[Adopted 7-17-1996; amended 10-9-2001; 7-17-2002]
No person shall practice massage or bodywork
or conduct an establishment for giving massage or bodywork or related
services, or vapor, pool shower or other baths for hire or reward
or advertise or hold himself out as being engaged in the business
of massage, or the giving of said baths, in the Town of Lexington
without first obtaining a license from the Board of Health. The license
fee for each establishment and therapist shall be set by the Board
of Health. A license issued to an establishment or massage therapist
is not transferable.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Approved by the Lexington Board of Health.
A five-hundred-hour course of study approved by state or national professional associations or institutes with proven standards for practice, a code of ethics, and a grievance procedure, or alternate acceptable qualifications as described in § 155-27B. Organizations that may provide a source of professional certification may include, but are not limited to: American Massage Therapy Association, American Oriental Bodywork Therapy Association, American Polarity Therapy Association, Body-Mind Centering, Inc., Massachusetts Association of Body Oriented Psychotherapy and Counseling Bodywork, Massachusetts Professional Bodywork Association, the Rolf Institute and the Trager Institute.
Massage therapy or bodywork performed upon fully clothed
individuals in a chair. Chair therapy may be conducted in a private
or commercial establishment by a therapist licensed under these regulations.
The room or group of rooms, office, building, place of business
or premises where massage or bodywork is practiced or where therapeutic
or conditioning baths of water, vapor, or other substances are given.
Massage or bodywork therapy performed in the home by a therapist
licensed under these regulations.
A variety of hands-on techniques with specific anatomical
focus such as Shiatsu, Neuromuscular Therapy and Rolfing. This term
will also refer to body-centered psychotherapies, meaning therapies
which incorporate into the counseling/therapeutic process a range
of massage, bodywork, and movement techniques to help address emotional
issues such as, but not limited to Bio-Energenics, Core Energies,
and Hakomi.
The act or technique of manipulating soft tissue of the human
body by manual or mechanical means, to stimulate circulation, increase
flexibility, decrease tension, decrease pain and to increase a person's
health and well being. Therapeutic massage includes Swedish massage
and other similar forms of therapy, which can involve muscle, nerve,
or joint manipulation.
A person who provides massage or bodywork therapy performed
in the home by a therapist licensed under these regulations.
A.
Individuals.
(1)
These regulations shall not apply to the following
individuals while engaged in the regular performance of the duties
of their respective professions:
(a)
Physicians, chiropractors, osteopaths or physical
therapists who are duly licensed to practice their respective professions
in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
(b)
School athletic trainers.
(c)
Nurses who are registered or licensed under
the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
(d)
Barbers and beauticians who are duly registered
under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, except that this
exemption shall apply solely to the massage of the neck, face, scalp
and hair of the customer or client for cosmetic or beautifying purpose.
(2)
Any person licensed to practice massage by any city
or Town in the commonwealth may, at the written request of a physician,
attend patients in the Town of Lexington without taking out an additional
license.
B.
Establishments. These regulations shall not apply
to hospitals, nursing homes, convalescent homes, home health agencies
or other similarly licensed institutions.
No person shall be licensed to practice massage
in the Town of Lexington unless he or she meets the following requirements:
A.
Submits to the Lexington Board of Health a completed
application form, in a form adopted by the Board of Health, containing
all information therein requested. False statements in said application
shall be grounds for denial, suspension or revocation of a license
request.
B.
Has written proof of having satisfactorily completed a five-hundred-hour course of study at an institution approved by the ABMP or the AMTA, or similar professional organizations for the therapy involved, or has provided evidence of sufficient training as described below. In the event an applicant for a therapist's permit does not practice any of the types of massage or bodywork therapy listed in § 155-25, and/or professional standards for the therapy do not require the same level of education and training as described in § 155-25 for individual therapists, the applicant shall submit documentation of schooling, internships, training and experience to demonstrate a sufficient level of competency to qualify for a state or national certification program, should one exist. Or, the applicant shall submit evidence that the training meets acceptable levels of education as recommended by professional organizations for that therapy. The Board of Health reserves the right to require a variance of any therapy that cannot meet the specific standards and qualifications required by this section of the regulation. The Board of Health will not license therapists offering services requiring less than 200 hours of specialized training in a given therapy.
