It is Thursday afternoon at the VOA Oregon Men’s Residential Center (MRC) and Ken Glowacki, Clinical Supervisor, is preparing for the students to arrive. Since 2014, Ken and students from the Classical Chinese Medicine (CCM) program at the National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) have brought Chinese medical services to MRC clients. For a couple of hours each week, these students get practical experience providing acupuncture, cupping, body work, and Gua Sha.
“When the patients come in, they are taking a step forward in the direction of health and healing,” shares Ken. The team from NUNM provides help with different health issues such as respiratory, muscular, or skeletal, withdrawal, and mental and emotional support.
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One of Ken’s specialties is group settings, like at the MRC. By providing an environment where clients can schedule or walk in the door, gives a flexibility that allows the team to meet the men where they are. “This environment is set up to respond to exactly how the person comes in the room.” When clients come in, they are interviewed by an intern to learn how best they can support the client. The team then creates a plan of treatment for the individual based on what they need.
“A big element of the support we provide has to do with their mental and emotional wellbeing.” If clients come in on edge or upset, the NUNM team helps them to calm down and see a different perspective on the situation. Often this can be the “difference in being successful in treatment,” Ken explains. “Emotional and mental support is where I feel we make the biggest difference.”
In addition to supporting MRC residents, the students are grateful for the opportunity to work with this population and in this setting. One of the observations that Ken had in beginning this work nearly 10 years ago with VOA Oregon is that the students gravitated to the work being done here.
“This opportunity gives them a chance to provide direct, specific care to serve a specific population,” explains Ken. “It is a great learning experience for them.”
As the session for the day ends, Ken’s enthusiasm for the work being done at the MRC is obvious. “This time that is spent at the MRC is worthwhile, these clients’ lives are important. It is important that they come back to be a part of the community. We need them.”