March 31, 2020
Dear Governor Wolf and Pa. Legislators,
Thank you for thinking about the good of the Pa. massage therapy profession while you are busy dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. We are more than grateful that you took our profession into consideration knowing it is our licensing renewal year and we need to complete our continuing education. We respect your decision to allow massage therapists to take all of their continuing education online, but would like to ask you to consider extending our renewal period by 6 months (July 31, 2021), instead.
Many CE Providers spend countless energy, money and time creating and crafting their classes. Most count on the renewal year for the next two years of income. Some Continuing Education (CE) Providers (who are also LMTs) will need to apply for unemployment - but if the renewal period is extended, they may not need to.
We are all challenged during this pandemic, and figuring out how to pay for and take continuing education classes with a licensing renewal period looming only adds to the stress of Licensed Massage Therapists (LMTs). For this reason alone, the renewal period should be extended. Also, massage therapy can be an isolating profession, and (especially) after being quarantined in their homes for so long because of COVID-19, many LMTs are looking forward to taking in-person classes so they can reconnect with their colleagues and friends.
LMT’s continuing education is vital in keeping our field professional, and in-person training is critical to learning new techniques and current information. Everything we do in our profession is hands-on and online learning does not translate well to the massage therapy profession. The required CPR certification for LMTs must be taken in-person according to our State Board, which must also be considered.
Many CE Providers who never had their classes online before are feeling pressure to convert their “hands-on classes” to live webinars. With no direction or standards for this, the quality of many classes could be compromised. When taking online classes, many LMTs will not come away with the new information or hands on skills they need. We feel it is a disservice to LMTs and our profession.
Continuing Education venues, as well as massage schools, where CE classes are held are suffering, as well. The owners still have to pay the rent, and if they have no revenue this year they may be forced to shut down and/or go bankrupt. Professional organizations such as the American Massage Therapy Association and large conventions such as the World Massage Festival have been forced to cancel some of their conferences and if LMTs are allowed to take all of their classes online they have no reason to reschedule. After the pandemic is over, CE Providers can work with venues and massage therapists to offer classes that are affordable and fair.
Other professions, such as nurses, barbers, Realtors and pilots have had their renewal periods extended - please consider changing your statement that Pa. Licensed Massage Therapists may take all continuing education classes online, and instead, allow our licensing renewal period to be extended for 6 months or more.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
LMTs and CE Providers of Pa. and Supporters
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
April 7, 2020
April 6, 2020
I have been reading through all your notes about how much these in-person classes mean to your professional lives. It is truly humbling to see how much care you have for each other and for our community. I am still working on drafting the next letter to the governor and I appreciate you having my back while I navigate this.
April 4, 2020
I checked the screen and noticed we just crossed the one hundred signature mark which is honestly more than I ever imagined. This is entirely your doing because you all saw the value in keeping our community connected. Thank you for stepping up.
Reached 100 supporters
April 2, 2020
March 31, 2020
I really never imagined this many people would step up to protect our in-person training. It is honestly overwhelming to see so many of you looking out for each other and for our providers. If we can just reach that next hundred mark before the decision makers see this list, it would truly prove how much this community cares about connection.
136 Comments
While we have had over a year in this renewal period to complete continuing education, I for one was pregnant last year. And gave birth last summer. There has been no time to complete hands on hours. on top of that, because of where I live, I have to travel 3+ hours to complete classes.
Please help our staff by extending the renewal license period by 6 months/until July 31, 2021 as they are all unemployed right now and can't afford classes nor can I pay for their classes with no revenue from my business. Thanks for your consideration! Loren Barsky
It’s the right thing to do. Due to these unprecedented job losses in the massage industry. Please consider a 6 month extension for the license renewal to give our industry an opportunity to regroup financially. This would not be a good time to increase our biannual renewal rate either.
It's EXTREMELY invaluable for me to have Hands-On experience in order to learn a new massage technique correctly. On-line training makes it much harder for me to replicate techniques easily. LMTs learn much more with Hands-On training!! It's what we do - use our hands to heal!
Covid19 May remove 3-6 months of classroom interaction, that shouldn’t remove the remaining 18-21 months of availability for in class instruction. Furthermore, the financial impact to CE providers could prove devastating both financially and sustainably.
Heh-heh-heh, this outta do it! WHAM! Oh,no! OH!
