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Community Acupuncture Project (CAP) Sites
Essential to our students' education is a comprehensive clinical experience. ACTCM offers one of the most comprehensive, diverse and integrative clinical training experiences in the country. Students have the opportunity to intern at ACTCM's onsite Community Clinic, as well as at specialized clinical sites located throughout the San Francisco area, which together comprise our Community Acupuncture Program.
The Community Clinic
Located in the main campus building on Arkansas Street, this clinic serves as the program's centerpiece. The clinic provides on average more than 17,000 treatments a year. Serving a diverse client population, the clinic offers a variety of clinical opportunities for students and practitioners alike.
Clinical services include acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, Shiatsu, Tui Na, Qigong, nutritional counseling, and a full-service Chinese herbal pharmacy that carries an extensive selection of high-quality raw herbs, powdered herbs and patent medicines. The Community Clinic operates weekdays, evenings and Saturdays, by appointment or on a drop-in basis. We invite Prospective Students to meet with an Admissions Counselor to receive a coupon for a complimentary treatment from one of our clinical interns.
California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC)
CPMC offers interns the opportunity to treat patients in a hospital setting who are paralyzed or have limited mobility due to stroke or other injury to the brain or spine. Medical doctors refer patients for acupuncture to address issues surrounding pain management, rehabilitation, speech therapy, motor coordination, muscle tone and weakness, depression and anxiety. Because of the nature of cerebral and spinal injuries, many patients are treated regularly for a number of weeks or months.
Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic (HAFMC)
Founded in 1967, HAFMC was the first free clinic of its kind in the United Staes, and many of the over 400 free clinics nationwide have used HAFMC as a model. Each year the clinic provides care to over 6,000 individuals who are homeless, in between jobs or cannot afford the high cost of health insurance. Common health complaints treated are pain, stress, colds/flu, addiction, women's issues and immune system support. On Thursday mornings, HAFCM runs an HIV clinic where patients receive integrated treatment that includes conventional health care, acupuncture and other medical approaches.
Jewish Home for the Aged (JHA)
JHA is a non-profit nursing facility and residential community specializing in programs, services, and care for the elderly. It serves more than 430 residents whose average age is 87. Interns treat JHA residents for a myriad of health issues, including depression, anxiety, insomnia, nausea, fatigue, pain, weakness, tremors, shortness of breath, neuropathy, edema, urinary incontinence, degenerative joint disease, and memory/hearing loss. Interns learn to work with patients who are suffering from limited mobility, dementia, Parkinson's disease, side effects of Western medications, and the emotions and fears associated with death and dying.
Women's Community Clinic (WCC)
WCC provides free, respectful, high quality health care for women, by women. The clinic serves approximately 2000 clients per year, 90% of whom do not have health insurance and almost 80% of whom are between the ages of 21-35. WCC offers screening for sexually transmitted infections, routine annual exams, pregnancy tests, family planning and diagnosis and treatment of gynecological concerns. Common health complaints treated include PMS, menstrual difficulties, menopause, stress, insomnia and pain. Interns provide acupuncture treatment and are encouraged to discuss nutrition, herbal remedies and health choices with their patients.
Maxine Hall Health Center (MHHC)
The Maxine Hall Health Center consisting of a primary care clinic, a walk-in clinic, an HIV clinic, and a women's clinic is part of the San Francisco Department of Public Health Community Health Network. Serving a predominantly low-income clientele, MHHC provides health care services for all ages regardless of ability to pay. The acupuncture team is one part of MHHC's multi-disciplinary care approach involving medical doctors, public health nurses, social workers, clinical psychologists and pharmacists. Health complaints such as pain, stress, facial paralysis, emotional distress, insomnia and weight loss are common. Interns also have the opportunity to treat patients with HIV and AIDS, and are encouraged to incorporate a variety of TCM approaches into the treatment they provide, including Tui Na, nutritional counseling and herbal remedies.
St. James Infirmary (SJI)
St. James Infirmary is the country's first occupational health and safety clinic for sex workers. It is a peer-based community clinic, founded and largely run by members from the community that it serves. SJI provides free, confidential and nonjudgmental medical and social services to clients who are often socially and economically disadvantaged, and dealing with issues such as drug and alcohol abuse and homelessness. Student interns utilize auricular acupuncture and occasionally full-body acupuncture to address a range of health complaints including back pain, headaches, insomnia, addiction, hepatitis, HIV, cancer, depression and anxiety.
Community Ear Acupuncture Project
Established in 1989 as a donation-based community clinic, the Community Ear Acupuncture Project'S mission is to provide quality holistic healthcare in a safe and welcoming environment to members of the public who may not otherwise be able to afford such care. The clinic is located in a large ACTCM classroom and operates on a drop- in, first come, first served basis. Treatment sessions typically last between 20-40 minutes and are performed in a group setting while patients relax in a chair. Up to four interns utilize auricular acupuncture to treat a daily average of 30-50 patients of varying ages, ethnicities and backgrounds. Some of the more common health services that interns provide are pain management, smoking cessation and treatment of PMS.