C.
Provides written evidence that he/she is at least
18 years of age.
D.
Provides one front-face photograph at least two inches
by two inches taken within 30 days prior to the submission of the
first application, and upon request thereafter.
E.
Provides written evidence of professional liability
insurance.
F.
Provides a nonrefundable annual license fee to be
determined by the Board of Health at the time of application. License
shall be renewed annually.
G.
In addition, all licensed massage or bodywork therapists
shall submit to the Board of Health and maintain on file a Massachusetts
CORI (Criminal offender record information) check. This requirement
will apply to all therapists who have lived and worked in Massachusetts
at any time after attaining the age of 17 (including temporary stays,
for example: college); or lived and worked in any state contiguous
with Massachusetts at any time after attaining the age of 17. For
practitioners whose permanent residence is not Massachusetts (out
of state and international), information may be obtained from the
applicant's local Chief of Police, or other local authority with access
to relevant information, a criminal record check, or its recognized
equivalent. If a permit is allowed to lapse for any period, a new
criminal history check must be made. Sufficient evidence of such criminal
conduct shall include criminal proceedings resulting in a conviction,
guilty plea, or plea of nolo contendere or an admission of sufficient
facts.
Every establishment for the giving of massage,
vapor, pool, shower or other baths shall meet the following requirements:
A.
The applicant must submit to the Lexington Board of
Health a completed application form containing all information therein
requested. False statements in said application shall be grounds for
denial of a license request.
B.
Every licensee shall notify the Lexington Board of
Health prior to any change of name, address or ownership.
C.
No licensed establishment shall operate under any
name or designation not specified on the license.
D.
No licensed establishment shall be kept open between
the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. unless specifically authorized
in writing by the Director of Public Health.
E.
Every licensee shall permit the Lexington Board of
Health and/or Police Department to inspect his/her place of business
at any time to the maximum extent permitted by law.
F.
No establishment shall employ or shall cause to be
employed as a massage therapist any person who has no license for
the practice of massage in the Town of Lexington or whose massage
license has been revoked or suspended within the past three years.
G.
It is forbidden to employ or permit any person in
or on the licensed premises to perform an act or acts, or to stimulate
an act or acts, of sexual intercourse, masturbation, sodomy, flagellation
or any sexual acts prohibited by law.
H.
If food is served, the establishment must be in compliance with Article X of the State Sanitary Code.
I.
No alcoholic beverages shall be permitted in that
portion of a building used for the purpose of giving massage, vapor
or other baths as determined by the Lexington Board of Health.
J.
No person shall treat or be treated if afflicted with
a reportable communicable disease. However, the person may treat or
be treated when a written statement is received from a physician to
the effect that the condition is no longer contagious.
K.
The Board shall require proof of a negative tuberculin
test with a new or renewal of a massage license, to be repeated every
two years or at the discretion of the Board.
L.
Every person practicing massage shall wash his or
her hands thoroughly with soap and hot water immediately before and
after treating a patron.
M.
Smoking is not allowed in any building or establishment
that is being used for the purpose of giving a massage.
N.
All individuals employed by the establishment shall
maintain a sufficient level of personal cleanliness as determined
by the Board of Health and be properly clothed. It is forbidden to
employ or permit any employee or other person to mingle with the patrons
or to administer massage or baths while such person is unclothed or
in such attire as to expose to view any portion of the pubic hair,
cleft of the buttocks or genitals.
O.
The establishment shall be connected to the public
sewerage system.
P.
