May 2024 Newsletter

From the Chair | The Latest | ASA Joint Developments | ASA Sponsors | Ads | State Associations Updates

From the Chair

Dear Colleagues

Perhaps you’ve seen all the beautifully curated Facebook videos and photos posted by our newly created Social Media Team (Louis Jin-Chair, Dickie Walls, Alexandra Russell). If not, let me share all the significant strides and notable events that took place within our society and the wider acupuncture community in the month of April.

Firstly, I am thrilled to announce that during the April 5th in person council meeting, the Maryland Acupuncture Society was formally voted into the American Society of Acupuncturists (ASA). This expansion strengthens our collective mission and I warmly welcome all our new members from Maryland.

Following the council meeting, we hosted our highly anticipated ASA Conference from April 6th to 7th in Arlington, VA. The conference was a profound success, featuring enlightening discussions and networking opportunities that fostered both growth and unity among practitioners.

Additionally, on April 8th, we held our Acupuncture for Our Public Servants event in the Rayburn Room on Capitol Hill in DC. The event was tremendously successful, providing over 110 acupuncture demonstrations. This was a unique opportunity to showcase the efficacy and benefits of acupuncture to a broader public audience and our dedicated public servants. We also arranged a few targeted congressional meetings and could use your help with more (please read the Advocacy Committee section for more details).

In collaboration with the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM), I had the honor of participating in a panel discussion about our ‘Road to Medicare Inclusion’ at the Academic Consortium International Congress on April 12th in Cleveland, OH. The response was overwhelmingly positive, resulting in many university hospitals offering their support through data provision and letters backing our initiative.

Lastly, our esteemed ASA Herbal Medicine chair, Linda Robinson-Hidas, and I presented ASA’s position on Wildlife Preservation in Traditional Chinese Medicine at a global forum in Mineola, NY on April 14th. Our discussions were among speakers from around the world, underscoring the commitment to ethical practices in our field.

These events mark significant milestones and reflect the vibrant activity that is always going on at the ASA. They also emphasize how your continued support makes it possible for the ASA to advance the practice and acceptance of acupuncture and related modalities in healthcare.

Please continue to support your state association who in turn supports the ASA’s ability to sponsor events and projects that ultimately progress all of our profession’s initiatives. And if you’re interested in directly impacting the profession with your unique and special skills, the ASA has15 active committees and a few board member-at-large positions awaiting your application!

It’s a great time to be a part of  the ASA!  Together, we can do so much!

Best,
Olivia

The Latest – What the ASA Committees are doing right now

Advocacy Committee – Chair, Jennifer Broadwell
Acupuncturists on the Hill  Advancing  HR 3133 -You Can Still Help!
The American Society for Acupuncturists (ASA) continued their partnership and collaboration with the NCCAOM on Capitol Hill Day activities Monday, April 8, to promote and advance HR 3133 (Acupuncture for our Seniors Act). Several Acupuncturists, who also attended the ASA Annual Conference April 6-7 and registered ahead of time, met with their Congressional Representative staff from several Republican Congressional Offices which  included North Carolina, Tennessee, New York, California and Arizona to discuss the benefits of HR 3133 and to request their Congressperson to co-sponsor the bill. This group was accompanied by Government Relations Director and Federal Lobbyist, Molly Ford.

We still need more participation from Republican Districts! As the Bill currently has 17 Democratic and 1 Republican Co-Sponsors, the ASA/ NCCAOM Advocacy Team is in search of acupuncturists or their patients who live or work in Republican Districts to meet with their Congressional Representative’s office virtually. If you fit either criteria, please sign up here or contact Molly Ford at advocacy@thenccaom.org to schedule a virtual  meeting with your Congressional representative to promote HR 3133. To look up your Congressional District, please go to Find Your Representative.

For additional information about HR 3133, please go to Medicare & About the Current Bill – American Society of Acupuncturists (asacu.org).  To summarize:  In May 2023, U.S. Representatives Judy Chu (D-CA) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced H.R. 3133, the Acupuncture for our Seniors Act. H.R. 3133 which would allow the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to recognize qualified acupuncturists as Medicare providers. Medicare recognition would enable acupuncturists to provide covered services to Medicare beneficiaries (generally those 65+) without supervision and bill Medicare directly for these services.

