Category: News

New Sliding Scale Guidelines

Our sliding scale has not changed. Boston Acupuncture Project builds community by providing widely accessible and affordable acupuncture. Boston Acupuncture Project is here for you – and thanks to you. But what does the sliding scale really mean?

We need to average $35 per visit.

We want to keep our sliding scale at $25-$55 for as long as possible. In order to continue to stay open and provide treatments, our clinic needs to average $35 per visit. (This assumes we’re averaging 40 visits per week.) This is a literal average – every dollar counts! But to keep it simple, let’s break it into 3 tiers:

Paying $45 or more helps us keep the low end of the sliding scale at $25, save for emergencies, and potentially even grow to have more open hours, more programs, and more staff.

Paying $35 helps sustain Boston Acupuncture Project financially. Thank you! This is the average payment we need to keep things running.

If you are only able to pay $25, thank you so much – please keep paying $25 per visit.

If you need to pay $25, we want you to pay $25.

No matter how much you pay, we want you to be able to get as much acupuncture as you need to see a real difference in your health concerns. Not only does your life improve, but then you can tell other people about how acupuncture helped you! And that helps us reach more new patients, and fulfill our mission.

So, if paying more than $25 would prevent you from getting as much acupuncture as you need, we do not want you to pay more than $25. We want you to get enough acupuncture. There are also plenty of ways you can help BAP keep our doors open that are not paying more on the sliding scale, if you’re interested!

If $25 puts acupuncture out of reach for you

If you are not able to pay $25 per visit, please talk to your acupuncturist! Generous community members who love getting acupuncture at BAP donate Pay It Forward treatments for neighbors unable to pay $25. (If you would like to donate a Pay It Forward treatment, please click here to visit our donation page.)

We want you to know that every dollar counts.

If you are able, paying above $25 makes a real difference for us.

We are counting on you to ask yourself the question. We can’t stay open if we can’t meet our financial obligations.

How do I know how much I can pay?

This is very personal. Below is one framework for thinking about where you might fall on our sliding scale. Thanks for being thoughtful!

3 bottles under a heading The Green Bottle - where you fall on the sliding scale. Vertical axis is labeled financial privilege - how full the bottles are. Horizontal axis is labeled Personal Financial Experience - what you experience inside each bottle. Bottle on left is full. It says: I am comfortably able to meet all of my basic needs; I may have some debt but it does not prohibit attainment of basic needs; I own my home OR I rent a higher end property; I own or lease a car; I am employed OR do not need to work to meet my needs; I have regular access to health care and financial savings; I have expendable income; I can always buy new items; I can afford time off or a vacation. Middle bottle is half full. It says: I may stress about meeting my basic needs but still regularly achieve them; I may have some debt but it does not prohibit attainment of basic needs; I own or lease a car; I am employed; I have access to health care; I might have access to financial savings; I have some expendable income; I am able to buy some new items and thrift others; I can take a vacation annually or every few years without financial burden. Bottle on the right has very little and says: I frequently stress about meeting my basic needs and don't always achieve them; I have debt and sometimes it prohibits me from meeting my basic needs; I rent lower-end properties or have unstable housing; I do not have a car and/or have limited access to a car but am not always able to afford gas; I am unemployed or underemployed; I qualify for government assistance including food stamps and health care; I have no or very limited expendable income; I rarely buy new items because I am unable to afford them; I cannot afford a vacation or have the ability to take time off without financial burden. Bottom says that Basic Needs include food, housing, and transportation. Expendable income means you are able to buy a coffee, go to the movies or a concert, buy a new book or clothing or similar items every month, etc. Designed by Alexis J. Cunningfolk at WortsAndCunning.com

Small Steps Healing Project making big waves

Group photo of (Left to Right) LaShyra "Lash" Nolen (founder of We Got Us Project), Golda and Cornelie Jean-Charles (Haitian-American sisters who have a business called I Love Me Reiki https://www.ilovemereiki.com/), Dr. Tolbert Small, Oren "Ren" Pilinger (lead acupuncturist at Boston Acupuncture Project), Geri Hughes (Blue Willow Acupuncture), and Eana Meng, founder and director of the Small Steps Healing Project.

