AMTA Response to Hurricane Disaster – Update September 14, 2005

What is AMTA Doing to Help Members Affected by the Disaster?
Massage Relief Efforts
Types of Aid Needed in the Affected Areas
What Can You Do to Help Evacuees
AMTA Gathering Reports of Massage Response
Previous Updates

Massage therapists by nature are nurturers who respond to human suffering by offering their compassion, skills and experience to help those in need.  AMTA knows that massage therapists are looking for ways to act on those heartfelt impulses in response to the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina. 

The situations in each of the states affected by the hurricane are still changing frequently.  We will continue to keep members and the public 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.  Sometimes, those things that we normally think are small efforts may be just what is needed for someone who has been helping with evacuations from the area or who have themselves been displaced. 

At this time, we have every reason to believe all our members in the affected areas are safe.

Please 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 previous updates 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 to Help Members Affected by the Disaster?

AMTA is continuing to gather information on the needs of members directly affected by the hurricane. At its meeting next week in Albuquerque, the AMTA Board of Directors will consider a variety of possible ways to assist members whose practices have been severely damaged or destroyed by the hurricane.

Massage Relief Efforts

The AMTA National Office continues to work with Chapter presidents in the three affected states to help them coordinate massage emergency response activity. 

  • Four Mississippi members, working through the Red Cross, traveled to the gulf coast on Saturday, September 10, providing volunteer massage for relief workers at a fire department and later at a command center. The AMTA Mississippi Chapter continues to work closely with the Mississippi State Department of Health to resolve logistics to deploy other massage therapists to the Gulf shore.  The Mississippi State Board of Massage Therapy will waive licensing requirements for massage therapists from other states to volunteer their services in the state. 
  • The Louisiana Chapter is focusing its resources and energy on the immediate needs of members most affected by the storm.  A request was received from the Department of Health & Hospitals to provide massage to relief workers, and several chapter members are working with them to resolve logistical issues before asking for assistance from other chapters.  The Louisiana Board of Massage Therapy will waive licensing requirements for massage therapists from other states to volunteer their services in the state. 
  • In Alabama, some individual massage therapists have provided massage to relief workers in limited areas.  The Alabama Massage Therapy Board has waived licensing requirements for massage therapists from other states to volunteer their services in the state. 

AMTA will host a special Massage Emergency Response Team (MERT) responder training to be held by the AMTA Michigan Chapter during the AMTA National Convention in Albuquerque on Friday, September 23. There is no pre-registration for this event; it is being held on a first come-first served basis. There is a suggested $25 donation to the Red Cross in lieu of a registration fee to attend the training.

For more information, please contact the Professional Development Department at 847-864-0123 x143.  Emergency response entails assessing many factors, so please keep in mind that even if your Chapter has a MERT, this training is not a guarantee that you will be able to participate in a MERT response to the states affected by Hurricane Katrina. Please contact the Chapter Relations Department at 877-905-2700 ext. 156 if you have other questions about MERT.

AMTA wants to draw special attention to the efforts by several massage response groups, including the Florida Immediate Response Stress Team (FIRST), Emergency Response Massage International (ERMI) and the Carolina Emergency Response Massage Team (CERMT), which have mobilized to train massage therapists for massage relief efforts and provide massage for rescue and recovery workers and those directly affected by the hurricane.  AMTA greatly appreciates the spirit and commitment to helping others that have motivated massage therapists in their responses to the hurricane.  This type of cooperation among all of us to help in an emergency is what massage relief efforts are all about. 

Types of Aid Needed in the Affected Areas

AMTA encourages members to consider the various types of assistance that will be needed by people affected by the hurricane. Agencies such as the American Red Cross are organized to provide initial relief services to those affected by the disaster. Within the first two weeks after the hurricane, they received contributions of approximately $500 million. As initial responses are winding down, other charities and agencies will need to provide services to assist those affected by the hurricane to reorganize and restart their lives and businesses. Donations to Red Cross are short-term oriented, while donations to other agencies are geared toward mid-term and long-term assistance.

What Can You Do to Help Evacuees?

If you want to offer massage for people affected by Hurricane Katrina, you still 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 as individuals 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. 

AMTA Gathering Reports of Massage Response

AMTA is collecting information and stories of members who have provided massage to relief workers and/or people affected by the hurricane.  If you have provided massage in response to the hurricane, please email information to us about what you did.  We will post these stories on the Web site for all to share.

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

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

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