Fall Rubdown

The HealWell blog has a helpful glossary of terms . You can find the link to this guide in the show notes . If we've missed any , please let us know by emailing us at podcast at HealWellorg . First up HealWell News . September saw HealWell Homecoming our first live conference event . Attendees participated in classes on fascia ethics , lymphatics and pregnancy .

Shout out to Sakina Irizarry and Meg Ballinger for teaching their first classes ever and knocking it out of the park . We then had a keynote speech by HealWell Executive Director , kyle Cates , followed by a roundtable World Cafe-style conversation about big topics in massage therapy .

Thank you to our gold sponsor , the American Massage Therapy Association , for helping this event happen and for enthusiastically participating in the discussions . In other HealWell news , the HealWell Service Department has provided

9,747 massages so far in 2024 in the DC , maryland , virginia area . Stay tuned to learn if we break 10,000 massages this year . The new HeWell community will open December 28th .

The community is shifting focus and , in addition to being a supportive environment for massage therapists , we are working on helping massage therapists improve both their practice and the profession of massage therapy . We have live meetings once a week that focus on topics like practice support , understanding , research and discussing podcasts .

There are recommendation lists for books and academic articles , as well as a variety of educational resources and a monthly topical theme . The theme for January will be Forging New Things , because we could all use some new things . The community platform itself has also been redesigned for easier use .

Community members get exclusive discounts on Heelwell classes and first-to-know news updates and class offerings . Members can vote on ideas they'd like to see in the community , such as mentorship opportunities , ethics practice sessions and writing groups . Members who register for the community before January 31st will also get a founding member badge .

Membership in the community is only $19 a month . Once you sign up , your membership price will be locked in . As long as you remain a member , your subscription price will never go up . If you have big ideas but need help making them happen , the HeOL community would love to have and help you Up .

Next state and national news Recently , massage Envy has agreed to settle a case against Providence , rhode Island in March of 2021 . The complaint stated that a Massage Envy franchise quote discriminated against individuals with disabilities who , because of disability , needed assistance transferring to and from the massage or facial table .

The complaints alleged that such individuals were required to bring their own third party to assist them with transferring or be denied services . The US Department of Justice concluded that requiring a disabled person to

bring a third party to help with assistance is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act .

The Department of Justice also concluded that the franchise location failed to reasonably modify its transfer assistance policy . The policy requiring a third party quote imposed eligibility criteria that screened out , or tended to screen out , individuals with disabilities .

Because the parties involved have agreed to a settlement , massage Envy is not required to admit any wrongdoing and has denied liability . The settlement Massage Envy is not required to admit any wrongdoing and has denied liability .

The settlement requires Massage Envy to pay the aggrieved individual $10,000 and to modify its service provider standards to practice policy to state that Massage Envy franchise employees will not deny services to people on the basis of their disability , will provide transfer assistance to customers with disabilities and will not require customers to bring a third party for

transfers . If you'd ever like to search the Department of Justice website for cases involving massage therapy . You can do that at the link in the show notes . The Department of Human Services in Arkansas published a proposed rule that would make licensed massage therapists mandated reporters .

Mandated reporters must immediately notify the child abuse hotline or law enforcement if they have reasonable cause to suspect a child has experienced maltreatment , a child died from maltreatment or a child is experiencing conditions or circumstances that could reasonably result in child maltreatment .

The mandated reporting rule already in place includes other professions such as dentists , nurses , mental health professionals , osteopaths and physicians . Delaware has passed two bills regarding their licensing . The first bill changes the state's minimum hours of massage therapy education for students from 500 to 625 hours and revises curriculum for each subject .

The second bill changes the tiered licensing system in Delaware . After December 31st , the Board of Massage and Bodywork will stop issuing initial certifications to applicants to practice as a certified massage therapist or CMT .

This news comes from ABMP and they have stated that their understanding is that schools that have a 300-hour certification course will stop offering such programs . Therapists holding a CMT will remain certified as long as they continue to renew that certification .

If a CMT allows their certification to lapse , they will have to meet the current requirements to obtain a license . Illinois has added training requirements for abnormal skin growth education to their licensing .

Practitioners need to provide proof of completing a course approved by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation in abnormalnormal Skin Growth Education , including training on identifying melanoma . This law includes massage therapists , cosmetologists , barbers , hair braiders , estheticians , nail technologists and electrologists .

Massage therapy is licensed as a service profession in Illinois . A practitioner referring a client to a medical profession regarding abnormal skin growth will not be considered to be acting outside of their scope of practice . Also , the practitioner and their employer cannot be held criminally liable for acting in good faith .

