Massage Therapy Strike Team

What is it?

In 2001, the Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS) of the Commonwealth of Virginia adopted the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) Massage Emergency Response Team  (MERT) as a component of their Health and Medical response system,  The September 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon was our first deployment experience.  It was difficult and frustrating to have to respond to and be responsible to two completely different agencies: AMTA and the Commonwealth of Virginia.  Hence, soon after the Pentagon incident, the AMTA members decided to separate from AMTA MERT.  Today the Massage Therapy Strike Team still uses the same operating procedures as our MERT counterpart.

 Why are we called a Strike Team?

The term Strike Team is a standard Incident Command System (ICS) term.  The Commonwealth of Virginia uses the ICS system as their Emergency Response system.    In ICS a Strike Team is a unit composed of a number of the same type single resources (i.e. massage therapists) under the leadership of a designated supervisor or Team Leader.  As a Massage Strike Team, we are considered a part of the Rehab Team and provide massage to first responders, as needed.

 How can you become a member of the Strike Team?

A responder needs to be
- a Certified Massage Therapist in the State of Virginia
- have insurance
- have updated CPR and First Aid

If you satisfy these qualifying elements, get in touch

1) By calling one of these two numbers: 703-620-3155 or 703-568-3804

2) By sending a request by email to me at mamolnia@cox.net ...

You will need to schedule a training session.  The basic training will be a four hour session introducing you to the standard operating procedures and rules to follow as an emergency responder.  Training sessions are scheduled by OEMS periodically throughout the year.

 Mary A. Molnia