Alternative therapies appeal to homeless
Clinic successfully adds alternative providers
The 45th St. Clinic’s Homeless Youth Clinic in Seattle recently became the first public health clinic to combine traditional allopathic medicine with naturopathy and acupuncture. And the combination is yielding encouraging results.
"A lot of our young people have chosen alternative lifestyles. We feel that offering them a choice of providers demonstrates that we respect them and the choices they’ve made," says Paul J. Barry, MSW, program coordinator for the Homeless Youth Clinic. (For more information about the clinic, see story, p. 193.)
Acupuncture finds a niche
The clinic is able to offer these new services through collaborative agreements with Bastyr University and the Northwest Institute of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, both located in the Seattle area.
"What impressed me about the complimentary approach to medicine is the focus placed on relationships. There’s a great deal of focus placed on listening to patients, which is something that physicians don’t often have," Barry explains.
The acupuncturists have been very successful in treating patients for depression, stress, drug cravings, and chronic pain. "Our physicians are familiar with acupuncture and very comfortable referring patients for treatment. The patients, once they try it, think it’s cool," he says. "The interesting thing is that many of our patients are needle-phobic. It seems strange, since many of them have tattoos, and quite a few are IV drug users."
It has been more difficult to integrate naturopathic care into the clinic’s services, Bary acknowledges.
"Unfortunately, there’s an element of competition between our physicians and our naturopaths. The other problem is one of compliance. Naturopathic treatment plans require a high degree of compliance with issues such as nutrition and hygiene, which is difficult for patients living on the street."
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