Illinois has also amended their massage therapy misconduct laws . A massage therapist who is charged with misconduct is required to have a chaperone in the room while practicing . The chaperone must be a licensed massage therapist or other licensed healthcare workers .

Misconduct could mean an offense that may result in registering as a sex offender , sexual misconduct of a minor battery or sexual misconduct against a patient , or a forcible felony , which is a felony that earns special penalties because force was involved , such as murder .

The massage therapist who is accused will receive an administrative order about the chaperone requirement . The chaperone must provide a written notice to clients before the treatment that explains why there is a chaperone present Quote the client notice must state in 14-point font the massage therapist is presumed innocent until proven guilty of the charges .

Clients must sign the notice as an acknowledgement that they have read and understood the information . Failure to comply with the administrative order , including the use of the chaperone or the client notice , will result in a temporary license suspension until the outcome of the criminal proceedings . Our next segment is news from the Massage Therapy National Associations .

Stephanie Rodriguez , founder of the United States Organization of Licensed Massage Therapists , or USOLMT , has officially resigned her position and has chosen to leave the massage therapy industry completely . The director of membership , anne Elliott , will be taking over as managing director .

The Massage Therapy Foundation has announced the award of four community service grants for the 2024 cycle . Community service grants help bring the benefits of massage therapy to people who would otherwise not

have access .

Awards were granted to programs that supported individuals of color who were experiencing homelessness , training for hospital-based pediatric massage therapy , massage therapy to low-income families , at-risk youth and survivors of gender-based violence in Limpopo , south Africa , and training programs covering essential massage techniques , anatomy , physiology and hygiene practices in Moshi ,

tanzania . There are six awards available for 2025 , and they're all currently accepting submissions . The Research Support Grant awards up to $30,000 and has a deadline of February 1st . The Research Award grants up to $300,000 and has a deadline of March 1st . There are several community grants which have a deadline of March 1st .

There are several community grants which have a deadline of March 3rd and the Practitioner and Student Case Report Contest have a deadline of June 1st . The Bob King Community Service for Schools Award is held quarterly and its next deadline is March 1st .

The International Journal for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork has put out a call for papers for a special issue on mental health and manual therapies . The IJTMB is seeking papers showcasing the potential for massage to impact the management and care of mental health conditions , as well as quality of life and wellness .

The submission deadline is December 31st and if you can write a whole paper between now and then , bless you . If you're interested in submitting to the IJTMB but do not hold a PhD , you should check out the recent editorials by Editor-in-Chief , dr Amanda Baskwell , titled the Pillars of the IJTMB .

They discuss a variety of valuable topics related to massage practice and education that you could contribute to . If that piques your interest , you should also join the new HealWell community , because we will be discussing these editorials in early 2025 . The new HealWell community because we will be discussing these editorials in early 2025 .

The National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork , or NCBTMB , would like to thank everyone who completed the job task analysis survey . They're working with the data now and they are so thrilled to get the response they did , especially when you consider how long the survey was . That last part was a note from the NCB , not a comment from me .

The American Massage Association had a busy fall . Amta recently responded to the Department of Veterans Affairs' request for input on creating a national standard of practice for massage therapists who work with the VA . When an agency is thinking of changing a policy or creating a new one , there will often be an invited period of comment from stakeholders .

Or creating a new one , there will often be an invited period of comment from stakeholders . In their response , amta emphasized that these standards are vital to ensure safety , professionalism and integrity in massage therapy . However , their response also mentions the MPPR . If you don't know what the MPPR is , don't worry .

I didn't either until I started writing this news update . But to talk about it , we first have

to talk about how massage therapists interact with the VA . In order to work with veterans through the VA system , massage therapists contract with the VA through the Community Care Network . These massage therapists are not employees of the VA . Medicare pays for the service , but a separate entity does the billing and reimbursement .

This entity varies based on where you live in the country . These entities have recently chosen to apply the MPPR to massage therapists working in the VA's community care network . Mppr stands for multiple payment procedure reduction and it is part of a Medicare reimbursement policy that was established in 2002 .

When therapies like physical therapy , occupational therapy and speech-language pathology bill insurance , they do it in 15-minute increments . Until , the MPPR , providers would be paid the same amount for each increment , even when the code used to define the service was the same .

After the MPPR , the first 15 minutes are now billed at a rate that is higher and a smaller amount is paid for the rest of the repeated codes . The reasoning used is that most medical procedures have pre and post-tasks that are included in the billing , and if you bill several of the same code , you aren't doing the pre and post-work every time .

As of late 2023 , massage therapists who work for the VA through the Community Care Network are now being reimbursed under the MPPR policy Because massage therapists use the same code for each 15-minute increments . This means they are getting paid less for the same work .