The Acupuncture for Our Public Servants Event (AOPS) on Capitol HIll 4/8/2024

The ASA AOPS team provided 115 acupuncture demonstrations this year led by Dr. Amy Mager DACM, L.Ac.

Thank you to the team who showed up to clear the space and create a healing environment, give Reiki to the space and those in it, do Qi Gong, set the tone for the event by sharing a word they wanted to embody during the event.  Thank you to Dickie Walls, Vincent W. Kam, Julie Armstrong, Eric Raymond Buckley, Megan Odell, Brian Griffith, Adam Miramon, Carol Goldman, Kathy Diao, Kathleen Murray, Kimberley Davis, Haley Parker, Ross McCallum, Jennifer Broadwell, Anita Hollis, RuMing, Robert J. Bibeau, Grace Ouchida, Elizabeth Billings. Thank you all for your energy, meaningful care! It was a pleasure and privilege to work with you! We are grateful to have had two veterans working with us: Vincent W. Kam and Robert J. Bibeau

The AOPS survey demonstrated the following: 24/115 acupuncture demonstration recipients responded:
• 100% reported their experience was positive
• 91.7% reported that their experience made them want to advocate for access to acupuncture
• 100% of respondents reported they would recommend acupuncture to others
• 79.2% of respondents reported this was their first experience with acupuncture
• Respondents reported feeling safe and comfortable with the providers and that kindness and the presence of the providers enhanced their experience.
• Respondents asked us to bring more literature about the benefits of acupuncture
• Respondents asked when the next time we would be running another day of acupuncture demonstrations.

The Advocacy Committee Needs You!
The advocacy committee is looking for a few committed individuals that can work well with others to support our members in their state advocacy activities and in our pursuit of Medicare recognition. Please review our charter and submit an application if you are interested. Specific skills and duties we are looking for:
– Individuals with advocacy or legislative experience will be prioritized.
– Must be able to attend monthly zoom calls.
– Create, edit and provide feedback on documents that will support advocacy efforts and education.
– Working knowledge of Google docs and other word programs is necessary.
– Work well as a team! We openly discuss our projects, provide and listen to all feedback, and ultimately work democratically.
– We each manage a specific project as the ‘Team Lead’.

If this sounds like you, or someone you know, please apply today!

Conference Committee – Chair, LiMing Tseng
The ASA 2024 Conference was a great success with over 240 participants and 25 industry sponsors. Our pre-conference webinar series, in-person Conference, and post-Conference webinar, provided 32.5 hours of training on topics ranging from acupuncture research, advocacy, clinical treatment strategies for neuropathy, long COVID, and other topics in our field.

We enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting new ones, as we celebrated our profession together, with all of our stakeholders: students, industry sponsors, our practitioners, our schools and administrators, and all of our advocates. After all, we are all a part of the acupuncture family. Here are our “family” photos.

Congratulations to our many prize winners at our Live In Person Conference on April 6-7, 2024, with gifts provided by our exhibitors totaling over $2,000.

We are working on 2025 Conference planning, more details to come in the coming months! See you next year!

Governance Committee – Chair,  David Bock
After completing many Bylaws updates, the Governance Committee is re-evaluating the priorities of various projects that have been put on hold. We are also providing guidance to a couple of State Association Members who are evaluating their own governance documents.

Herbal Medicine Committee- Chair, Linda Robinson-Hidas
ASA was represented at the Wildlife Protection in Traditional Chinese Medicine Conference in New York on Sunday April 14, 2024.  International representatives ranged from educators, researchers, practitioners and herbal manufacturers. The topics focused on the use of Chinese Herbal Medicine without the use of endangered wildlife products.

The coalition states
We envision a world in which Chinese Medicine is a sustainable, green, non-wildlife, and environmentally friendly medicine for the health of human beings and the earth.
More information HERE

Please feel free to use the About Herbs documents in your practice.

The Herbal Medicine Committee welcomes new members. Please fill out this application.

