We recently connected with Margaret Sheehan and have shared our conversation below.

Margaret , appreciate you joining us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

Health care is continuing to become less accessible to people. Health insurance is increasingly expensive and benefits are shrinking. Deductibles that patients are responsible for are often so high that they prevent patients from getting needed care. If they do get care and can’t afford the deductibles and co-insurance, they may wind up with medical debt. Medical debt is the number one cause of bankruptcy in the United States.
https://www.forbes.com/2010/03/25/why-people-go-bankrupt-personal-finance-bankruptcy.html

Health care services are more expensive and fewer providers are accepting insurance. More physicians are turning to boutique medicine business models where patients pay a subscription fee that guarantees them doctor access. In addition, venture capital firms are buying up medical practices and hospitals, their investors expect to be paid dividends, which increases costs to consumers.

I began my acupuncture practice in 2002. I have treated thousands of people in that time. If many of these patients had access to this less invasive form of care they would not have needed expensive surgeries, tests and medications. Insurance coverage is one obstacle to access, but the insurance plans that do cover acupuncture are often top tier plans and those who have those plans can generally afford out of pocket care. The Veteran’s Administration has programs that cover care, but they are usually overseen by physicians who have no awareness of acupuncture and its evidence base. If those physicians don’t refer and renew referrals, veterans don’t get care. Auto insurance and worker’s Compensation insurance do offer better coverage, but tend to have lawyer referral networks whose goals are to maximize billing, then ask the providers to “settle” for far less than their usual fees. All insurance network participation involves complicated documentation, billing and electronic submission that requires paid staff.

During the Covid crisis, I became more aware of how our acupuncture and related therapies practice can serve a vital role in our community and how operating as a for profit practice hindered our ability to do that. First and foremost, as acupuncture and herbal practitioners we have products and treatments that can be extremely beneficial to people with respiratory viruses; simple, low cost, low risk and very effective techniques. We were afraid to advertise the benefits of our care for fear of looking like we were trying to capitalize on a crisis. We treated those who knew us and knew our capabilities and kept our heads down.
Second, we were able to provide care that helped to reduce overcrowding in emergency departments and physician offices. We treated panic attacks, anxiety, depression and its physical manifestations, and were able to refer to appropriate providers if other care was needed.
Third, we could give care when people couldn’t afford to pay. The Covid federal government programs and local main street grants helped us to keep our doors open and to enable us to pay our staff salaries, regardless of the fees we collected. This made me think of the business model of the Cleveland Clinic, an international nonprofit health care system that pays its physicians a salary, rather than the fee for service model typically used in our health care system.

Concurrent with the pandemic, the 2020 protests against the killings of Ahmaud Aubery, Brionna Taylor, and George Floyd shed light on the unequal access to and provision of medical care for people of color, in our country. In February of 2022, two local hospitals serving communities of color were closed by the for profit health system that owned them.

The financial support we received during the pandemic made such a difference – I began to think that a nonprofit model could be a way to get community support and to subsidize patient care. We could offer care on a sliding scale, pay our providers a salary, and offer equitable access to high quality care that could prevent unnecessary surgeries, medications and costs. Several people I spoke to about the idea were very encouraging and volunteered to help or be on the board. So, in May 2022 we filed paperwork with the state of Pennsylvania to create Acupuncture Healing Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I graduated from a clinical social work program in 1980. I became frustrated how long it took for people to improve with talk therapy alone, and had my own behavioral health issues I was trying to resolve, so I began looking for other answers. I explored nutritional approaches, whole foods and supplements, and found them to be very helpful. I began learning massage therapies and therapeutic movement at the Institute of Psycho-Structural Balancing in San Diego. There I began to understand the concept of body/ mind medicine. Tai chi was a big part of our studies, and while I wasn’t very good at it and didn’t enjoy it at first, I found it to be essential to my physical and mental health and enabled me to do effective massage therapies without depleting myself. In addition to traditional massage techniques, I explored manual muscle testing and balancing with the Touch for Health Foundation (TFH). This work set me apart from other therapists and was my introduction to the meridian system which is the basis for acupuncture. In the mid to late 80’s I worked from various offices and traveled with triathletes, representing the TFH foundation at the Iron Man in Hawaii for a couple of years.

In the early 90’s I had a studio where we offered massage, reiki, shiatsu, muscle balancing treatments and Tai Chi, Yoga and Touch for Health classes. Throughout this time, I continued my studies and practice of Tai Chi, Qigong and Meditation. I was privileged and honored to study with Master Wang Yen Nien, Grandmaster Fu Shu Yun and Thich Nhat Hanh. Each of these teachers had a profound impact on my life and life’s work.

In the mid 90’s I decided pursue acupuncture. I considered studying in Hawaii, and took a massage training with Auntie Margaret Machado on the big island. She also was a powerful influence on my approach to healing work. I began my Master of Science in Traditional Oriental Medicine at what was then called the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in Manhattan. The school is now renamed the Pacific College of Health and Science. I also merged my studio with a local health system and worked as clinic director for the Alternative Medicine Network of the Jefferson Health System, Mainline. Going to school part time and working full time for a few years got to be too much, so I returned to private massage therapy practice part time and finished my degree in Oriental Medicine in 2001.
From 2001-2022 I worked in private practice. I came to understand that we need change in so many areas of the world, but all I can do is what I can do in my own sphere of influence. In my sphere I could provide equitable access to a form of medicine that can reduce suffering, health care costs and the need for unnecessary medications and surgery by establishing Acupuncture Healing Arts as a community supported non-profit. I have a lot to learn about working within this model, but I have awesome people who have lined up to help!

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

In my field what has helped me most to succeed is my passion, curiosity and perseverance. I have always been a helper and enjoy being able to help people feel better safely. I love exploring healing modalities. I have never given up the idea that doing what is best for all will serve me best.

Can you talk to us about your experience with selling businesses?

I sold my studio, High Tech Touch, to a rheumatologist, then he merged that with the Jefferson Health System, Mainline. It was an amazing opportunity to work in integrative medicine and taught me so much. However, it was not a culture I could work in long term. It was also not a structure that was realizing a profit from our kind of work, so it was just a matter of time before they would shut it down. The system did not have a deep connection the community my patients had come from and when they wanted to close our local office I decided to return to private practice so that I could see my people without having them and me commute an hour each way to see each other.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.acupuncturehealing.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acu_healing_arts_wc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089222659132
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/100799669/admin/dashboard/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx1AxK4v5RY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn0PWpiWiTc

Image Credits

margaret sheehan