In January 2024 , new Hampshire Congressman Chris Pappas , who is a member of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs , asked the VA to reverse the change .

He wrote Massage therapy is an effective and non-invasive form of treatment for various physical and mental health conditions commonly experienced by veterans , including chronic pain , anxiety , depression and post-traumatic stress disorder .

Recognizing as an integral part of holistic care for veterans , massage therapy addresses not only physical ailments , but also contributes to mental and emotional well-being . In their letter to the VA , amta stated quote Unlike other forms of therapy , massage therapy is currently treated as a single service , regardless of the number of units provided in a session .

We believe this is a misapplication of a policy designed for other therapies , such as physical and occupational therapy . Massage therapy is one of the most requested treatments by veterans , and reducing reimbursement rates in this way risks exacerbating existing workforce shortages and further limiting veterans' access to necessary care .

If you would like to read AMTA's full letter to the VA , check out the link in the show notes . The AMTA government relations team attended a celebration recognizing the enrollment of one million veterans in the Million Veteran Program , a research study initiative started by the VA in 2011 .

The program focuses on advancing personalized medicine for veterans , studying the complex interplay between genetics , lifestyle factors and military experience . Amta has been accepted into the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health Coalition for Whole Person Health .

Amta joins 70 other nonprofit organizations to emphasize the influence research has on producing integrative , patient-centered health care . Size the influence research has on producing integrative patient-centered health care .

The coalition was established this summer to advance awareness of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health , the National Institutes of Health and the transformative potential of whole person care . And lastly , in October , amta was the leading sponsor of the Paine Collaborative's inaugural meeting .

The mission of the Paine Collaborative is to connect key stakeholders and experts , identify gaps in their shared work , develop resources and promote innovation and progress . The Pain Collaborative focuses on the whole health biopsychosocial model that the VA also focuses on .

This event brought together experts and advocates and discussed topics like equitable pain care , addressing low back pain and policy changes that are affecting pain management . And lastly , here are the massage therapy events coming up for 2025 . Live events for HealWell include the HealWell Oncology Massage Workshop in Virginia March 21st through 23rd .

The Pediatric Stewardship in Washington DC April 2nd through 5th . Two SCAR classes with Kathy Ryan , one in Indianapolis May 3rd through 4th and one in Salt Lake City October 3rd through 4th . And lastly , the Hospital-Based Massage Therapy Adult Stewardship in Washington DC October 29th through November 1st . Other

live conferences include the Massage Therapy Foundation's IMTREC or International Massage Therapy Research Conference , which is Sunday April 27th to Tuesday April 29th . Early bird tickets will be available until January 3rd .

This event is held every three years and brings together massage therapy field leaders , clinicians , educators and researchers to discuss the practice implications and applications of current research . A note for all our listeners IMTREC is much more like a traditional conference than the other massage therapy events .

There's a lot of sitting , listening , answering questions and having conversations . There is also a lot of massage nerds . So if you're a massage nerd looking for your people , they'll be in Virginia in April . The AMTA's annual school summit will be in Anaheim , california , february 13th through 14th .

Some of this year's education sessions include discussions of generational diversity in the field , the four pillars of building a great CE course , retention , marketing strategies and enhancing massage therapy education through technology For virtual events .

Healwell's Opening to the Mystery is Monday , january 27th through Saturday , february 1st , from 5 pm to 8.30 pm Eastern , every day . It is a live online retreat with HealWell Executive Director Cal Cates . It invites you to deeply consider and even befriend , your own mortality .

Opening to the Mystery is approved for 21 CEs , for both massage therapists and many other healthcare practitioners . This class happens once a year . It always sells out , and then some , so if you're considering attending at all , you should register soon . Afmt is having a think tank meeting on how to be a strong teaching assistant .

December 30th from 5 30 pm to 7 30 pm . Amta has a free Medicare Advantage 101 webinar . This webinar explores the ins and outs of Medicare Advantage plans , with a focus on how massage therapists can best integrate Medicare Advantage into their practice .

It teaches about massage benefits that are offered under Medicare Advantage payment plans and how to identify and research Medicare Advantage plans in your region . If you have any state or national level news about massage therapy you would like to share , please send an email with your news and a link to your source at podcast at healwellorg .

You can always join us in the Heal Well Online community and I am so excited about our new launch . I might do a little dance after I finish making this podcast . You can always text the show by clicking the link in the show notes . In each update I'll be asking a question and reading any responses I get the following month . Please respond .

I would love to read your response . This month's question is what is something you dream of doing but don't think you can Writing , teaching , reading that really big book you bought a year ago ? This has been your September , october and November news rubdown . Thank you for listening .