Insurance Committee – Chair, Mori West
We are now starting to receive news that Anthem NY is returning recoupments! We appreciate the opportunity to work with ASNY on this.  We were also made aware that the VA/Optum is recouping for previously paid unlisted codes, despite the fact that they are listed as covered.  Finally we will be asking for clarification of reduction of codes for the VA CCN program that are now being paid less as PGBA is classifying acupuncturists as Mid-level providers.  More to follow…

Medicaid Committee – Committee Member Joe Pandolfo
The Medicaid Committee continues to work to support states working to incorporate Medicaid coverage for acupuncture for Medicaid recipients.  The following states cover Medicaid already: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, DC, Ohio, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah and in New Jersey only in lieu of anesthesia.  Other states are working hard to bring acupuncture as an evidence based non-opioid treatment for pain, PTSD, nausea and opiate addiction to their Medicaid recipients.  We are here for you!

Membership/Benefits Committee – Chair, Grace Ouchida
The login information (username and password) for the Members Only section of the ASA website has been updated for 2024 and is available through your member state association.

Nominating Committee: Chair, Kelly Hora
We are accepting applications for the ASA Governance, Herbal Medicine, and Membership Committees.  Use this form to apply for a committee position!

We also invite candidates for ASA Board of Directors – Read this to learn about BOD Positions and how to apply

Reach out anytime with questions ~ nomcom@asacu.org

Research Committee – Chair, Lisa Conboy
We have submitted the ASA Member’s Attitudes paper to Medical Acupuncture.  We will submit for publication next (with BOD approval) our COVID business practice survey results.  This next month you will see new content added to our section of the WEBsite.

And for members, here is a summary of an exciting new grant.

Review of: “Birth of the Topological Atlas and Repository for Acupoint Research”

Citation: Napadow V, Harris RE, Helmer KG. Birth of the Topological Atlas and Repository for Acupoint Research. J Integr Complement Med. 2023;29(12):769-773. doi:10.1089/jicm.2023.0592

The development of a comprehensive three-dimensional atlas of acupoint anatomy and physiology is getting underway. This can be a real game changer for acupuncture research, potentially leading to more widespread clinical use of acupuncture, and act as a bridge between traditional East Asian medicine (TEAM) and current biomedicine.

The biological basis of acupuncture points has not yet been clear and consequently it remains a factor that has contributed to the controversy hindering research efforts as well as integration into clinical care. The understanding of the anatomy and physiology of acupuncture points remains work in progress, even after the World Health Organization standardized body locations for the 361 common acupuncture points.

Therefore, there is still a need to develop a deeper understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the acupuncture points. The creation of this Topological Atlas and Repository for Acupoint (TARA) research could create “an important bridge between traditional theory and modern understanding of biomedicine.”

The work on TARA is being funded through the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health at the National Institutes of Health and the principal investigators are Prof Vitaly Napadow, Prof Richard Harris, and A/Prof Carl Helmer. The result will be an open access, web-based portal and database, which will incorporate both traditional East Asian medicine and conventional biological nomenclature. The study outcomes will include two three-dimensional coordinate body atlas of both the male and female human body and rat body atlases to create searchable databases of acupoint information along with previously published physiological data. This will form a comprehensive research resource center for both acupuncture research and clinical work, resulting in a database capable of taking acupuncture to an entirely new level.

There are four cores in this project:
1.) This will be an open access repository, containing a very wide range of data types.
2.) An ontology creation team that will build acupoint ontology using nomenclature from both western biomedicine and traditional East Asian medicine to describe relationships between acupuncture points and anatomical structures.
3.) Creation of a topological body atlas to visualize anatomy near acupuncture points. This will be based on high resolution MRI, data collected from live models in human models segmented from prior MRI, and cryosection data. In addition, an acupuncture point atlas, using the same types of data will be created incorporating datasets from cryosection, ultrasound data, and neurofunctional trajectory modeling.
4.) The TEAM core will be led by Prof Richard Harris and will include acupuncture domain experts that will reach out to solicit high-quality anatomical and physiological data from the international acupuncture research community.

The ontology describes the type of things that exist along in a domain with their properties and the connection between them. This will leverage state-of-the-art ontologies, such as Stimulating Peripheral Activity to Relieve Conditions (SPARC) ontology of the autonomic nervous system, which describes anatomical and functional connections.

