About Philadelphia Community Acupuncture
701 S.50th Street, Philadelphia PA 19143 | (215) 729-2995

What is acupuncture? | What is PCA's "community setting?" | About our sliding scale | I'm a new patient. What do I need to know? | What forms of payment does PCA accept? | What is Community Supported Acupuncture? | Who we are - the practitioners

What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a powerfully effective and naturally relaxing form of medicine. The oldest continuously practiced medical system in the world, it is used by nearly one third of the planet's people as a primary health care system and many more as an adjunctive therapy.

The principle of acupuncture is treat each person as an integrated whole in body, mind, and spirit, and to remedy the root cause of illness and disease as well as the symptoms.

Acupuncture practitioners use thin, sterile needles inserted superficially into specific areas of the body in order to initiate healing and promote health. Over the three decades or so in which acupuncture has developed in the U.S., it has been proven to be not only exceptionally safe when performed by licensed professionals, but statistically effective in an increasing body of scientific studies.

What does PCA's "community setting" consist of?

Most US acupuncturists treat patients on tables in individual cubicles. This is not traditional in Asia, where acupuncture usually occurs in a community setting. In our clinic we primarily use recliners, clustered in groups in a large, quiet, soothing space. Treating patients in a community setting has many benefits: it’s easy for friends and family members to come in for treatment together; many patients find it comforting; and a collective energetic field becomes established which actually makes individual treatments more powerful. In some styles of acupuncture, the needles are removed after only a few minutes or after a half hour at most. The style of acupuncture we practice at WCA allows patients to keep their needles in as long as they want, and the “right” amount of time varies from patient to patient. Most people learn after a few treatments when they feel “done;” this can take from twenty minutes to a couple of hours! Many people fall asleep, and wake feeling refreshed.

About Our Sliding Scale

The purpose of our sliding scale is to separate the issues of money and treatment; we want you to come in often enough to really get better and stay better! The table below contains suggested guidelines for what you might pay depending on your income. We understand that everyone's situation is different, and our primary goal is to make acupuncture available to you as often as you need it. What you choose to pay is your decision. No income verification required.

Income	1st Appointment Paperwork Fee	Acupuncture Treatments	Additional Treatments within a week
Under $20,000	$10	$15	+$15 each
$20, 000 - $25,000	$10	$20	+$15 each
$25,000 - $30,000	$10	$25	+ $20 each
$30,000 - $50,000	$10	$30	+ $20 each
$50,000 +	$10	$35	+$25 each

I'm a new patient. What do I need to know?

You will need to fill out forms which can take between 15 and 30 minutes, so please come 20 to 30 minutes early to complete them. Or, you may download these forms at our web site, www.phillyacupuncture.com, and bring the completed forms with you. This helps support us, since it reduces the amount of paper shuffling on our end. The forms are in PDF format online.

There is a $10 one-time paperwork/administrative fee due at your first appointment.

Your treatment can be any length. One thing that makes our model different than many people are used to is that you, as the patient, decide how long your treatment will take. You might become deeply relaxed and sleepy during a treatment, and then at some point, your body will start to wake up and you will know that you are done. At this point you will catch the eye of the acupuncturist and they will come remove your needles. Most people stay anywhere between 15 minutes and an hour.

Please wear comfortable clothing. We use a style of acupuncture which allows us to only need access to your feet and legs up to the knee, and your hands and arms up to the elbow - so your clothing will need to allow us access to those parts of your body. Please do not wear tight pants or stockings.

We are on the third floor of a building with no elevator. The stairs are sturdy with good railings, and there are places to sit and rest on the second floor landings. If you would like assistance climbing the stairs, call when you get close to the building and one of us will come assist you.

What forms of payment does PCA accept?

PCA accepts payment of cash, checks and credit cards. We don't take American Express.

What is Community Supported Acupuncture?

In pre-Maoist China, acupuncture was community medicine, meaning it was available to the common person. There were no such concepts as "$5000 deductible", "visit limits", "waiting periods", and other fine print exclusionary language which is increasingly commonplace for many Americans. As more and more Americans find themselves lacking options for health care, the health standard of our nation continues to decline across a broad measurement of international standards. Many people believe that the current managed care system is unsustainable and will likely collapse within 5 to 10 years.

At a clinic in Portland, Oregon, Working Class Acupuncture (WCA), founders Lisa Rohleder, Skip Van Meter, and Lupine Hudson have developed a sustainable acupuncture practice model which addresses the inequities of the current health care system. This has proven to be enormously successful from a community health perspective, with hundreds of people every week receiving high quality care.

The WCA founders have organized the principles guiding their mission into a national movement by launching the Community Acupuncture Network (CAN), a non profit organization which seeks to promote the CA principles within the acupuncture profession.

With health care systems in America crumbling, we would do well to heed the advice of Bill McKibben, the noted deep ecologist: "The technology we need most is the technology of community -- the knowledge about how to cooperate to get things done.."

About The Practitioners

Ellen Vincent is a graduate of Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in San Diego and a licensed Practitioner of Oriental Medicine in Pennsylvania. She is a Philadelphia-area native and the mother of a three-year old named Uma.

Korben W. Perry is a graduate of The New England School of Acupuncture, where he received the Peter Faust Compassionate Healer Award for his graduating class. He is licensed in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Korben grew up in Indianapolis and lived in Boston for 15 years. He and his wife, artist Amy Walsh, made West Philadelphia home after moving here so that she could attend PAFA. He keeps a blog at www.spiritgate.typepad.com.

Rebecca Parker graduated from Tri-State College of Acupuncture in New York, after beginning her studies in Honolulu. She is happy to be back in West Philadelphia, which she has called home since 1997. In addition to treating her community, she is completing a residency in acupuncture at the Community Healthcare Network's CABS clinic in Bushwick, Brooklyn, and pursuing postgraduate herbal studies at Tri-State. She is licensed in New York and Pennsylvania.