The Clinic Is Operating Under Reduced Capacity
Update as of July 3, 2020:
We are beginning to schedule a small amount of patients, prioritizing those who are most at risk during the pandemic. If you are at high risk for COVID-19, you can make an appointment by email (slotharoundtogether@gmail.com) or by phone 206-771-7982. For now, we are NOT making appointments through our on-line scheduling system. Please read on to learn more.
It has been three and a half months since we decided to temporarily shut down the clinic in order to help minimize community spread of the Coronavirus. In that time, we have gone back and forth on when and how to reopen. In one of these conversations, Carmel reminded me of a quote that she had grown up with: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” (Hillel, Pirke Avot).
As a healthcare provider, I am well aware of how important it is to be able to access regular, affordable, and effective healthcare. I felt a strong pull to remain open and available to my patients who rely on my clinic to control pain, promote emotional resilience, and heal from illness or injury. At the same time, my immediate family consists almost exclusively of individuals who are at the highest risk for severe outcomes from a Coronavirus exposure. If I continued to see my regular patient load, I could be putting my own family’s lives at risk. How could I ever decide how to balance those two concerns?
In my repeated nights of tossing and turning over these questions, it was the word “balance” that stuck out to me. Chinese medicine is all about finding balance through harmonizing seemingly opposite ideas. I see this concept of balance reflected in the quote that Carmel mentioned, and it helped me to realize that through some careful restructuring, I could balance the need to keep myself and my family safe with the need to provide care to those who are suffering the most during this pandemic.
As someone who is married to an individual with chronic lung disease, I have experienced first hand how many reopening plans are prioritizing the wants of the majority over the needs of those who are the most impacted- elders, those managing chronic illness, and individuals on the disability spectrum. This manner of prioritizing makes it particularly difficult for those who are at highest risk to get their basic needs met during the pandemic. So I have decided to offer some balance by doing the opposite. Many people who are at risk due to age or pre-existing medical conditions cannot safely be seen in community settings at this time. In order to meet the healthcare needs of these patients, I am temporarily offering private style acupuncture treatments at our regular sliding scale rate of $20-$50 per treatment. I am especially grateful that our clinic is divided up into separate treatment rooms, which allows us to more safely treat a limited number of patients privately per day. In addition to enhanced cleaning and screening protocols, each treatment room has its own heating/ventilation system, windows which can be opened, and an FDA approved air filter to capture or dilute germs. For individuals who communicate through lipreading or whose lung conditions make it difficult to breathe while wearing masks, I have see-through shields available. Additionally, I have been adhering to the strictest level of social distancing, and will continue to do so outside from the limited number of patients that I will be treating.
If you are in a high risk category and have been avoiding seeking care because you were concerned for your safety, please get in touch. Your health and wellbeing is of the utmost important to me, and I am prioritizing your safety in our clinic. Please note that in this intermediary stage we are scheduling directly through email only, instead of utilizing our online scheduling system.
If you are not in the group of people who are most at risk for serious complications during this time, I ask for your continued patience and understanding. We will open up more spots and transition back to our regular community-style clinic as soon as it is safe for everyone to do so.
For those who cannot come in for appointments, we are continuing to offer no contact herbal consultations and pick ups! Coronavirus is not the only thing going around these days. We have lots of herbs in stock that can help you recover from many different symptoms, including allergies, or a regular cold or flu. I have been providing herbal diagnosis and treatment for close to twenty years and would be happy to discuss if herbal medicine is right for you. Recently, I also completed several hours of training on herbal treatments for symptoms related to Coronavirus. Regardless of what is making you feel yucky, we have herbs that may help you.
When you are ready to return to the clinic, please note that we have retooled to maximize safety! Click HERE to read what specific steps we have taken to make our clinic space as safe as possible. Thank you for your ongoing understanding and support.
