One day, long ago and far away, Jessica Feltz decided she wanted to become an acupuncturist.
Jessica had never received acupuncture.
Jessica didn’t know anyone who had received acupuncture.
Jessica didn’t even know any acupuncturists.
But Jessica knew in a way she had never known anything before, that if she simply started down the path, everything would be made clear in due time.
And it was.
At the time a single young mom of two little boys, Jessica made the cross-country trek from Wisconsin to Maryland in the Summer of 2007. She incorporated her business in August, found the right space to lease in September, spent October readying it, and opened the doors of The Turning Point in November of 2007.
Jessica was creating a “community acupuncture” clinic, the first of its kind in the Mid-Atlantic states. Whereas most acupuncturists treated one person at a time for a high fee, Jessica wanted to treat lots of people in a “community” space for a low fee.
The first week open, Jessica treated one (1) person. By the end of the month, she had 4 patients who’d received a total of 18 acupuncture sessions with her. The community needed some convincing.
Jessica hadn’t taken a single business class in college, so she decided to submit her plan to the Rockville Economic Department for feedback and guidance. Within weeks, it was named one of the best business plans put forth by female entrepreneurs in the MD-DC-VA area, and Jessica won start-up funding to help get her practice established.
By 2014, Jessica’s clinic had outgrown its space on West Patrick Street and moved to a larger location on North Market Street. In 2016, The Frederick News Post began its “Best of the Best” contest, and Jessica has been named one of Frederick’s “Best Acupuncturists” every year since. The following year, Jessica was similarly acknowledged by the readers of Frederick Magazine. Later that fall, Jessica was recognized by the Maryland General Assembly for her 10-year commitment to providing affordable health care to the Frederick Community.
When the COVID Pandemic swept across the globe, Jessica closed the clinic’s doors, unsure what the future would bring.
Jessica began offering acupuncture house calls to her existing clientele in fall of 2020. To her surprise, there was a greater demand for in-home health care than expected – particularly among the elderly and immune-compromised people she had long worked with. Jessica started providing acupuncture at home births and in recovery communities, at yoga retreats and to people with disabilities. Jessica found she was able to bring affordable acupuncture to people and places which had not previously had access.
Jessica has been providing Traveling AcuPUNKture services ever since, delivering more than 100,000 accessible acupuncture treatments to the Frederick Community. She considers it one of her greatest privileges.
