AMTA Response to Hurricane Disaster – Update September 9, 2005

What is AMTA Doing
Massage Emergency Response Teams
What Can You Do to Help Evacuees
Know Before You Go
Previous Updates

Many things are happening in the hurricane-affected states and situations are constantly changing, often hourly.  We will keep AMTA members updated as frequently as possible on what is happening there, how AMTA members are involved in relief efforts, and what you can do to help. 

Check the AMTA Web site for frequent reports and updates.  If you know of massage therapists who don’t have access to the Web, please help keep them informed of what is happening and how they can help those in need.

See the Update for September 7, 2005 for specific information about how to work with aid agencies, to make donations for victims and to help fellow massage therapists.

What is AMTA Doing?

As an initial effort to help those massage therapists who lost their massage practices as a result of the hurricane, AMTA has opened its online Career Center to all massage therapists and massage-related businesses to post job openings and resumes.  These postings are now free and participants do not need to be AMTA members.  AMTA encourages massage businesses to advertise openings for massage therapists from the three states affected by the hurricane.

AMTA encourages massage schools to use the Career Center to post job openings for massage therapy instructors or other massage-related positions they may have. 

AMTA is encouraging businesses that will be exhibitors at the AMTA National Convention in Albuquerque (Sept. 21-24) to join convention attendees to raise money for the American Red Cross to help those affected by the hurricane.  Red Cross will provide a location at the convention for attendees and exhibitors to give financial donations to the relief efforts.

Massage Emergency Response Teams

The AMTA National Office continues to work with Chapter presidents in the three affected states to help them coordinate AMTA Massage Emergency Response Team (MERT) activity.  AMTA’s MERT program is administered at the Chapter level to provide massage for relief and rescue workers. 

  • Mississippi Chapter volunteers deployed on Saturday night, September 3.  The Chapter is working closely with the Mississippi State Department of Health to deploy to the Gulf shore, once safety and accommodations can be secured.  The Mississippi State Board of Massage Therapy has not decided if it will waive licensing requirements for massage therapists from other states to volunteer their services in the state. 
  • The Louisiana Chapter is not ready to deploy massage therapists for relief workers or to accept help from other states at this time.  This situation is expected to change within a few days.  The Louisiana Board of Massage Therapy has not decided if it will waive licensing requirements for massage therapists from other states to volunteer their services in the state. 
  • The Alabama Chapter has not requested assistance at this time from MERTs in other states.  The Alabama Massage Therapy Board has waived licensing requirements for massage therapists from other states to volunteer their services in the state. 

What Can You Do to Help Evacuees?

If you want to offer massage for people affected by Hurricane Katrina, you can best make that happen by working with your local Red Cross (http://www.redcross.org/where/chapts.asp) or the agency responsible for coordinating evacuees to your state.

AMTA strongly recommends that massage therapists not travel to other states to provide massage to evacuees, because massage regulations and Good Samaritan laws differ from state to state.  Waivers may not be in effect in states hosting evacuees and your liability insurance will not cover you if you practice massage in another state, without the necessary license or regulatory requirements.   

Know Before You Go

We have reports from all three states that individual massage therapists are volunteering to massage relief workers and evacuees.  However, in some areas, it continues to be very dangerous to enter the devastated areas and we want you to be aware that your volunteer help may not be accepted at this time.

Watch this section of the AMTA Web site for frequent updates on AMTA’s response to the hurricane.

Previous Updates
9-7-2005
9-2-2005

Back to News Room