State committee will examine credentials of business-seekers
By JAN HOGAN VIEW STAFF WRITER
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If you plan to put in a pool, you check with the contractor's board to see who is qualified. If you need specialized surgery, you check the credentials of your surgeon with a medical board.
Now, massage therapists also will be under the auspices of a board -- the Nevada State Board of Massage Therapy.
The group plans to hold a fundraising massage-a-thon from noon to 10 p.m. May 4 at the Suncoast, which is donating its facility for the event. The ballroom will be the site for the massage sessions, nearby will be a silent auction with prizes such as Spa at Lakeside gift certificates and a spa package and overnight stay at the Suncoast.
The newly formed board consists of six people, four of them longtime massage therapists, as well as a chiropractic doctor and an advisor from the Metropolitan Police Department.
Board member Paula Spradling said the formation of the governing body elevates the status of the profession as it requires all massage therapists to meet certain standards.
In the profession 10 years, Spradling and her husband own and operate The Spa at Lakeside, 2620 Regatta Drive in Desert Shores.
Medical conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes can contraindicate performing some types of massage or massage on certain muscles.
"There's a lot more to massage therapy than just putting oil on someone," she said. "Massaging certain spots, using certain oils, it can stimulate the lymphatic system. You have to know what you're doing. Like a medical doctor, we follow the (oath), 'Do no harm.' "
There are an estimated 6,000 massage therapists in Southern Nevada. Before the board was established, therapists only needed a business license to operate. Now they will have to follow certain parameters and prove they've had continuing education classes to keep up on the latest information. Mandatory testing will help weed out anyone who is lacking in skills.
"We have people come here from all over the world, massage therapists who all have different training," Spradling said. "We need one (governing body)."
Some board members -- Linda White, Deborah Wenig, and Billie Shea -- are based in the Reno area. The Las Vegas board members -- Reagan Alexander, Karen Sartell, Michelle Viesselman, John Kenny and Spradling -- use video conferencing to hold meetings. The group's initial meetings dealt mostly with tweaking the operation, including what information should be on applications for licensing and common questions to address on its Web site.
Karen Sartell, a northwest resident and massage therapist, also is a board member. She said establishing the board eliminates the need for therapists to go through numerous entities -- including Clark County and the city licensing bureaus of Henderson, North Las Vegas, Pahrump and Las Vegas -- to be able to work.
"It'll mean one background check and one set of fingerprints," she said. "Those additional expenses will go away."
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