Massage law OK'd without objection

An ordinance designed to ensure that masseuses have professional training apparently didn't rub the industry the wrong way and was passed by the Clark County Commission on Tuesday without a single objection.

The ordinance is similar to a city of Las Vegas measure that drew criticism from massage therapists when it was adopted late last year.

Clark County's ordinance was written after the board was forced to consider license applications from masseuses who attended obscure schools whose accrediting status was uncertain.

The new measure says massage therapists must be certified by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork before obtaining a work card and license from the county.

Masseuses who are already working in the county and students who were enrolled in recognized Nevada massage schools by Jan. 5 are exempt from the ordinance.

Clark County Business License Director Ardel Jorgensen said the ordinance is significant because it shifts the responsibility of determining whether an applicant is qualified from the local level to the national level.

It frees Metro Police, which issues work cards, from investigating whether a school is accredited or even exists. Some applicants who have come before the County Commission attended overseas schools that were nearly impossible to track down. Now if they pass the national test, they're eligible for a license in the county.

"The most significant change is eliminating the local determination on schooling as to whether they have a significant number of hours, whether classes are appropriate or schools are accredited," Jorgensen said. "That is not where Metro's expertise lies. They look at suitability and financial issues."

Jorgensen said the county's ordinance differs from the city's measure in that the city still requires 500 hours of training and certification from a recognized school.

The county will license a masseuse who only has 250 hours of training if the therapist has years of experience and passes the national test. A minimal amount of training will be required for all therapists every four years.

The greatest obstacle in creating the ordinance was agreeing on the standard of massage that professionals expect.

Jorgensen said some masseuses look at the practice as simply an act to make clients "feel good." Others view the profession as an art of healing.

"That was the hurdle we all had to cross and make a determination where the whole field of massage is going to land," Jorgensen said.

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