Please extend the CE time line for LMT
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March 31, 2020
Dear Governor Wolf and Pa. Legislators,
Thank you for thinking about the good of the Pa. massage therapy profession while you are busy dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. We are more than grateful that you took our profession into consideration knowing it is our licensing renewal year and we need to complete our continuing education. We respect your decision to allow massage therapists to take all of their continuing education online, but would like to ask you to consider extending our renewal period by 6 months (July 31, 2021), instead.
Many CE Providers spend countless energy, money and time creating and crafting their classes. Most count on the renewal year for the next two years of income. Some Continuing Education (CE) Providers (who are also LMTs) will need to apply for unemployment - but if the renewal period is extended, they may not need to.
We are all challenged during this pandemic, and figuring out how to pay for and take continuing education classes with a licensing renewal period looming only adds to the stress of Licensed Massage Therapists (LMTs). For this reason alone, the renewal period should be extended. Also, massage therapy can be an isolating profession, and (especially) after being quarantined in their homes for so long because of COVID-19, many LMTs are looking forward to taking in-person classes so they can reconnect with their colleagues and friends.
LMT’s continuing education is vital in keeping our field professional, and in-person training is critical to learning new techniques and current information. Everything we do in our profession is hands-on and online learning does not translate well to the massage therapy profession. The required CPR certification for LMTs must be taken in-person according to our State Board, which must also be considered.
Many CE Providers who never had their classes online before are feeling pressure to convert their “hands-on classes” to live webinars. With no direction or standards for this, the quality of many classes could be compromised. When taking online classes, many LMTs will not come away with the new information or hands on skills they need. We feel it is a disservice to LMTs and our profession.
Continuing Education venues, as well as massage schools, where CE classes are held are suffering, as well. The owners still have to pay the rent, and if they have no revenue this year they may be forced to shut down and/or go bankrupt. Professional organizations such as the American Massage Therapy Association and large conventions such as the World Massage Festival have been forced to cancel some of their conferences and if LMTs are allowed to take all of their classes online they have no reason to reschedule. After the pandemic is over, CE Providers can work with venues and massage therapists to offer classes that are affordable and fair.
Other professions, such as nurses, barbers, Realtors and pilots have had their renewal periods extended - please consider changing your statement that Pa. Licensed Massage Therapists may take all continuing education classes online, and instead, allow our licensing renewal period to be extended for 6 months or more.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
LMTs and CE Providers of Pa. and Supporters
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
April 7, 2020
April 6, 2020
I have been reading through all your notes about how much these in-person classes mean to your professional lives. It is truly humbling to see how much care you have for each other and for our community. I am still working on drafting the next letter to the governor and I appreciate you having my back while I navigate this.
April 4, 2020
I checked the screen and noticed we just crossed the one hundred signature mark which is honestly more than I ever imagined. This is entirely your doing because you all saw the value in keeping our community connected. Thank you for stepping up.
Reached 100 supporters
April 2, 2020
March 31, 2020
I really never imagined this many people would step up to protect our in-person training. It is honestly overwhelming to see so many of you looking out for each other and for our providers. If we can just reach that next hundred mark before the decision makers see this list, it would truly prove how much this community cares about connection.
136 Comments
I missed a 4 day training worth 36 credits and lost $100 in deposit fees this past weekend due to cancellation for COVID-19. Please allow more time for us to take the training that is required to renew our license.
While we have had over a year in this renewal period to complete continuing education, I for one was pregnant last year. And gave birth last summer. There has been no time to complete hands on hours. on top of that, because of where I live, I have to travel 3+ hours to complete classes.
Please help our staff by extending the renewal license period by 6 months/until July 31, 2021 as they are all unemployed right now and can't afford classes nor can I pay for their classes with no revenue from my business. Thanks for your consideration! Loren Barsky
It’s the right thing to do. Due to these unprecedented job losses in the massage industry. Please consider a 6 month extension for the license renewal to give our industry an opportunity to regroup financially. This would not be a good time to increase our biannual renewal rate either.
It's EXTREMELY invaluable for me to have Hands-On experience in order to learn a new massage technique correctly. On-line training makes it much harder for me to replicate techniques easily. LMTs learn much more with Hands-On training!! It's what we do - use our hands to heal!
Covid19 May remove 3-6 months of classroom interaction, that shouldn’t remove the remaining 18-21 months of availability for in class instruction. Furthermore, the financial impact to CE providers could prove devastating both financially and sustainably.
Heh-heh-heh, this outta do it! WHAM! Oh,no! OH!
Please extend the CE time line for LMT
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I missed a 4 day training worth 36 credits and lost $100 in deposit fees this past weekend due to cancellation for COVID-19. Please allow more time for us to take the training that is required to renew our license.