Expanding the Reach of Acupuncture: The Documentary Series That Will Propel the Profession
Matthew Bauer, LAc
The non-profit, all volunteer Acupuncture Now Foundation (ANF) is happy to announce the completion of its first episode in its "Getting to the Point" documentary series. Episode 1, "The Children's Hospital of Orange County," showcases the incredible work being done by licensed acupuncturist Ruth McCarty in one of the nation's leading children's hospitals. This 30-minute documentary was conceived and produced by the ANF and funded by donors from around the world. It was directed and co-produced by Doug Dearth, the filmmaker who made the award-winning 2009 documentary "9000 Needles."
Getting to the Point
This touching film features interviews with the parents of two young children who were diagnosed with brain cancer and received acupuncture/Chinese medicine services from Ms. McCarty both within the hospital and at her clinic. The parents tell of the shock of having their "normal, healthy child" suddenly undergoing emergency surgery and the grueling aftermath that followed. We learn how their children's quality of life was helped tremendously by acupuncture and related therapies in easing their fatigue, nausea and pain especially through the process of 18 months of chemotherapy.
The film also features interviews with pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. William Loudon, Scientific Director of the CHOC Neuroscience Center for Research and Section Chief of Neurosurgery who describes how his search for ways to help his patients' quality of life lead him to Chinese medicine. Dr. Loudon speaks eloquently of how Chinese medicine and modern medicine perfectly complement each other.
We also hear from CHOC's chief medical officer who describes how they had to invent a position for Ms. McCarty 15 years ago in order to credential her into the hospital staff, but how easy it was to get buy-in from other doctors once they saw the results their patients experienced.
With the release of the documentary this Spring, the ANF is calling on the acupuncture community to support a campaign to make acupuncture services available in all hospitals. It's time to rally behind a movement to educate the public, other health care providers, and health policymakers about acupuncture's potential. This documentary will show what a well-trained acupuncturist can accomplish when fully integrated into a hospital's staff even in the treatment of seriously ill children.
Support From Around the World
Over the last three years, the ANF has been busy building relationships with acupuncture/TCM organizations around the world. We have signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with organizations in Australia, Canada, the European Union, Ireland, New Zealand, and the U.S., agreeing to work together to educate the public about acupuncture. As part of the strategy to speed the inclusion of acupuncture services into hospitals, the ANF is reaching out to our MoU partners and others asking for help in building a task force of acupuncturists who have experience working in hospitals.
We need to identify and answer the most important questions hospital administrators and staff would have about working with acupuncture and acupuncturists. We have formed a partnership with our two U.S. MoU partners, the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) and American Society of Acupuncturists (ASA), to co-chair this task-force with the ANF, and anticipate some others may follow.
Our original plan for "Getting to the Point" was to produce a feature-length documentary that would consist of 4-5 different segments showcasing acupuncture being used in mainstream settings with the children's hospital story being one of those segments. We were confident we could get such a film picked-up for distribution by Netflix or Amazon Prime, etc. When we were not able to raise the funds needed for a feature-length film we decided to release the children's hospital segment as a stand-alone episode since the story we tell is so important to get out to the public.
We will continue to fundraise in order to produce more episodes and then either turn those into a feature-length documentary or seek distributorship as a docu-series. For this first episode, we will release it over the internet with free viewing. We need our MoU partners and everyone who supports the spread of acupuncture to help build viewership of this film. People need to be made aware of acupuncture/Chinese medicine's potential to play a crucial role in the management of serious illness such as cancer. Getting that message across will also help the growth and stability of the acupuncture profession.
What You Can Do to Help
Go to our website at: AcupunctureNowFoundtion.org to learn more about our work promoting this film and sign-up for our email list to stay informed.
If you have worked in a hospital delivering acupuncture services, contact us to share your insights and get involved in the movement to get acupuncture into all hospitals.
If you belong to an acupuncture/TCM membership association, ask them what they are doing to support this movement. Better yet, volunteer to help them get involved. These organizations are typically understaffed, overworked, and underappreciated.
If you work in an acupuncture/TCM college, ask what your college is doing to support this project. Many colleges have programs working with hospitals and could play an important role promoting this movement. Such colleges could also help to organize screenings of this film and other promotions to help fundraise. Contact us for more information.
If you manage a business servicing the acupuncture/Chinese medicine profession please realize that the more successful this campaign is, the more your business will benefit. You will sell more needles, cotton balls and herbs. Contact us for sponsorship information and to discuss ways to build your business and help the public by supporting this cause.
And finally, donate to the cause! This groundbreaking film was funded by donations from less than 200 hundred acupuncturists, acupuncture patients and businesses. We are very grateful for that support but we could do so much better. We need more supporters to generate more funds to fuel the movement to get acupuncture into hospitals and keep filming more episodes.
I want to express my deepest thanks to everyone involved in making this film, especially those families who let us into their lives. They did so because they feel passionately that all children should have access to this vital form of health care, that their children were so fortunate to have had. Now, it is up to the acupuncture profession to also get passionate about making this happen.
As modern medical standardization continues, the field of traditional Chinese medicine has the advantage of comprehensive personalization. For rare or complex cases, deeper consideration of constitution is invaluable. Proper constitutional assessment, especially with first-time clients, can guide desirable and predictable outcomes. This leads to a higher rate of return, and greater trust between you and your patient.Â
Though the creation of a financially sustainable, health-promoting model feels far away today, we are casting a vision for a full return on health, believing that this compels us to keep one foot firmly rooted in caring for the sick and the other foot firmly founded in maintaining health. Shifting from a fee-for-service model to value-based care using a phased approach is paramount.
Traditional Chinese medicine and the Vedic traditions both offer rich frameworks for understanding human health, emphasizing the balance of physical, mental, and spiritual aspects. The concept of "souls" or spiritual components in TCM, namely Hun, Po, Shen, Yi, and Zhi, bears significant similarities to the yogic concept of koshas. Their similarities and differences provide insights into how these systems contribute to holistic health practices.