“The goal is to provide researchers with a framework to understand acupuncture points in relation to anatomical and physiological data, and provide common language within to understand these relationships.”

TARA will also help with the understanding of different needling depths. Electromagnetic electrophysiological stimulations at different acupuncture points to illustrate potential updated integration using anatomical models, nerve trajectories, physiological data from existing sources, and biophysical modeling. The anatomical scaffold system will “coordinate many different aspects of tissue structure, including muscle fiber, orientation, vascular, geometry neural pathways in the special distribution of physiological data.”

Future extensions of this work will integrate acupoint-related data in other physiological databases (such as SPARC) to the TARA infrastructure, thereby incorporating cutaneous neuromodulation data from across the body. It will also allow for electromagnetic source, stimulation at acupuncture points and both cutaneous and subcutaneous locations across the body surface.

This initiative spearheaded by world renowned investigators encompasses expertise from around the world and could truly revolutionize acupuncture research, education, and clinical practice.

Social Media Committee – Chair, Louis Jin
The social media committee is brand new and excited to get going with Louis leading the charge. We are currently vetting new members with the nominations committee and will be able to officially announce our members soon. We would love to have someone from every state represented on this committee if possible. It will help us do a better job at collaborating and sharing each other’s exciting news. Please fill out this application if you are interested in joining this fun committee

We are currently working on a content folder for us to share with all of the states and then build a content calendar that we will share with all of the states. Stay tuned for more new from our newest committee.

Website Committee – Chair,  Jeff Bloom
The Website committee is working with MacDragon to get more states up and running on the platform.

ASA National: Launch mid December 2023 successfully. Looking at phase 2 upgrades later this year for the website

PA: Launched end of September 2023. Port over from dev to live site successful. Currently focused on retention of memberships. Also in the process of making some further upgrades to the platform to make it more robust and interactive, including recurring donations, donations on checkout with membership, and use of the new community forum

NJ: Launched end of Jan 2024. Port over from dev to live site successful. Currently focused on retention of memberships. Also in the process of making some minor upgrades and additional pages.

FL: Working on content and additional pages. They have a robust members only section, webinars, and additional pages, taking some time to migrate into the dev site due to the size of their current website, but we have been making a lot of progress.  

NC: Working on content and settings. Goal is to launch at the beginning of May

OR: Wrapping up content and settings. Goal is to launch middle of April or beginning of May

WI: Wrapping up content and settings. Goal is to launch middle of April or beginning of May

IL: Working on content and settings. Looking towards summer launch.

VT: Working on content and settings. Looking towards summer launch.

TN: Working on content and settings. Looking towards summer launch.

CT:  Working on content and settings. Looking towards late summer launch.

WA: Getting ready to work on.. Looking towards late summer launch.

Interested but not ready yet: MA, RI, MD, MO, CA, ME, NH, MI

ASA Joint developments

The TCM Kongress in Rothenburg

Programme – TCM Kongress Rothenburg (tcm-kongress.de)

Join us Wednesday, May 15, 2024
8:00 PM EDT   ¦   7: 00 PM CDT  ¦  6:00 PM MDT   ¦   5:00 PM PDT
1 Free PDA point (AOM – BIO)

The AHM Coalition is a collaboration of the four major national acupuncture organizations (ACAHM, ASA, CCAHM, and NCCAOM) to advance professional standards of acupuncture and herbal medicine through education, advocacy, and research. This town hall will provide why this coalition began, what the mission/vison/goals are, and what the focus will be for the immediate future and five years from now.

 

Link:

ASA Sponsors

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State Association Updates

Arizona

Update from the President – March 2024

I am delighted to report our annual Spring Festival and New Year Dinner was even more successful and well attended than last year. Over 120 acupuncturists and friends attended an awesome banquet at the Phoenix Palace in Chandler.

The event started off with an introduction on our newly elected Board members that included: Cassandra Gallegos, Derek Morrongelle, Julie Armstrong, and Trish Connelly.

New additions to the Advisory Committee included Dr. Ray Botte and Yeon Park.

We were also very grateful for the attendance of seven of our state legislators. They care about what is happening in Arizona and what is happening in the health care arena. They each spoke to the group sharing some of their vision but also spent a lot of time talking to each of us individually throughout the evening.

