Better, but not enough: We need a ramp to provide the care our clients need

By Rachel Condon, LAc of Northampton Community Acupuncture

Before moving to CLINIC Alternative Medicine’s new location last fall, I had worked for the previous 16 years in a lovely, quirky, affordable, old building in downtown Northampton… it is a wonderful space in a lot of ways, except for the two, extra long, extra steep, flights of stairs up to the third floor of the building. 16 years. Doing community acupuncture in that space.

If I had dollar for every time I heard “those stairs…!!!!”, or thought it myself as I trekked up and down day after day… not to mention the number of regular clients who had to reach out at certain times to say, “I’m sorry, I can’t make it up the stairs this week - my back is out - my hip is making it hard to walk - I’m having knee replacement surgery - I sprained my ankle - it’s too humid and I can’t do all those stairs with no air conditioning…” I would apologize, for the building, for my not being able to accommodate my very own clients’ needs when they could really use acupuncture!!  

And then there were countless new people who reached out wanting to set up an initial appointment, and then I’d have to ask them, “are you able to climb two long flights of stairs?” before we even got started. Sometimes a new person would book an appointment online, arrive at the building, and call to tell me, “I’m so sorry but I had no idea about the stairs. I can’t get up there!” 

I had one particularly determined and unflappable client who, after she broke her foot one time, appeared at my clinic door one day with crutches, and when I said, “how…??” - she said, “I got here early, and just scooted up the stairs on my butt, one at a time. I’m getting my acupuncture!!” 

I have another client who used to come to my old space for a time, when she could manage all those stairs. Until she couldn’t. And reached out after a number of years, still on my mailing list, to say, “I’m coming to the new location!”  And has come a couple of times, but because we don’t have the ramp yet, the stairs at the front of the building are still an obstacle, especially if using a walker. It matters, if we are ‘more’ accessible, but not fully. I have many other stories I could share.

You get my point, I trust. This is a HUGE deal, for our community, for our beloved, loyal clients who have hung in there over the years, for those patient souls waiting for us to fulfill this promise in the new space, for those who never even got a first appointment, and for myself as a practitioner who truly believes in making this medicine truly and fully accessible. 

CLINIC has taken on this challenge bravely, and we are determined to see it through and see our mission become realized, but we need your help to make it happen. We are so grateful for your support!