In the past few months, over 150 community members received free holistic healing thanks to the Small Steps Healing Project, part of We Got Us. Boston Acupuncture Project had the opportunity to contribute to this work.

Community Empowerment

What is We Got Us? From their website: “The We Got Us Empowerment Project is a Boston-based collective of Black community members, health professional students, and allies dedicated to empowering our communities with education about medical racism, COVID-19, and the vaccine. We also seek to promote public health and to influence policy in order to help keep our communities safe and healthy.”

The Small Steps Healing Project, a community-based collaborative, aims to “increase access to acupuncture and holistic healing for the historically marginalized populations in Boston and beyond.” Harvard medical student Eana Meng named the project after Dr. Tolbert Small, physician to the Black Panthers and one of the first American doctors to practice acupuncture.

Eana and other Small Steps Healing Project volunteers organized eight pop up clinics around Boston, providing acupuncture, reiki, sound healing, and more – all free for the community.

Learning and Celebrating

This past Saturday, October 22, 2022, Eana arranged for Dr. Small to fly out and speak in Dorchester. We learned more about Dr. Small’s trail-blazing life and work as a Black physician and activist. It was wonderful to be there and an honor to meet Dr. Small.

Healers from around Boston

Check out the work of some of the other healers participating in the Small Steps Healing Project:

Click arrow to see more photos. Photos 1-5 courtesy of Elizabeth Ropp, L.Ac. Final group photo courtesy of the Small Steps Healing Project.

Short trailer video by Eana Meng about her research journey! More videos at https://www.wegotusproject.org/small-steps-project

Acupuncture Outdoors in Summer 2022

Boston Acupuncture Project still offers Bubble Block appointments at the clinic during our regular clinic hours.

What is a “Bubble Block”?

Bubble Blocks reserve the clinic for one full hour, for up to 4 people. (Or just for yourself!)

The name comes from earlier in the pandemic, when many people were only interacting with others in their “bubble.”

Bubble Blocks cost $100 minimum – add $10 for each new (first-time) patient. Anyone new should fill out health history and consent forms before you arrive. 24 hours’ notice is required to cancel or reschedule a Bubble Block.

Book Now

Outdoor Appointments

This summer, Bubble Blocks head outdoors – to your back yard!

Interested in hosting a Bubble Block at your outdoor location?

Call or text us at 617-506-3868 or fill out the Outdoor Acupuncture Appointment Request Form online (click here).

Request Now

Christine Rose, co-Founder of 4 Corners Yoga + Wellness, Joins Board of Directors

Boston Acupuncture Project (BAP) welcomes Christine Rose to its Board of Directors.

Christine Rose is co-founder and owner of 4 Corners Yoga + Wellness in Dorchester and the founder and owner of Imani Massage in Jamaica Plain.

A graduate of Boston University, Christine’s professional career spans the food service industry, financial services, service-based businesses, and the not-for-profit sector. She is a member of the American Massage Therapy Association and volunteers on the Membership Experience Committee. She is also a member of the Dorchester Food Coop and volunteers regularly. Her volunteering and community leadership have taken her from Big Sisters, to Hebrew Senior Life Nursing Home, to serving on the Board of Directors at educational non-profit Abraham’s Tent. And now, Christine joins us at BAP.

In her words: “As a wellness practitioner, I believe in all complementary modalities to help affect change in the mind, body, and spirit. I also believe whole-heartedly in accessibility. I love that BAP is located in an adjacent neighborhood to me.”

Christine brings her entrepreneurial brilliance and passion for helping people to BAP, connecting two welcoming wellness organizations in Boston.

Boston Acupuncture Project, Inc. (BAP) builds community by providing widely accessible and affordable acupuncture in a community (group) setting and other forms of holistic health care. Regular access to acupuncture can help manage chronic illness, relieve pain, and resolve acute conditions. 

