Today we’d like to introduce you to Maggie Mejia.
Hi Maggie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Jorge and I each came to Chinese medicine through slightly different paths. I was a patient of acupuncture in my late teens/early 20s, and I found significant relief of chronic symptoms I’d had since childhood through my treatments. This led me to start studying how the medicine works on my own. After years of doing this, I started researching acupuncture schools in the US and decided to get my training in San Francisco due to the higher education standards and graduation requirements.
Jorge has always been interested in Chinese culture and took advantage of an opportunity in college to study abroad in China. While there, he observed how effective integrative medicine could be while observing in the hospital system there. Patients with acute traumas would be stabilized in the Western medicine wing, and their continued treatments during the recovery process would be administered in the Eastern medicine wing using acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. This inspired him to want to study Chinese medicine in order to enable more integrative options in the US.
Jorge and I met while studying at the American College of Traditional Medicine in San Francisco when Jorge was in his final years of the program and I was just beginning. When Jorge graduated, he started City Pulse Acupuncture in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco, and I helped him run his practice. I graduated shortly after our daughter was born, and we moved to the Daytona Beach area to be closer to family. We opened Family Tree Acupuncture in 2012 and have been steadily growing our practice as more people become aware of Chinese medicine. Our patients have been our biggest source of marketing, and our practice has now grown to include five licensed acupuncturists, a massage therapist, and four front desk staff.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
We’ve been so fortunate to practice a medicine that speaks for itself, so in that way, our practice is ever-growing and ever-evolving as more and more people seek relief from their symptoms.
There are different types of practitioners in Volusia County who offer “acupuncture” and helping patients understand the difference between getting acupuncture from a licensed acupuncturist vs another type of practitioner who has a certificate to practice acupuncture can be a challenge. Is there a difference between getting acupuncture from a licensed acupuncturist instead of a chiropractor, medical doctor, nurse practitioner, or physical therapist?
Licensed acupuncturists complete a minimum of three years (2,000+ hours) of training, including supervised clinical experience. They also must pass a series of board exams issued by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM), which establishes standards of competence and safety in acupuncture and Oriental medicine for the protection and benefit of the public. Licensed acupuncturists are also required to complete continuing education classes to maintain their licenses. Every practitioner at Family Tree Acupuncture is a licensed acupuncturist.
Chiropractors, Nurse Practitioners, Medical Doctors, and Physical Therapists who offer acupuncture receive between 10 and 300 hours of training (versus the 2000+ hours required by licensed acupuncturists) some or all of which can be completed online. No continuing education courses are required for these types of practitioners to keep offering acupuncture.
Some of our patients have insurance plans that cover for acupuncture, but many still do not. A few years ago, Medicare announced that acupuncture would now be covered for low back pain, which is a wonderful benefit. Unfortunately, Medicare currently only allows billing for acupuncture services provided by MDs or DOs, not licensed acupuncturists like those at Family Tree Acupuncture. This is simply how the law is written, but we’re hopeful it will change so that Medicare patients can more easily access these valuable treatments. After all, there aren’t many MDs or DOs trained in acupuncture.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Family Tree Acupuncture?
Since 2012, Family Tree Acupuncture has provided Chinese medicine in historic downtown Daytona Beach, Florida. Our services include acupuncture, herbal medicine, therapeutic massage, moxibustion, gua sha, cupping therapy, and nutritional and lifestyle counseling.
Our practitioners are Florida-licensed Acupuncture Physicians specializing in pain management, women’s health, fertility, headaches and migraines, depression, anxiety, stress, allergies, insomnia, muscle and nerve pain, hormonal imbalances, smoking cessation, weight loss, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, stroke recovery, and much more. As a complete system of medicine, Chinese medicine is able to address most non-emergency health issues.
At Family Tree Acupuncture, you get something that’s hard to find anywhere else: collaborative patient care. Our team consists of several licensed acupuncturists, and when you receive treatment from more than one practitioner, you get the best of what each of our experts has to offer. Patients often choose to see more than one practitioner over the course of their visits in order to benefit from the collaboration….two (or more) heads are better than one! More practitioners also mean more appointment options for patients.
Each of our practitioners has gone above and beyond the 2000+ hours of training required to become a licensed acupuncturist. Collectively, we hold specializations in women’s health, fertility, pain management, cancer treatment side-effects, GI health, mental health, hormonal imbalances, and hospice care just to name a few. Every practitioner at Family Tree Acupuncture is a licensed acupuncturist. As mentioned earlier, Chiropractors, Nurse Practitioners, Medical Doctors, and Physical Therapists who offer acupuncture receive between 10 and 300 hours of training (versus the 2000+ hours required by licensed acupuncturists) some or all of which can be completed online. No continuing education courses are required for these types of practitioners to keep offering acupuncture.
As a Community Care Provider through the VA, Family Tree Acupuncture is able to treat authorized veterans as part of their health benefits. Veterans can request our services through their Primary Care Provider or specialist at the VA and name “Family Tree Acupuncture” as their preferred provider. Our team has extensive experience providing acupuncture to veterans and addressing their unique needs. From 2012 through 2019 we hosted a weekly veterans clinic at our office where we provided thousands of free treatments to hundreds of veterans. As a Community Care provider with the VA, we’ve been able to continue to offer access to acupuncture to veterans suffering from pain, headaches & migraines, insomnia, stress, anxiety, and many other health issues.
As a patient at Family Tree Acupuncture, you pay a flat rate for your initial and return visits. Many clinics charge per modality, and acupuncture is only one type of modality in Chinese medicine. Depending on the patient we’re treating, we might make use of additional modalities during a treatment, including cupping, therapeutic massage, gua sha, or moxibustion…whichever combination is the most appropriate for the patient and condition we’re treating. No matter which of these tools we make use of during your session, you can rest assured that you won’t be surprised at the check-out counter!
We’re proud to have been voted Best Acupuncture Clinic by the News Journal’s Reader’s Choice Awards many times over.
It is the greatest honor for us to be able to practice what we love. Our cups runneth over when we are recognized by our community. Our community is part of our family, hence the name of our clinic: Family Tree Acupuncture. If we’re doing good by our community of patients, then we’re happy folks!
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
One of the most important lessons we’ve learned is that when you prioritize people—both your patients and your team—everything else falls into place. At Family Tree Acupuncture, we’ve never played the numbers game. Instead, we’ve focused on creating a patient-centered practice and fostering a supportive, connected team. That means giving every patient the time and attention they deserve, and making sure our team feels balanced, valued, and cared for. It’s this foundation that has carried us through challenges like COVID, hurricanes, and shifts in the insurance landscape. When you lead with heart and stay true to your values, resilience follows.
Pricing:
- Initial Acupuncture Visit: $145
- Return Acupuncture Visit: $85
- Initial Herbal Consult: $75
- Therapeutic Massage (60 min): $90
- Therapeutic Massage (90 min): $130
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.familytreeacupuncture.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/familytreeacupuncture/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FamilyTreeAcupuncture
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/familytreeacupuncture
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/family-tree-acupuncture-daytona-beach
Image Credits
Ciara Ocasio
