GR On the Road: WV, PA, TX, OK

ABMP’s Government Relations Director Laura Embleton has had a busy December! She started off the month heading to West Virginia to speak with their board of massage therapy about issues massage therapists are facing across the country and to hear their thoughts about potential updates to their practice act. 

From there, she traveled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to meet with the Pennsylvania Board of Massage Therapy. The board is finishing up a review of the rules. ABMP was glad to be there to make comments and suggestions during this year-long, rule-making process. 

The week before Christmas, Laura was in Austin, Texas, at the Massage Therapy Advisory Council with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, where she advised the board about a uniform regulation of bodywork therapists—going to 300 hours for schools—and creating a Texas exam in place of the MBLEx.

She is wrapping up the year in Oklahoma City with the Oklahoma Massage Therapy Advisory Board, where they are finalizing an autumn-long revision of their rules.

And it doesn’t stop there—2019 starts off with a bang! In the second week of January, Laura will be heading to Delaware, where they are still working on rules with regard to establishment licensing; then to Washington State, where they are looking at rule revisions; and finally to Minnesota, where ABMP is working with a coalition to look at licensing. 

News

Tennessee Increases Minimum Education Hours

On April 16, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed into law House Bill 1610 and Senate Bill 1588, increasing the minimum massage curriculum hours that an applicant for massage licensure must complete at an approved school for massage, bodywork, or somatic therapy to be eligible for licensure under the Massage Licensure Act. Find out the new state minimum requirement.

Alaska Massage Board Remains Independent and Autonomous

Executive Order No. 129 sought to dissolve the Alaska Board of Massage Therapists and transfer its functions to the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (DCCED). The executive order was successfully overturned.

Gainful Employment Rules Compliance Updates

Over the past two weeks, the US Department of Education issued updates to the new “Gainful Employment” (GE) regulations for vocational programs published last fall. This web post addresses the updates to prepare school owners and educators ahead of the July 1, 2024, new GE rule effective date.

Blog

Avoid Pulling Clients' Hair

Massage therapy students practicing in a classroom.

It’s the finer details that matter in a massage therapy session, and unintentional hair pulling is a detail that carries more weight than you might think.

Faces of Bodywork: Adriane Maxwell

Massage therapist Adriane Maxwell stands in front of a palm tree.

Adriane Maxwell is the owner of One Healing Touch Reiki & Massage for Women in Charleston, South Carolina. Maxwell was featured in the May/June 2024 issue of Massage & Bodywork magazine in “Faces of Bodywork.”

Benefits

Podcast: Cancer, Clots, and COVID—A Complicated Client

A client was recently treated for colon cancer—and it didn’t go well. She had surgical complications, a bout of sepsis, and more. Is massage therapy safe? We discuss on this episode of “I Have a Client Who . . .” Pathology Conversations with Ruth Werner.

Please note: We have recently updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Learn more...