The Sign of Jonah Acupuncture Clinic was established fifteen years ago to provide Chinese medicine (acupuncture and herbal formulas) and therapeutic massage to people who could not otherwise afford it in downtown Washington, DC. In fact, the Sign of Jonah operates in Washington, DC to support the wellbeing of all the citizens of our metropolitan area.
We are especially interested in serving people who are formerly homeless; people in recovery from addiction; people living with HIV; people with chronic mental health problems; and other under-served groups. Our clients value the services they receive as evidenced by the numbers that return and the demonstrated effects on their health and quality of life. Services are provided by acupuncturists (all of whom have masters degrees in acupuncture) and by massage therapists. Volunteer support is critical to the clinic's functioning: many treatment hours are donated by our acupuncturists and massage therapists.
The unique business model of the clinic is designed to allow us to always fulfill our fundamental mission. Each of our therapists operates individual practices and are available to see clients at the Sign of Jonah who can afford full payment for acupuncture, massage and naturopathy. As they do this, each practitioner commits to attending to the needs of a certain number of clients who cannot afford to pay fully for our services. Some of our practitioners maintain their individual practices in other locations; coming to Sign of Jonah strictly to volunteer hours of treatment for our clients who cannot pay. At this point, naturopathic care is not available on a sliding scale basis, but services are provided at reasonable rates. In this way the Sign of Jonah exists as a resource for healthful living to the entire Washington, DC community, while maintaining its focus on serving targeted populations.
Our treatment protocols meet the current standards of care to ensure patient safety. Initial visits involve a detailed intake procedure from which the practitioner makes a diagnosis and recommendations for frequency of treatment and herbal formulas. Each treatment is tailored to the individual and written records are maintained on each.
Sign of Jonah has a long history of working with other community-based organizations, including hospices such as Joseph House, substance abuse programs like Samaritan Inns, medical clinics such as Whitman Walker, and other complementary therapy providers such as Us Helping Us. These groups refer clients to us, and we refer clients to them when we cannot provide the help a client needs.
Continuity of care is extremely important at Sign of Jonah, and we work to ensure it in several ways. At the beginning of treatment, each client is educated on the importance of regular treatment. We make regular appointments with clients, and they know that they will find us waiting for them at the appointed time. At the end of each treatment, clients are given their next appointment, with an appointment reminder card.
(202) 667-9195
Hours by appointment
I first came to Sign of Jonah seeking relief from peripheral neuropathy,
which had robbed me of all feeling in my feet. After a few months of acupuncture,
about 90% of sensation returned. I have continued to receive regular acupuncture
treatments as part of my regimen to maintain good health and a feeling of well-being."
— Bill
H.