FAQ

Your appointment time is reserved just for you. A late cancellation or missed visit leaves a hole in the therapists' day that could have been filled by another patient. As such, we require 24 hours notice for any cancellations or changes to your appointment. Patients who provide less than 24 hours notice, or miss their appointment, will be charged a cancellation fee.

Your appointment time is reserved for you; punctuality is important to keep the clinic running smoothly and safely. Appointments will be held for 15 minutes; patients who are late for their appointment may have to wait for a break in their practitioner's schedule to be treated. Patients arriving more than 15 minutes after their appointment is scheduled will be charged a missed appointment fee.

Due to the communal nature of our treatments, we ask patients not to come in when they are contagious. If you need to cancel an appointment due to illness, please call or email us.

We take safety seriously at Open Care Community and don’t want anyone putting themselves at risk to get to the clinic when the weather is bad. Our decisions about whether to close due to inclement weather will usually be based on whether the trains are running and whether there are stay-at-home orders issued. In the event that we are canceling due to weather, we will call/email patients directly to let them know. If the clinic is open, patients who miss appointments or cancel late will be charged a cancellation fee. Since weather forecasts are generally issued a few days in advance, we ask patients who can not travel in bad weather to cancel within the 24 hour cancellation period. Please let us know if you have any questions.

We ask patients not to return to the clinic until after they have a negative Covid test and are fever free, without medication, for 24 hours. If you have any questions, please call or email us.

Acupuncture stimulates internal resources we already have that we may not be using efficiently. Studies show that insertion of acupuncture needles causes an increase in natural anti-inflammatories; natural pain-killers; regulation of the immune system, hormones, and HPA-axis; circulation of blood and lymph; regulation of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems; alteration of pain signals, plus less well-understood effects such as bioelectrical activity. The traditional explanation is that blockages occur in the meridians, causing pain and dysfunction. Acupuncture clears the blockages and restores free flow.

Many of us associate needles with hypodermics used in injections at the doctor's office, but acupuncture needles share little in common with them. Hypodermic needles are thick and hollow and tear flesh when they enter the body. Acupuncture needles are hair-thin and solid. At least 12 of them can fit into one hypodermic needle. If there is any sensation on insertion, it does not usually feel like more than a mosquito bite. People are often very surprised that they don’t feel the needles at all or much less than they expected.

We are regularly praised for our gentle technique. During acupuncture, patients commonly experience heaviness in the limbs, a pleasant feeling of relaxation, and may even fall asleep.

Patients should fill their intake paperwork out online or arrive 20 minutes ahead of your scheduled appointment time, so you can check in at the front desk, where you will complete intake forms and pay for treatment. This time also gives you the chance to change clothes, if needed.

Intake paperwork will be reviewed by your acupuncturist, who will take you to a private room for consultation. Afterward you will be taken to the treatment area, where you can choose to be treated in any open seat or on a table. Once the needles are in, your acupuncturist will let you rest for a clinically appropriate amount of time, usually between 15-50 minutes. If you need to leave by a certain time, just let your acupuncturist know at the beginning of your treatment.

We recommend loose, comfortable clothing that gives the acupuncturist access to your knees, elbows, and, in some cases, your back. These areas are important distal points in acupuncture. You may also wish to consider where you may be experiencing pain and to wear clothing that allows your acupuncturist access to that area(s).

Yes! Masks are required in the clinic, with a few exceptions. Patients in private acupuncture may remove their masks, at their practitioners discretion. Patients receiving facials will remove their masks for treatment. Private and facial customers are asked to wear a mask at all times in the reception area.

During community acupuncture, at the practitioner’s discretion, patients may sometimes take their masks off during face down treatments, since it can feel quite claustrophobic to be face down with a mask on. In these instances, there will be a HEPA air filter directly below the patient for the duration of the treatment. Patients who remove their masks for a face down treatment must put their mask back on to move throughout the clinic. All of Rachel Casiano’s appointments are 100% mask mandatory, even if patients are face down. There are no exceptions during Rachel’s shifts.