All rooms shall be well lighted, well ventilated and
properly heated in accordance with local and/or state regulations
except during those periods declared as emergencies by local or state
officials. Lighting in areas used for massage or baths shall be of
such intensity that all parts of the room are clearly visible at all
times.
Q.
There shall be a safe, adequate supply of hot and
cold running water at all times.
R.
There shall be a toilet, hand-washing facilities and
one or more treatment rooms. A shower is recommended, but when it
is not provided, hypoallergenic soap, hot and cold running water and
rubbing alcohol (70% Isopropyl by volume) shall be available in the
establishment at all times.
S.
When there is no shower available, the following notice
must be prominently displayed or provided in writing to clients:
Notice To Clients: If you believe you are allergic
to lotions, oils, or powders, please notify the therapist and they
will not be used. If requested, the therapist will use rubbing alcohol
or soap and warm water to remove oils, lotions or powders used during
therapy.
This notice shall not be required in establishments
where techniques are performed on clients fully clothed or where techniques
are performed that do not use oil (e.g., Oriental Bodywork, etc.).
T.
All areas of the establishment, including the fire
equipment therein, shall be kept in a sanitary condition at all times.
This shall include the regular application of cleansers and antibacterial
agents.
U.
All robes, sheets, towels and other items which may
come in direct contact with the body shall be properly cleaned and
stored in a sanitary manner. Single-service disposable items are acceptable.
V.
No room or section of a building licensed for the
purpose of giving massage, vapor or other baths shall be used as a
bedroom.
W.
The license of the establishment and all massage therapists
must be displayed in a conspicuous place. In addition, all licensed
massage or bodywork establishments shall maintain on file a Massachusetts
CORI check for all massage or bodywork practitioners operating at
the establishment who have lived and worked in Massachusetts at any
time after attaining the age of 17 (including temporary stays, for
example, college); or lived and worked in any state contiguous with
Massachusetts at any time after attaining the age of 17. For practitioners
whose permanent residence is not Massachusetts (out of state and international),
information may be obtained from the applicant's local Chief of Police,
or other local authority with access to relevant information, a criminal
record check, or its recognized equivalent. If a permit is allowed
to lapse for any period, a new criminal history check will be made.
Sufficient evidence of such criminal conduct shall include criminal
proceedings resulting in a conviction, guilty plea, or plea of nolo
contendere or an admission of sufficient facts.
X.
The establishment must comply with all local building
code requirements.
Y.
Establishment licenses shall only be granted to individuals
who hold individual licenses issued by the Lexington Board of Health
or to corporations whose principal officers hold such individual licenses.
Z.
The Board of Health, at its discretion, may waive
any of these requirements in its sole and absolute discretion.
AA.
A nonrefundable annual license fee to be determined
by the Board of Health shall be paid.
Any person or establishment whose application
for a license or license renewal is denied may, within 10 days of
said denial, request, in writing, a hearing upon the cause or causes
of said denial. The Board of Health may set a time and place for said
hearing within a reasonable time, not to exceed 30 days.
A.
No license granted under these regulations, whether
for individual practitioners or for an establishment, may be suspended
or revoked without a hearing, except that the Director of Public Health
may suspend an establishment and an individual license for flagrant
violation of the regulations or under emergency circumstances as determined
by the Director. In the event that the Director shall suspend any
license as herein provided, the licensee shall be entitled to have
such suspension reviewed by the Board of Health at its next regularly
scheduled meeting or within 14 days of receipt of a hearing request,
whichever is sooner.
B.
Such licenses may be suspended or revoked if, after
a hearing, the Lexington Board of Health find that the licensee has:
Whoever violates any provisions of these rules
and regulations shall be punished by a fine to be determined by the
Board of Health for each day the violation continues or imprisonment
for not more than six months, or both, in accordance with MGL c. 140,
§ 53, as amended. Each day that these violations exist shall
constitute a separate violation.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause,
phrase or portion of these regulations is for any reason held invalid
or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such provisions
and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion
thereof.