AMAAZ Board, AZ State Legislators, Daniel Jiao (NCCAOM), Senator Justine Wadsack, Senator Janea Shamp, Senator Frank Carroll, Representative Justin Wilmeth, Senator David Gowen, Representative Lupe Diaz, And of course, retired Senator Nancy Barto who graciously sponsored SB1080.

Progress moves forward as Arizona integrates the details of the Animal Acupuncture, SB1401, and SB1082 that defined acupuncture as a form medicine, gave us the right to “prescribe” herbs, natural substances and injections.

We continue to look for ways to serve and uplift our profession here in Arizona and to support our national efforts through the ASA.

Lloyd G Wright, President

California CSOMA
CSOMA is rolling out a new program to get organized legislatively and build community. Do you have an interest in empowering the future of acupuncture in California?  Become a point person for the District Rep Program, dedicating as little as 1 hour a month to support CSOMA and preserve the profession.  

Legislation Updates  –  AB 796 (Athletic Trainer Bill)

CSOMA’s Legislative Committee continues to urge members of the medical community, senate and regulatory boards to restrict athletic trainers from the practice of needle medicine:

On March 20, CSOMA met with Dr. Akilah Weber (District 79) sponsor of AB796 to request the addition of exclusionary language to restrict athletic trainers from performing acupuncture and needle-related therapy.

On April 30, CSOMA will meet with Senator Janet Nguyen of the Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development, along with other California acupuncture associations to discuss concerns regarding AB796.

Upcoming Events
2024, various dates: Check out Herb Walks with Lanny Kaufer and use CODE: csoma2024 up to 25% off. See schedule for selected events offering CEUs.

Sept 26 & 27: CSOMA Annual Conference & Expo – Oakland, CA

Florida FSOMA

Join us for the largest Acupuncture & Eastern Medicine Conference on the East Coast.
August 16-18th
Orlando, FL
www.fsoma.org/2024con

Marlyland

REGISTER HERE:

Massachusetts

The Acupuncture Society of Massachusetts continues to work to move its bills H1120 and S722, to be reported out of committee favorably, this is An Act Relative to the Practice of Acupuncture which would have all commercial insurance plans written in the Commonwealth of MA cover acupuncture for the treatment of pain, PTSD, nausea and opiate addiction.  Our second bill we are working to report favorably out of committee is H2270 and S1355, An Act Relative to the Safer Treatment of Pain, which would set very clear and specific parameters for any provider practicing dry needling or trigger point acupuncture.

The CEU Committee continues to define programming and plan our annual meeting as we also work to increase membership.  Find us at www.acusocietyma.org

Michigan

I know that it is short notice but please consider joining us.
MiSA presents, Bart Vermilya, L.Ac., Certified Neuropuncturist, and Neuropuncture Instructor in training for a special 1-Day Neuropuncture Hands-On Workshop this May 4th in Livonia, Michigan.

The focus of the workshop is Orthopedics and Pain Management. This is the perfect opportunity to learn neuroscience evidence-based electrical acupuncture protocols that you can apply in your clinic the very next day! This module will include prescriptions to treat SI joint, low back pain, sciatica, osteoarthritis of the knee, and medial meniscus injury.

Neuropuncture is the only complete neuroscience acupuncture system that teaches you clinically reproducible treatment protocols that utilize fewer needles compared to the traditional Chinese medicine model and deliver more effective results.

As a special bonus, all attendees will be granted access to Neuroloab’s Online Portal for 10 days before the class.  This is so we can spend more time on hands-on learning.

REGISTER NOW

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

• Lumbar, SI joint, and Sciatic pain
• Osteoarthritis and medial meniscus pain in the knee
• How to safely and effectively use estim for maximal treatment results
• special needling techniques
• relevant motor points

BCBS & Blue Care Network Update for Michigan
Effective immediately  BCBS of Michigan will no longer accept enrollment from acupuncturists for their Medicare Advantage Plans. In addition, starting June 1, 2024 they will no longer accept billing directly from an acupuncturist, they must be billed under a physician. This is an unfortunate decision.