In its 3 years open, BAP has given over 3,800 community acupuncture treatments to over 690 of our neighbors. Treatments are offered 5 days a week at 74 Fairmount Ave, Hyde Park, MA 02136. For more information and to book an appointment, please visit: www.BostonAcupunctureProject.org

Updated Mask Requirements

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Man puts on a surgical face mask.

As NPR put it: “With omicron, you need a mask that means business.” 

If you come in with a cloth mask, we will now ask you to put on a surgical mask. (Surgical under cloth is OK.)

Acceptable Masks:

  • 3-ply surgical
  • KN95
  • KF94
  • N95 (no valves)

Got only cloth masks? Please look into getting a better mask!

Some sources:

Watch out for fakes – click here for advice about that from the CDC.

We are doing this to keep you as safe as possible while providing affordable, effective community acupuncture!

Thank you for your participation.

Attention B-Local App users

Boston Points Expire on December 31, 2021

If you’ve been using the B-Local app, and you have Boston Points, use them by the end of 2021! As the year ends, so does the pilot phase of B-Local.

The pilot program was funded by the federal CARES Act, which expires at the end of this year. All pilot phase Boston Points expire on 12/31/2021 and your balance will go back to zero.

Use Your Points at Boston Acupuncture Project

You can use your Boston Points to purchase acupuncture treatments NOW, even if you can’t use the treatments until 2022.

It’s easy: just order yourself a gift certificate.

How To Redeem Your Boston Points

  • Open the B-Local App and Click REDEEM at the bottom.
  • Make a note of how many Boston Points you have! You’ll need this number later. Then click on Boston Acupuncture Project. (Use the search bar if you don’t see it right away.)
  • Now click the Redeem button at the bottom.
  • Click Next.
  • Type in the number of Boston Points you want to spend at Boston Acupuncture Project. Then click the button.
  • Click Redeem Now!
  • The screen will do this for a while . . . . wait for it . . ..
  • Done! If you are not in the clinic, please take a screenshot of this screen and text or email it to us, so we can be sure to credit your Boston Points to the right place.

What’s Next?

We’ll find out! In the meantime, continue to use the B-local app to discover new local businesses across Boston.

Big News: First Visits Are easy Again

Acupuncturist Ren treats a volunteer at BAP while another volunteer reclines in the background. All 3 are wearing masks.

For the past year, our New Patient Process has involved a tele-health intake followed by an in-person visit.

As of June 2021, tele-health visits are optional! NEW patients can book a first visit, online or by phone, and come to the clinic in person to get acupuncture right away.

For those who need a more in-depth, intensive discussion of their health concerns, we recommend still booking a tele-health intake.

Book Now

With The B_Local App you can get rewarded for getting acupuncture!

B-Local App from the City of Boston. Earn Points. Support Local Businesses. Hand holding phone showing app.

Boston Acupuncture Project has joined the B-Local app from the City of Boston!

Here is how to get rewarded for every $ you spend at Boston Acupuncture Project (and other participating local businesses):
1. Download the app (in the App Store or Google Play)
2. Confirm your phone and email
3. Link a credit or debit card
4. Join all the offers within the app 
5. Use your linked card to pay for treatments – earning Boston Points every time. (You can earn points at any participating small business in Boston!)
6. Redeem your points at Boston Acupuncture Project (or any redeeming business).

<— This is a preview of what you will see when you download the app (click play for a quick walk through).

After you fill out your information, link a card and then join offers!

It’s absolutely free – for you, and for participating businesses. Start earning rewards today:

  • Download app
  • Link card(s)
  • Join offers
  • Use linked cards at participating businesses
  • Earn rewards (Boston Points)
  • Redeem Boston Points at redeeming businesses.

Boston Acupuncture Project is both a participating AND redeeming business.

That means that, when you pay for 5 acupuncture treatments with your enrolled card, you will earn enough Boston Points to pay for your 6th treatment. What a great way to get more acupuncture!

If you are already using a credit/debit card at local businesses, why not get rewarded?!

Click here to learn more, and please let us know if you have any questions about using the B-Local App!

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