clinic faculty

Andrew Prescott, LAc
Clinic Director

Andrew Prescott has been practicing Acupuncture since 1977. He qualified as a Registered Psychiatric Nurse in 1975 at Glenside and Barrow Hospital, England. He worked at the Bristol Children’s Hospital, Bristol, England, and then completed his initial training in Acupuncture at the College of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture (UK) Leamington Spa, England (Lic. Ac.) in 1977. He holds a bachelors degree in Acupuncture from the College of Traditional Acupuncture (UK), representing additional clinical training (B. Ac.). He obtained his Diploma from the National Commission for Certification of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (Dipl.Ac., NCCAOM) and North Carolina license in 1995.

In addition to clinical private practice since 1977, he has been a guest lecturer of Shen Tao Acupressure at the College of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture, Leamington Spa, England, and he has also founded a school of acupressure, and taught at, Middle Piccadily Natural Healing Center, Sherborne, Dorset, England.

He is currently in private practice in Hillsborough and Durham, NC., and a clinical supervisor at Jung Tao School, Sugar Grove, NC.

Jade Pierce, LAc
Clinic Instructor

Jade Pierce received her Master’s degree in Acupuncture from the Traditional Acupuncture Institute of Columbia, MD in 1999. She has operated a private practice since then, as well as working with several groups practicing integrative medicine. Currently, she is an instructor in the Jung Tao student clinic. Her teaching experience also includes teaching workshops in herbal medicine, acupressure and Qi Gong. She also taught Oriental medical theory and acupressure as faculty at the Body Therapy Institute in Siler City. Her practice of medicine emphasizes the Buddhist philosophy of compassion & mindfulness, client-practitioner rapport and the poetry of the ancient art of Asian healing traditions.

Tom Eddins, LAc
Clinic Instructor

Tom Eddins began his study of energetics in the field of music, completing his Batchelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in classical guitar performance at the North Carolina School of the Arts in 1999. Tom subsequently moved to the mountains of North Carolina and, enchanted by their beauty and green serenity, began to study Chinese bio-energetics through martial arts and taijiquan. Tom has worked in the field of health care since 2000, and acupuncture specifically since 2003. He graduated in the top tier of his class at Jung Tao School of Classical Chinese Medicine in 2005. Tom has since taught classes in Taijiquan both in the community and at Jung Tao. He is an NCCAOM certified, licensed acupuncturist in the state of North Carolina and currently runs a private acupuncture practice in Boone, North Carolina.

Patrick Fitzsimons, LAc
Clinic Instructor

Patrick has been studying natural health for twenty years. His interest in acupuncture began while studying Chinese language in the mid-1990s at Appalachian State University. For three years, Patrick worked at the Chinese Acupuncture and Herbology Clinic in Asheville, North Carolina, immersing himself in the practice of acupuncture, herbology, nutrition and tuina, and was exposed to the teachings of Jeffrey Yuen, Daoist priest.

After a trip to China in 2002, Patrick enrolled at Jung Tao School, receiving his Diploma of Acupuncture in 2006. He is licensed in the state of North Carolina and runs a private practice in Asheville. Patrick is a Clinical Supervisor at Jung Tao, where he has also taught Acupuncture Energetics and Grand Rounds. In addition to a wealth of clinical experience, Patrick has lectured to tens of thousands of people worldwide about Chinese Medicine, acupuncture, health and wellness.


clinic staff

Pat Birdsong
Clinic Administrative Assistant

Pat Birdsong has lived in Sugar Grove, North Carolina for the past 30 years. She has been very active in community efforts and serves as a member of the Cove Creek Community Council. She was the founding Chair of the non-profit Sugar Grove Developmental Day School and continues to serve on the Board of Directors. She has also served on the Board of Directors of Cove Creek Preservation and Development for the past eight years.

Ms. Birdsong began her career as a paralegal working with Civil Rights actions in the State of Mississippi and the Native American Rights Fund in Boulder, Colorado. While her children were young, she worked as a batik artist from her home and was a member of two local cooperative galleries. She continued her education at Appalachian State University where she earned her Masters in Communication Disorders. She is currently Certified in Clinical Competence as a Speech-Language Pathologist, specializing in therapeutic intervention for young children with developmental disabilities.

Ms. Birdsong has been a patient of alternative and Chinese medicines for the past 33 years, having first realized the benefits of acupuncture in 1974.

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