New Hampshire

NHAAMA is happy to announce that we now have 501c6 status and appreciate Molly Gendreau, who painstakingly filled out the lengthy application successfully.

This quarter we continued to focus on legislative concerns as several bills had implications for the Acupuncture profession in NH.

Our efforts, and collective member voices, have helped us succeed on many fronts. Updates include:

HB1095: This bill was initially relative to the official pronunciation of “New Hampshire.” and “Concord,” and was amended in the House with a proposal for a change of power from the professional boards to OPLC, including the Board of Acupuncture Licensing. Outcome:
• This bill passed in the House with an amendment striking the Board of Acupuncture
Licensing from the list of Boards that would be affected.

HB 1272: This bill was relative to occupational license reciprocity and proposed removing out-of-state licensing requirements to be substantially similar. This bill was voted inexpedient to legislate in the House with a vote of 19-1 on 3/14/24.

HB 1676: This bill proposed establishing a sunset commission to evaluate occupational boards and commissions, starting with the acupuncture profession. This bill was voted for Interim Study.

Plc 313: The purpose of the Plc 313 rules is to implement the Laws of 2023, ch. 111, effective August 27, 2023, relative to issuing licenses to applicants licensed in another jurisdiction with substantially similar requirements. In defining ” substantially equivalent,” the OPLC defined rules that made the qualification to obtain a license substantially harder for an Acupuncture Detox Specialist and would preclude anyone licensed in California who does not hold a dual NCCAOM certification from practicing in NH. This contradicts RSA 328 G, our governing rules and laws, in multiple ways.

The OPLC Executive Director reported that OPLC received our feedback and will correct the errors. The revised language will go before JLCAR in May for final review and approval.

HB1271: This bill proposes converting the Board of Acupuncture Licensing into an advisory Board. Outcome: Voted for Interim Study by the House. The Board of Acupuncture Licensing (BAL) is saved for now, but we still have work ahead of us.

We will be reaching out to the ASA Advocacy Committee and NCCAOM for assistance with this critical bill and would appreciate guidance and support.

We welcome input from other associations who may have experience with a similar legislative hurdle.
–        Have other associations successfully stopped the conversion and maintained a Regulatory Board of Acupuncture Licensing? What arguments were made to help keep your licensing boards?
–        Have any states had their Regulatory Acupuncture Licensing Board converted to an Advisory Board with the Office of Professional Licensing taking over as the authority?  What has that been like for you?

 Goals for NHAAMA in the upcoming months are to: search for and secure a lobbyist for the next legislative session, create a brochure giving our legislators information about the acupuncture profession, find ways to offer our members additional opportunities for earning CEUs/PDAs, and schedule an Acupuncture Day in September for new incoming legislators.

New York


ASNY will be having their spring banquet in New York City’s Chinatown this year, Saturday, May 4th at Golden Unicorn on East Broadway. All are welcome, tickets available here, https://givebutter.com/c/XpydvL and all are welcome to participate in our hybrid silent auction, https://givebutter.com/c/XpydvL/auction!

We have two in-person classes scheduled for this year. June 8 and 9 we are offering a Shen-Hammer Pulse diagnosis class with Ross Rosen at Pacific College of Health and Science, https://asny.org/events/#!event/2024/4/20/shen-hammer-pulse-diagnosis-with-ross-rosen-lac-dipl-om-senior-certified-teacher and September 22nd we have a Master Tung’s Style Pain Management class with Henry McCann, https://asny.org/events/#!event/2024/9/22/tung-style-pain-management-with-dr-henry-mcann-dipl-om-lac 

Discounts are available for out of state members who belong to their state organization. Contact your state organization or info@asny.org for more details.

North Carolina

Oregon

We are excited to be hosting our first in person annual conference since COVID. This event will be a hybrid event which will give attendees their Safety and Ethics CEUs. This will be a wonderful event including professional networking, fun raffles, a silent auction and a sharps disposal event. The OAA is excited to be teaming up with the OCOM Alumni Association to create further comradery and build strength between our educational institutions and our professional association within the state of Oregon. We invite all ASA members to attend and we are offering a $50 discount to all active ASA members.

In addition to this fun event the OAA is currently onboarding three new board members and a new lobbyists, as our current lobbyist is going on maternity leave. We are excited to have new ideas and input while guiding our strategic planning for  2025 advocacy.