With love,
Lynn
For accurate and up to date information on the local response to COVID-19, Click HERE
For information and guidance from the CDC. Click HERE
We are beginning to schedule a small amount of patients, prioritizing those who are most at risk during the pandemic. If you are at high risk for COVID-19, you can make an appointment by email (slotharoundtogether@gmail.com) or by phone 206-771-7982. For now, we are NOT making appointments through our on-line scheduling system. Please read on to learn more.
It has been three and a half months since we decided to temporarily shut down the clinic in order to help minimize community spread of the Coronavirus. In that time, we have gone back and forth on when and how to reopen. In one of these conversations, Carmel reminded me of a quote that she had grown up with: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” (Hillel, Pirke Avot).
As a healthcare provider, I am well aware of how important it is to be able to access regular, affordable, and effective healthcare. I felt a strong pull to remain open and available to my patients who rely on my clinic to control pain, promote emotional resilience, and heal from illness or injury. At the same time, my immediate family consists almost exclusively of individuals who are at the highest risk for severe outcomes from a Coronavirus exposure. If I continued to see my regular patient load, I could be putting my own family’s lives at risk. How could I ever decide how to balance those two concerns?
In my repeated nights of tossing and turning over these questions, it was the word “balance” that stuck out to me. Chinese medicine is all about finding balance through harmonizing seemingly opposite ideas. I see this concept of balance reflected in the quote that Carmel mentioned, and it helped me to realize that through some careful restructuring, I could balance the need to keep myself and my family safe with the need to provide care to those who are suffering the most during this pandemic.
As someone who is married to an individual with chronic lung disease, I have experienced first hand how many reopening plans are prioritizing the wants of the majority over the needs of those who are the most impacted- elders, those managing chronic illness, and individuals on the disability spectrum. This manner of prioritizing makes it particularly difficult for those who are at highest risk to get their basic needs met during the pandemic. So I have decided to offer some balance by doing the opposite. Many people who are at risk due to age or pre-existing medical conditions cannot safely be seen in community settings at this time. In order to meet the healthcare needs of these patients, I am temporarily offering private style acupuncture treatments at our regular sliding scale rate of $20-$50 per treatment. I am especially grateful that our clinic is divided up into separate treatment rooms, which allows us to more safely treat a limited number of patients privately per day. In addition to enhanced cleaning and screening protocols, each treatment room has its own heating/ventilation system, windows which can be opened, and an FDA approved air filter to capture or dilute germs. For individuals who communicate through lipreading or whose lung conditions make it difficult to breathe while wearing masks, I have see-through shields available. Additionally, I have been adhering to the strictest level of social distancing, and will continue to do so outside from the limited number of patients that I will be treating.
If you are in a high risk category and have been avoiding seeking care because you were concerned for your safety, please get in touch. Your health and wellbeing is of the utmost important to me, and I am prioritizing your safety in our clinic. Please note that in this intermediary stage we are scheduling directly through email only, instead of utilizing our online scheduling system.
If you are not in the group of people who are most at risk for serious complications during this time, I ask for your continued patience and understanding. We will open up more spots and transition back to our regular community-style clinic as soon as it is safe for everyone to do so.
For those who cannot come in for appointments, we are continuing to offer no contact herbal consultations and pick ups! Coronavirus is not the only thing going around these days. We have lots of herbs in stock that can help you recover from many different symptoms, including allergies, or a regular cold or flu. I have been providing herbal diagnosis and treatment for close to twenty years and would be happy to discuss if herbal medicine is right for you. Recently, I also completed several hours of training on herbal treatments for symptoms related to Coronavirus. Regardless of what is making you feel yucky, we have herbs that may help you.
When you are ready to return to the clinic, please note that we have retooled to maximize safety! Click HERE to read what specific steps we have taken to make our clinic space as safe as possible. Thank you for your ongoing understanding and support.
With love,
Lynn
For accurate and up to date information on the local response to COVID-19, Click HERE
For information and guidance from the CDC. Click HERE
