Important Legislative Update 4/21/2020
Dear IASI Community,
The IASI Law and Regulations Committee is pleased to bring you updates on the latest news concerning structural integration and COVID-19. Please keep in mind that this situation is fluid and can or may change before we are able to provide the most current news in your locality.
If your state or locale allows you to begin practicing, IASI encourages practitioners to limit in-person sessions to those with clear and documented urgent medical needs only.
Our first announcement comes from Washington State where Governor Inslee deemed alternative health care providers to be essential. The WA Dept of Health sent a letter further defining who can resume their practices. Governor Inslee’s proclamation #20-25 allows health care providers to continue essential health services. In the state of Washington, SI is regulated under massage therapy licensure.
The letter from the WA State Department of Health states: “Many services provided by massage therapists are considered non-essential. No in-person appointment is risk-free, even if the patient and massage therapist appear well. To help control the spread of COVID19, treatment should be limited to patients with a clear and documented urgent medical need. While the proclamation allows massage therapists to continue providing services, they are not required to do so. Therapists should weigh their own health risk and comfort when deciding whether to continue in-person services.”
Yesterday, an announcement from Georgia’s Governor, Brian Kemp, also enabled massage therapists to go back to work beginning next week. SI is specifically exempt from licensure under the Georgia Board of Massage Therapy, so it is not certain whether that does, or does not include SI in Georgia.
Again, SI practitioners are not required to provide services. IASI encourages you to continue safe social distancing practices, and weigh your own health risk and comfort level during in-person sessions. Please provide appropriate information to your clients about maintaining their own safety should they choose to receive work from you.
Check with your insurance company as some may not cover incidents related to COVID-19. It may be helpful to have a document for clients to sign, acknowledge risks, and to absolve both parties of fault for any resulting incidents.
IASI will continue to provide you with resources and support during these unprecedented times. Please contact us with any questions, concerns, or updates, and check out the links below for more detailed information.
WA Essential Business
The links below provide safety procedures and standard healthcare precautions during a pandemic.
Some Additional Suggestions to Consider:
1. Assess you and your clients’ risk as vulnerable populations:- Widespread person to person transmission of COVID-19 in Washington. People with COVID-19 may be pre- or asymptomatic and can spread the illness even when they feel or look well.
- There is a high risk of severe COVID-19 in persons older than 60 years
- There is a high risk of severe COVID-19 in persons with existing health conditions
- There is no method to completely remove the risk of person-to-person spread of COVID-19 in a clinical setting
2. Follow CDC guidelines, and consider:
- Both practitioners and clients wearing well-fitting masks, studies have shown that regular breathing can spread COVID-19
- Secure hair and facial hair (there is no way to get a tight seal with facial hair)
- Eye protection (goggles or eyewear), the close nature of our work puts us in range of airborne particles
- A plastic bin that can either be sanitized between clients or lined with a plastic bag that can be removed for client’s personal items
We are in this together.
Sincerely,
IASI Law and Regulations Committee