I have the honor and pleasure of working with an incredible team of humans who love themselves and each other and who love working together toward big things. Every day our team gets up so our specially-trained massage therapists can usefully, effectively and compassionately touch people affected by illness. We get up so we can create experiences and content that teach all massage therapists how to provide care safely and effectively for people affected by serious illness. We get up so we can advocate for access to that care by cultivating a broader role for massage therapists in healthcare.

Healwell plants seeds. Seeds take time to grow. Saplings don’t provide shade... yet. Flowers don’t bloom right away. Change is a process. That’s what we do. We tend. We water. We weed. We cultivate the soil for a future where massage therapists are trained well and fully valued.

We will get there.

“There” is a place where massage therapists are respected as (and prepared to be!) frontline providers, spotting early signs of illness, injury or other health challenges. “There” is a place where massage therapists are skilled at emotional self-regulation and deep listening. “There” is a place where the bedside pharmacist calls the massage therapist to support a patient through symptom management as part of a de-prescribing process. “There” is a place where massage therapists understand that no matter what they’re doing with their hands, they are affecting the nervous system more profoundly than any other system. 

Healwell is, first and foremost, an advocacy organization. 

We commit, on an annual basis, to memberships in the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (www.nhpco.org), the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care (www.thectac.org) and the Center to Advance Palliative Care (www.capc.org). This work is not a priority for our national massage associations. These memberships allow us to serve on committees, participate in policy discussions, and ensure that the voice of massage therapists is heard and represented on the state and national level. 

We present our work and our research at national and international healthcare conferences. When we do this, we share the stage with physicians, nurses, clinicians, and other researchers. We publish our research about the role and value of specially-trained massage therapists in serious illness care in peer-reviewed medical journals. These publications are available for massage therapists and others to access so we can advance the conversation from massage therapists being “nice to have” to massage therapists being essential members of the healthcare workforce. It’s expensive to be in these places, but it is vital to creating a sustainable future for massage therapists in all settings.

When Healwell succeeds, patients succeed, their loved ones succeed, healthcare succeeds and yes, massage therapists succeed. 

Let’s create a world where massage therapists are a valued part of the healthcare workforce. We will thank you with responsible and action-oriented stewardship of your love, your energy, and your dollars.

Click here to learn about all the ways you can get involved and support Healwell's work and mission.