Earlier last month a group of Five Branches University students and faculty went to the beautiful campus of St Claries’ Retreat Center in Soquel, CA. St. Claire Resort was hosting the members and families of the Female Factor Retreat which is part of the Hemophilia Foundation of Northern California.

Five Branches students lead by FBU faculty, Dr. Mariposa Bernstein, were there to offer acupuncture, ear seeds and tuina-massage treatments to the participants.

Senior Student, Ursula Ehrhart, said “The participants expressed their gratitude exclaiming that our mobile unit was the highlight of their weekend.” “This event was the first introduction of Chinese medicine and acupuncture to most attendees,” said Lisa Fortes-Schramm, ND. one of the soon to graduate FBU students.

At the same time, FBU students are not exposed to treating patients suffering from bleeding disorders such as hemophilia at the University teaching clinic. However, the thin acupuncture needles were proven to be highly effective in pain reduction with minimal side effects even when applied to hemophilic patients.

Anya May King-Gunning, a graduating student, commented that “treating patients in such a communal manner was a bonding experience for me and my fellow classmates, as we were primarily confined to online learning due to the pandemic.”