Today we’d like to introduce you to Afua Bromley.
Hi Afua, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My desire to become a doctor was initiated on my 6th birthday in Ghana, West Africa. The father of one of my closest friends was a physician and the family was late to my party. Being six, I had been disappointed that she was late until her father explained to me that he was the only doctor for the surrounding villages and needed to tend to several of his patients before bringing the family to the party. For some reason, it resonated with me and I began telling everyone I too would be a doctor when I grew up.
That declaration at six motivated me through high school and undergrad at Washington University in St Louis. I was pre-med at Wash U and did research at the medical school, but majored in Elementary Education and African & African American Studies. After my first year teaching, I applied to and was admitted to medical school, but was wait-listed. In spring of 1995, While waiting to find out if I would attend medical school in the fall, I became ill and lost my hearing in my left ear following a stubborn respiratory infection. Several friends were studying auricular detox acupuncture with a local acupuncturist and harassed me into allowing him to treatment me. Though I did not expect the treatment to help at all, within 5 minutes my hearing returned and the rest of the symptoms of my upper respiratory infection were gone within 24 hours. Curious, I did some additional reading on acupuncture, then decided to enroll in acupuncture school instead of a pre-medical post-baccalaureate school while I waited a year to begin (allopathic) medical school. Two months into my first year at the National Institute of Oriental Medicine (now the Florida College of Integrative Medicine) and I was hooked! The cases I saw during my observational clinic hours along with my classes opened a more holistic and (I felt) comprehensive approach to resolving the root of many health issues. I gave up my spot at University of Kentucky medical school and went on to complete my master’s degree in Oriental Medicine in 1998 along with an additional summer internship at Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital in Yantai, China.
My work in China inspired me to consider integrating health systems, incorporating indigenous methods of healing with allopathic medicine. After graduation, I was able to gain approval of the clan chief and acquire land in my family’s village of Kukurantumi, Ghana, to build an integrative medicine clinic.
In 1999, I moved back to St. Louis to serve on the newly formed Missouri Acupuncture Advisory Committee, and helped co-author the rules and regulations for licensure. I opened a private practice, and began working, once a week, at Community Health in Partnership Services (CHIPS) Clinic for uninsured and underinsured residents.
In 2007, I formed a nonprofit, Universal Holistic Healthcare(UHH), providing health empowerment education and increasing integrative medicine access for underserved populations. The non-profit had two arms: one was dedicated to building Sankofa Integrative Health Center and Public Healthcare Worker Training Program in Ghana, which could be duplicated with cultural adaptations for any community. The other focus of UHH was operating community-based health programs in St Louis. The other focus of UHH was operating community-based health programs in St Louis: STD/HIV outreach education, support group for women living with HIV(Women of Phoenix Support Group); HIV integrative medicine clinic affiliated with a larger St Louis City sponsored Clinic with an HIV focus (@ St Louis ConnectCare), while providing acupuncture detox support to indigent populations; a women’s health empowerment program (Operation Change STL); and, acupuncture detox support to St Louis Drug Court’s alternative treatment programs.
In 2008, I expanded my private practice into Acupuncture Saint Louis and Wellness Center (Webster Groves), a multi-disciplinary office offering Chinese medicine (acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, nutrition and lifestyle medicine) as well as reflexology, Ortho bionomy, neuromuscular, myofascial work and other forms of bodywork.
In 2012, I began volunteering for the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM), joined NCCAOM’s Board in 2014, and became Board Chair (2017-2020). I gained national and global experience, through my Board Chair role, working on advocacy for the profession at the federal level (VA/DoD/CMS) and with international organizations, including the European Traditional Chinese Medicine Association and British Acupuncture Council. I also earned my doctorate in Acupuncture and Chinese medicine in 2022 and completed a 2-year Integrative Medicine fellowship with the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine in 2024. I currently serve on the Society for Acupuncture Research Board, which is an international organization promoting research in Chinese Medicine.
In 2023, I became Nkosuohene (chief of development) of Ettokrom, Ghana, West Africa. Through my work as Nkosuohene and UHH, we were able to complete construction of a public health clinic in Ettokrom and open in January 2026. The clinic is staffed by four public health nurses from the Ghana Health Service. Most recently (locally) in St Louis, UHH has partnered with other organizations to provide auricular acupuncture at pop-ups in St Louis supporting the community post-tornado. We (UHH) have also served as fiscal sponsor for local organizations including InPower Institute, Akoko Nacia Doula Project, and Dogtown Community Garden, all of whom work to build and serve the St Louis community.
(Note: I just put in a lot (Sorry! Wasn’t sure how much you want). Feel free to trim any of it. I tend to leave out things/projects – too many projects ).
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Definitely not a smooth road. Most of the challenges surround not enough time and very little available funding. Buying a building and shifting from a personal private practice to a larger multi-disciplinary practice at the beginning of the 2008 recession was a challenge. Many parents (especially mothers) can relate to attempting to balance being an involved parent and running a business. Add in the volunteer/community work, and I have probably been overworking for too long. Given that I am not from St Louis, I am fortunate to have amazing people around me who have been supportive. Creative financing, perseverance (translate stubborness) and frugality have served me well personally and professionally.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Our office is a multi-discplinary practice (currently 3 acupuncturists and two massage therapists with very different offerings) . We offer Chinese Medicine (acupuncture, Chinese herbs, nutritional counseling) and various disciplines of bodywork (neuromuscular massage, reflexology, orthobionomy). We have retained a close relationship with our former colleagues including naturopathic services (www.minthealth.org) and manual physical therapy (www.clearpassage.com), as well as navigating referral relationships with other practitioners in the St Louis area. We want to empower those who come to our office to be active participants in their healing, so most of our clients/patients would tell you we also tend to give ” homework” to help with prevention of disease and health care management. In my own practice, I do see a lot of oncology(cancer) and chronic disease, though we are trained as general practitioners (seeing everything from musculoskeletal pain to migraines to stress management and prevention of disease). The thing we are most known for is working on very complex health issues that need an integrated approach. The amount of training and expertise in our office really is outstanding. I think we have almost 100 years of experience when you add up all of our combined practice.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Our desire for our patients/clients is to achieve and maintain optimal health and wellness.
Pricing:
- acupuncture 135 initial 90 f/u
- bodywork varies with practitioner
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.acupuncturestlouis.com
