Community Acupuncture clinic launched in Vernon

Vernon’s Health Nest is now offering an affordable means to get acupuncture.

Registered Acupuncturists Ashley Piderman and Christy Berger have teamed up to launch Community Acupuncture from 3 – 5 p.m. every Wednesday.

“Community acupuncture is really unique because we can fit several people at a time in the same treatment room so that gives us the ability to see more people and therefore cut our costs substantially so that it’s accessible to the public at an affordable rate,” said Berger. “We want to get acupuncture to the people out there who wouldn’t normally have accessible coverage and it just opens up that barrier for them.”

The community clinic, which launched Wednesday, May 15, aims to make their services more accessible, running on a sliding pay scale to provide people with the proper amount of treatment needed.

“One of the things we were most passionate about was making sure it’s a sliding scale so regardless of what you make, you pay what you can pay so we can continue to see you and you can continue to benefit,” said Berger.

The cost runs between $25-$60. Patients decide what to pay; no proof of income is required.

“The exciting thing about community acupuncture is that we want to give back to the community,” said Berger.

Ten per cent of all earnings from the weekly clinic will also be donated to a local charity. A new organization will be chosen seasonally. This season, organizers are giving to the North Okanagan Neurological Association.

The Health Nest, which opened in January, is located at 202-3117 32 Street. For more information, visit thehealthnest.ca.