Hours

I thought I’d make a post about why I’m changing my hours a bit. For the longest time I worked Monday-Friday roughly 10-6pm, then in the last few months with more insurance people coming in I narrowed down my Tuesday to evenings only.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided after doing a little work on a Tuesday that physically it’s just better for me to work four days a week and take Tuesday as either a paperwork or personal day. I’m going into my 6th year of massage and I want to keep going for many more years. It’s just best for my longevity that I keep my schedule to four days a week only.

I still do later appointments, mostly on Wednesday and Thursday and the occasional Monday for those of you whom get off a little later. Feel free to email or call and leave a message if I don’t pick up, just understand that on Tuesdays I won’t always be able to return your call or answer your email. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can the following day though!

Thanks for understanding!

~ Melissa

6 Massage Therapists Facing Charges

Bellevue, WA – 6 individuals are under investigation for fraud for unlawfully obtaining and holding massage therapy licenses. The Bellevue police believe that these 6 people gave false information on their massage therapist practitioner applications. The investigation has uncovered that a counterfeit Chinese school was also used on the application.

The investigation uncovered that the individuals involved were either not in China during the times they indicated on their applications in order to receive the training, or that they were there for an insufficient number of hours to have completed the training satisfactorily.

The Belelvue, WA police are continuing this investigation which is suspected to lead to the discover of similar activity by others in the area.

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This is very interesting. The source article did not indicate if these individuals were from the same massage therapy office. If they were not, I would believe that there is a good possibility that others may be committing this same crime. In addition to being interesting, this is also quite scary. Imagine going to see a healthcare professional for help with a condition or injury only to discover that that individual was not trained in massage. One question I have is that wouldn’t this open these individuals up to legal action by any and all of the clients that were under their care? Reimbursement / damages could be sought I would think.

After a re-read of the article for completeness I noticed that there was no indication that these individuals actually received licenses. It merely states that the information they provided on their applications was fraudulent. This would indicate that they were not practicing under a license, if they were practicing at all. This re-read gives me more hope for the system. It appears, according to the article at least, that the system worked in discovering these fraudulent activities.

This leads me to a nice tip for anyone considering a new massage therapist. It is state law for the massage therapist to post their license number on their advertisements. This includes websites. Melissa D’Haene’s massage therapy license number is posted within the sidebar of every page of this site. It is: MA00023939. To verify that it is valid, you can visit: https://fortress.wa.gov/doh/providercredentialsearch/SearchCriteria.aspx and perform a search.

Getting the most out of your first massage – Communication

How to get the most out of your first massage with a new massage therapist or your first massage ever.

I was thinking about this the other day. If you are forced to find a new massage therapist because yours moves away, has a baby or just takes some time off, it can be frustrating to find a replacement. It can also be unnerving to go into your first massage ever. What should you expect? What will you prefer? Deep tissue or Swedish?

In both situations the key to success, to finding your first or new favorite massage therapist, starts and ends with communication. I’m sure you’ve heard “communication is key”. It’s true with everything, talking on the phone to customer service, to your veterinarian about Spot, and in the massage treatment room. It will help you and your massage therapist realize your goals for your massage.

This communication doesn’t have to be perfect. If you can’t think of the right word to describe something it’s okay. Making an effort to communicate, however discombobulated, will be helpful. There are no stupid questions or observations. If the feeling you are getting in your fingers makes you think of icicles say that. If you prefer deeper pressure on your back but much lighter on your right leg, speak up. Massage therapists get good at reading body language, but we can’t read minds. Tell us if the pressure is too much or if you are getting a shooting sensation down your arm. The better you are at communicating the better we are at meeting your needs and the happier everyone will be.

Insurance – Blue Cross Blue Shield

Insurance is something that everyone will have to deal with at one point in their life. Often it’s confusing and frustrating. I try really hard to take out the guess work and to help lead you through the process.

An insurance that can be a little confusing is one of the biggest – Blue Cross Blue Shield. Within the state of Washington, this insurance can be and is often split into two separate parts: Premera Blue Cross or Regence Blue Shield. Unfortunately for the provider (me) and for the insured (you), it often isn’t clear on the card which one is considered the insurance company to be billed within Washington state.

It’s important because only one of the two options I can take – Premera. Sadly, Regence has been closed for years claiming that there are too many providers to patients. Though that’s a post for another day.

So how in the world do you figure out which you have and thus if you can come in to see me and use your insurance? Check your most recent explanation of benefits or bill. From what I understand you should be able to tell which separate insurance handled it – Premera or Regence.

Once you have figured that out I can check your benefits if you have Premera, or I can give you the number of another place that can take Regence.

Of course if you have questions feel free to contact me!

Bellingham Bay Marathon

I was invited again to participate in providing massage to the runners at the Bellingham Bay Marathon. I’ll be there starting 10am. I’m going to a late wedding the night before so I won’t be at the open of the marathon.
If you are running in the marathon and feel like a quick 10 minute massage would just make your day come on down and get one!
If you aren’t running but interested in meeting me or grabbing a card for contact information feel free to stop by as well. I should have my brand new business cards that Rick, my lovely husband, has created for me.

See you there!

Melissa/Missy
BMC massage therapist/owner

P.S. I’ll also be joining a handful of other body workers at Run Like a Girl on October 2nd!

We changed our number!

Recently it came to our attention that it might be a problem that we don’t have a local number. Since I run the business via my cell phone, and I’ve had cell phones for a very long time, I have forgotten about long distance calling. When we were living in the greater Seattle area the area codes for people varied, it didn’t seem to matter where they lived or worked, there were about three different options. It’s just the way life was.

Bellingham is different, which is why we like it. It moves slower, enjoys life, and people still wonder about long distance charges. So Bellingham, we have a new number! A local number!

In case you have our old “425” number, I still have that. I’ll be keeping for some time, while I transition everyone over to the local number. It’s a process and we’ll have lots of patience until it’s all finished.
So when you are ready for your next massage, give me a ring at 360-990-6459!

Melissa/Missy
BMC massage therapist/owner

Causes close to my heart – Joe the blind dog

A friend and I were looking through the Alternative Humane Society of Whatcom County at doggies. They want another dog and I do love “torturing” myself looking at all the doggies I wish I could bring home. We ran across this sweet doggie(click link to have a look). His name is Joe, he’s 2. He was given up because he was a hunting dog that went blind. *grumbles*

The people at the AHS are trying to raise money to get his eyes fixed. Rick(husband) and I talked about it and decided that we just had to donate. Though $50 isn’t a lot, it’s what we could afford at the moment. I want to encourage all of you to donate as well so that we can help this sweet, lovable, have the opportunity to see again. Whatever you can do, I’m sure it will be appreciated!

I want to add a plug for the Alternative Humane Society. It is completely run by volunteers and donations. It’s a no kill shelter that often works with other shelters to find pets forever homes. That means that it takes people like us to take the time and money to help out on occasion!
I’d love to know if you were able to help Joe out by donating or just passing on the word! Feel free to comment or whatever.
Thanks!

Melissa/Missy
BMC massage therapist/owner

Bellingham Massage Clinic (Formerly Kneading Wellness)

Kneading Wellness Massage and Aromatherapy has changed its name to Bellingham Massage Clinic!

Having found her true home here in Bellingham, Mellissa D’Haene, the owner and operator of Kneading Wellness Massage and Aromatherapy, has decided to rename her business. The business name has been changed from Kneading Wellness to Bellingham Massage Clinic.

This swap is in title and website only. There will be no change to service offerings, locations or operating hours.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns please contact Melissa D’Haene at (360) 990-6459.