your feet up, on us.  We hope to see you there.

 

 

 

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A regular at the clinic and I had an excellent conversation a few weeks back.

What initially began as Lisa asking how we were doing finding a replacement for our friend/colleague Tracy who recently moved to Vermont to open a clinic in Chester, turned into an exchange of ideas that left us both feeling relief from what the other had to share. I'm inclined to recount our conversation in order to make clear to our patients how we work in a particular sense, and why.

Finding an acupuncturist who is a good fit for Community Acupuncture clinics can be a tricky task. What we find most valuable in our clinical staff - and perhaps more to the point, what we don't find valuable - are traits many of our colleagues are unprepared for.

"What are you looking for in a hire?", Lisa inquired. I began to list a few characteristics: a clear communicator, an honest and hard worker, someone who can quietly command a room full of sleeping people...

Lisa nodded.

...a Populist, a lover of People first and Chinese medicine second.

Now she looked confused.

I began to explain how acupuncturists are taught lots of different therapies aside from acupuncture itself while in school. As a result, graduates are often compelled to offer not only needle work, but also various lifestyle and dietary advice. And for many acupuncturists this is well and good. But I'd maintain this advice is not necessarily always welcome or constructive for patients.

Two thoughts come to mind about giving lifestyle advice:

1. Patients often already know what we've been trained to advise, namely the benefits of: getting more exercise or more sleep, eating less low-quality food or not so late at night, etc.

and

2. Many patients already work with a nutritionist or naturopath or weight-loss group and so already have plenty of information at hand.

Community Acupuncturists consciously try to avoid adding to the information overload many are already reckoning with these days. Instead we simply offer people the time and space to decompress and sort things out through a steady stream of acupuncture treatments. More often than not this is plenty to help initiate a positive response, allowing people to see patterns and situations more clearly for themselves.

Lisa smiled and nodded.

"If I did have questions and wanted your opinion, would you be willing to share it?" she asked.

The answer is, of course, but we wouldn't just assume you didn't already know.

I asked her how she would have reacted during her first visits to the clinic when she showed up constipated and tired, if we had taken the liberty of suggesting she stop eating so much of her favorite cheese and drank more water. "I would have thought to myself 'I already know I should do that'. The reality of it is, I know I was eating too much cheese and not drinking enough. It's a pattern I get into when I'm all stressed out. The problem is when I get into that practice, it becomes a downward spiral - more stress, more poor eating and dehydration, constipation and fatigue - and more lousy choices to follow. Something else had to give before I could get my act together."

Knowing she was able to break this pattern a few months back, I asked what she attributed it to. "An attitude adjustment thanks to a string of acupuncture treatments", she answered quickly then went on, "the treatments help me deal better with stress. I'm able to let it all roll off my back. When this happens, I make better decisions all-around on my own, including around eating. I have the resolve to carry through the things I should do, and avoid more of the things I shouldn't. I can do this because I don't have that monkey on my back."

I was nodding now.

This is a great example of why we tend to give treatments (and enough of them) and not lifestyle advice, I explained.

It's also one of the most important traits of an effective Community Acupuncturist; they recognize what you just explained, to be true. They know that acupuncture itself has a knack to help people make healthier choices.

"So, did you find someone yet?"

Yes we did as a matter of fact.

Andy Wegman @ MAS

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Andy Wegman @ MAS

We figured a 3rd birthday was as good a time as any to launch a new website for the clinic. The site is after all, nothing if not a reflection of what goes on any given day at MAS. It stands to reason then, visitors here on the site should be able to take a peek at what the clinic currently looks like and how a visit works, hear what other folks getting acupuncture have to say about their treatments, and pick up a great book to read while sipping a cup of tea. Heck if we dig deep enough, we might even catch an update on the bathroom key from Nancy, our incomparable front desk general somewhere in these pages.

Well, we're certainly hoping the site helps answer more questions and is able to tell more of our collective stories; both locally and beyond. And the story telling is, without exaggeration, the main reason this and other Community Acupuncture clinics exist. If our patients didn't tell neighbors, co-workers and family about their treatments, MAS would simply cease to be.

So again, thanks very much to you all.

Please feel free to drop us an email if there is something that's missing that you'd like to see or hear - or contribute to the site yourself.

And a giant Thank You to all who've helped MAS grow young, strong roots in this most excellent city by the River.

Here's to the next three years...Cheers!

Andy Wegman @ Manchester Acupuncture Studio

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