If you are an immuno-compromised patient who is interested in coming in for treatment and you have any questions, please send us an email at info@opencarecommunity.com - we care very much about creating a safe space for you to receive treatment.

There is no set time limit for each treatment. In our experience, the “right” amount of time for a treatment varies considerably, and people learn after a few treatments when they are “done.” It takes around 15 minutes for the practitioner to check in with the patient and put the needles in. Patients only need to sit with the needles in for about 15 minutes in order for the treatment to be effective.

Generally, patients sit with the needles in for about 20-30 minutes, but space permitting, we can let patients rest for longer. At times, your acupuncturist may determine that it is clinically necessary to retain the needles for a shorter period of time. If you know that you need to be up by a certain time, please just let your acupuncturist know at the start of the treatment.

Community acupuncture is a return to the way acupuncture is commonly practiced in East Asia: in a group setting with appointments staggered throughout the hour. This arrangement allows friends and family to be treated together, offering a less intimidating environment for first-time visitors.

Practitioners conduct initial intake with patients in a private room before moving to an open treatment area, where patients are free to choose where they wish to receive treatment. There is no need to disrobe, because our practitioners mostly use the powerful distal points along the arms, legs, head, or back.

Patients receive treatment alongside one another in a calm, restful setting, with returning patients usually able to move directly to the treatment area after check-in with the front desk.

Each practitioner treats 3-4 patients per hour, allowing the clinic to offer services at lower prices without sacrificing quality care. It further allows us to be a social business designed not to make big profits, but to provide a benefit to the community and a sustainable living for our staff.

Each community acupuncture treatment will include a check-in with your practitioner and either a front or back treatment. A front or back treatment simply indicates which side of the body is being treated. Additional treatments are available at the practitioner’s discretion. Patients who want an additional front/back treatment, or an add-on modality, such as cupping, gua sha and tui na, or extensive trigger point therapy, must book an additional appointment.

Private acupuncture treatments take place in a private room and allows the patient and practitioner the time and space to work on deep-seeded issues. Benefits of private treatment include a private space, more time with the practitioner, the opportunity for a front and back treatment and additional modalities, such as cupping, tui na, gua sha, or trigger point treatment, at the practitioner’s discretion.

Cupping, Gua Sha and Tui Na are manual therapies that have been a part of Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years. People have used cupping for millennia to ease pain, headaches and other problems. Cupping therapy involves creating a suction force to pull blood into the skin, loosening the fascia. During Gua sha, your acupuncturist will use a smooth-edged tool to gently scrape areas of your body where there is inflammation or stagnant qi. Cupping and Gua Sha both help improve circulation and promote healing. Cupping and Gua Sha can both leave marks on the skin for a few days to a week.

Tui Na is an ancient form of TCM massage.

Patients who are interested in cupping, Gua Sha or Tui Na should check in with their practitioner to determine if it is an appropriate therapy.

The recommended frequency and number of treatments recommended will vary depending on your situation, but generally, acupuncture is most effective when done frequently and regularly. If you have questions about how long it will take to see results, please ask your practitioner.

Yes. Patients can use their HSA or FSA accounts to pay for their appointments at Open Care Community. HSA and FSA accounts can be used for community or private acupuncture and for select herbal products. A general receipt is usually sufficient for most HSA/FSA purchases. Patients are responsible for getting a receipt at the time of their visit.

If your insurance requests further documentation, please reach out to us within six months of your appointment for an itemized receipt.

In most instances, no. Open Care Community provides medical care, and patient privacy rules do not allow individuals to book appointments for other people in most circumstances.

Exceptions to this rule include patients who are booking an appointment for a minor child or spouses who have consented to allow their partner to book/reschedule appointments on their behalf.

For patients who wish to book a group session, for example as a group celebration, please email us and include all group members in the email. All group members must consent, via email, to treatment.

If booking appointments for someone other than yourself, please make a separate account for them. We cannot accommodate new patients in returning patient slots. Also the acupuncturists need to have the correct name in order to review patient charts prior to treatments.

At Open Care Community we use an all-natural, EPA approved disinfection to clean the tables between each patient.