Urban Salt Community Acupuncture

Access to consistent, affordable healthcare shouldn't depend on income or insurance status, but for too many in our community, it does. 

Urban Salt Community Acupuncture Clinic is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit closing that gap, offering acupuncture, herbal medicine, and other Traditional Chinese Medicine modalities as an accessible and affordable healthcare option.

At the same time, we're addressing a second, closely connected gap: as acupuncture schools close and sustainable career paths shrink, we give new doctors a place to practice, get paid, and build a career without the burden of business loans and startup costs most new practitioners face alone.

Founded in 2024 in Long Beach, we've since expanded to a second location in Santa Ana to serve our Orange County populations. We’re now offering care 7 days a week, from 8 practitioners across both our locations.

Our Impact

In 2025 alone, we provided 2,770 treatments for 580 patients and hosted 24 free clinics, serving patients who might otherwise go without care. That growth hasn't slowed — in the first seven months of 2026, we've already delivered 3,283 treatments for 695 patients. Patients pay what they can afford on our sliding scale, or are treated at no cost during free clinics and community outreach events. Our clinic opts out of the insurance-based healthcare system to provide care efficiently, affordably, and with less patient stress.

"Finding Urban Salt and being able to now access this treatment affordably has been a blessing... Accessibility to health and wellness spaces is a barrier for many and removing said barrier makes self-care feel like a gift, rather than something anxiety-inducing."
 — Amber N.

"It's not just the treatment itself - they actually sit and listen, before and during treatment... there are clinicians available every day of the week and some are even available during holidays, because we don't all have the time to take off work when we please."
 — Eloisa B.

And since opening in 2024, we've given 15 TCM practitioners a place to build their careers, paying them a living wage along the way. For those who qualify, we also start the clock on Public Service Loan Forgiveness — for one practitioner so far, that's put $200,000 in student debt on a path to forgiveness. It's a benefit we're working to extend to more of our doctors as they become eligible.

We're proud to have been voted Best Acupuncture Clinic by Press Telegram readers in 2024, 2025, and 2026.

Why TCM?

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offers real relief for conditions that Western medicine often struggles to treat well like chronic pain, insomnia, anxiety, digestive issues, fertility challenges, and autoimmune concerns among them. For patients managing these conditions long-term, consistent, affordable access matters as much as the treatment itself which is exactly what our model is built to provide.

Where Your Donation Goes

As a nonprofit, every dollar from donations and patient care goes directly back into keeping our doors open — sustaining our sliding-scale prices, running free clinics, and supporting our other programs. We operate lean by design: our Executive Director and our board are entirely volunteer, and volunteers have contributed 750 hours so far in 2026.