Two recently graduated, licensed acupuncturists want their therapy to be available and affordable to anyone, regardless of ability to pay.

Keith Zabik and Larry Gatti are establishing a new clinic in The Village shopping center in Suite 170 at 2900 E. Broadway, aimed at attracting a broader range of patients. Nancy McClure of CBRE/Tucson represented the landlord, H.L.F. Properties Inc., in negotiating the 1,250-square-foot, three-year lease.

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Not only is their new clinic in an area of Tucson where this service is infrequently found, but they’re also rolling out a "community acupuncture" concept — the first in Tucson — that offers treatments on a sliding scale (based on income, but with no means testing) from $15 to $35, Gatti said.

"We can do this because we treat in a group, not in a private room, using ‘distal’ points (below the knee and elbow, and on the head and neck) so that patients can remain fully clothed during treatment. We will use recliners rather than treatment tables. This approach gives us low overhead and allows us to treat up to six people per hour," Gatti said.

Gatti, whose wife is from Arizona, graduated in 2007 from the Tri-State College of Acupuncture School in New York before moving here. He recently completed additional training with an internationally recognized acupuncture teacher, Dr. Richard Tan of San Diego.

Zabik previously lived in Utah and Montana and holds a 2006 Master of Acupuncture degree from the Asian Institute of Medical Studies here. He had earlier training as a licensed massage therapist and energetic healer and currently treats many chronically ill and economically challenged patients through his private practice and healing work with the Sunstone Cancer Resource and Healing Center. He also serves on the faculty at the Asian Institute and as the financial aid administrator for the school.

The two decided to establish a clinic here, Gatti said, because "Arizona has the highest growth rate in the country, which is good news for first-time business owners, and people always need health care."

"The Tucson (acupuncture) market isn’t saturated like some markets in California and Albuquerque," Zabik added. He said theirs is the first "community clinic" in Tucson. Even if the market were saturated, he said, community acupuncture "really opens up a whole new realm. We wanted to be centrally located and closer to the working class of people and downtown people."

When people are unfamiliar with a treatment and it’s expensive, they’re reluctant to try it, Gatti said. But if it’s affordable, they’ll try it.

Gatti and Zabik held a June 17 open house of their Tucson Community Acupuncture clinic, offering free acupuncture to attendees. They say the treatment, in addition to treating pain and allergies, is a great stress reducer. They point out that 70 percent to 90 percent of all visits to doctors are for stress-related conditions, according to the American Institute of Stress.