Posted under General & Marketing Massage for Special Populations & Massage for Elders
Hello all,
It seems the issue of providing massage for caregivers in hospice organizations is a bit of a sticking point for many organizations. The points raised by Jennifer and Ann are well-taken and deserve some consideration. I’m sure we can all agree that any caregiver in hospice or long term care give much of themselves physically, emotionally, and energetically. Certainly massage would be an effective way to help them manage the stress and toll of taking care of others. I’ve actually heard from several massage therapists about hospice organizations preventing them from working with staff because of organizational liability issues. I’m prompted to explore this issue. One thought comes to mind. All long term care and hospice organization have a medical director. I’m wondering if that might not be one solution to this issue. I bring it up because one skilled nursing facilitly where I provide Compassionate Touch sessions had their medical director approve my services. I understand that some organizations are more “guarded” than others. But it might be worth exploring the idea of asking the hospice organization about having the medical director approve non-invasive, seated massage for stress management for staff.Â
Have any of you tried this approach? I’d like to hear from you about this issue– what’s working, what’s not. We have so much to offer those caregivers to help prevent burnout and compassion fatigue.Â
Peace and blessings to you,
Ann