Pennsylvania


B.J. Putnam (President, Primary ASA Rep), Janelle Farkas (Student Rep, Alternate ASA Rep, and Eric Raymond Buckley (Vice President) were pleased to attend the Annual ASA Meeting and Conference. New people were met, old connections were renewed, and we came home with rejuvenated enthusiasm. During our last election, we happily brought in a new board member, Eric Raymond Buckley, and we have begun plans to responsibly transition out some of our most experienced Directors. In addition to this, we are also launching a new membership drive and we are in the midst of planning a series of social networking events across the state and exploring which classes to sponsor when HB 1490 Modernizing Pennsylvania’s Acupuncture Law sponsored by Rep Gallagher passes through the State Senate. We request all PA LAc/LOM practitioners contact their state senator and request support for it’s passage.

Tennessee

Tennessee Acupuncture Council (TAC) President Alexandria Russell and Member Jennifer Broadwell had a wonderful experience attending the American Society of Acupuncturists (ASA) conference from April 5-8th in Washington DC. The event was a convergence of experts and enthusiasts in Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine, and Integrative Medicine, featuring a lineup of distinguished speakers and wonderful vendors.

A significant highlight of the conference was TAC’s in-person lobby meeting, where they discussed the HR 3133 Acupuncture for Our Seniors bill, showcasing TAC’s dedication to advocating for the profession.

Apart from their participation in the conference, TAC also volunteered for the Acupuncture for Our Public Servants (AOPS) event on Monday 4/8 in Rayburn on Capitol Hill. This event attracted over 114+ staffers who were interested in experiencing and learning more about acupuncture, contributing to greater awareness, and understanding of what acupuncture and herbal medicine can do.

Looking forward, TAC is currently accepting applications for the Board and will hold elections in May. TAC will also have a rolling application process. Email a recent resume/CV to Alex at President@TNAcupunctureCouncil.org.

They are also excited about their upcoming in-person breakfast in Knoxville on May 1st, providing further opportunities for networking in the local community. Other areas of TN are encouraged to start their own local meet-up. Contact TAC and we will promote this for you.

Stay tuned for more updates from TAC and visit our website: www.TNAcupunctureCouncil.org

Washington

Washington is gearing up for our Spring Membership meeting. We will be doing qigong, taichai, and having lectures/demonstrations from local practitioners on death doula and hospice work, cosmetic acupuncture, and a local trainer from MyoPain Seminars who trains PT and LAc in dry needle techniques. We are excited to be in-person again so we can see all of our colleagues! Member & Non-Member pricing is available.

Rulemaking continues with the Physical Therapists and the new dry needling endorsement. In WA state PT will be able to do trigger point needling AND e-stim. No retention is allowed unless the needle is being constantly stimulated, nor can they do auricular or distal needling. They must attend 175 hours of education and 150 patients/hours of supervised practice. There is a lot of PT misinformation out there and we are working with invested practitioners to begin our campaign against the misinformation.

WA is also planning to increase our scope in the next session. Stay tuned for direction and how we will address this. Come to a member meeting (May 19 or the next one in October) to hear more!

WA is working on building bridges with our Pacific coast neighbors! We will be sending delegates to OR and CA for networking!

Wisconsin

    (5 WISCA presidents meet at the DC)

• WISCA sent ASA delegates Rui Weng (VP) and Brittany Schultz (President) to the ASA Council meeting April 5-8. The past WISCA presidents David Bock, Kelly Hora, and Louis Jin also attended the meeting.  The meeting allows each association to share its experiences and learn from each other in addition to aligning the vision/strategy of ASA. Rui also joined the acupuncture demonstration crew to educate the staff members who work at the hill.
• Prof Jin Guanyuan from Milwaukee gave a lecture “Anti-inflation Acupuncture ” at the ASA conference.
• President Brittany is leading the campaign to increase the acupuncture access for Veterans.
• “Meet the board” zoom meeting  will be held in May. The meeting is to bring the board closer to the members.  
• Education committee is planning the spring talk for students in Early June.
• WISCA creates the virtual assistant position to prevent burnout of the board members.

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