Nine years ago, Carrie Sawtell, L.Ac. founded Many Rivers with the goal of making acupuncture affordable and accessible to the community. On March 16, she closed the doors and didn’t know when they would reopen. “My staff and I were heartbroken. We knew that closing was imperative for public safety, but it was not easy to cancel our patients’ appointments and not be able to tell them when we would open again.” The Many Rivers staff stayed in contact while they were closed, and spent countless hours going through all of the reopening guidelines offered by the State of Connecticut, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and OSHA. In addition, they attended reopening webinars offered by the American Society of Acupuncturists (ASA) and the People’s Organization of Community Acupuncture (POCA) about how to reopen safely. Many Rivers opened its doors again on July 6. They continue to offer a sliding scale of $20 - $40 per treatment (plus $10 for first-time patients). The clinic has been remade according to the latest pandemic guidelines, including spacing treatment chairs well over 6 feet apart, installing hospital-grade HEPA filtration, conducting temperature and symptom checks upon clinic entry, reducing the number of people in the clinic at the same time, and opening the windows to bring in fresh air. Furthermore, staff and patients will wear masks at all times. “I was incredibly happy when we reopened,” says Many Rivers acupuncturist, Mary Cole, L.Ac. “It is wonderful to be helping people with acupuncture again. Since these past few months have been traumatic for many people, it feels great to provide treatments that calm anxiety and stress.” Many Rivers has videos and detailed information on their website showing all of the steps they are taking to make the clinic safe. “When patients told me that our clinic was going to be the first place they have gone in months, I felt great pride. We are honored by their confidence in us, and will continuously monitor the current guidelines to keep our safety policies up-to-date.” Many Rivers is located at 3 Barnard Lane, Suite 205, in Bloomfield. For more information, call (860) 683-0011 or go to https://www.manyriversacupuncture.com. |
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