Hospital Based Massage Advice (A bit of a vent too)

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I am in need of some advice. Currently, I am working for a local hospital doing a Trial Massage Therapy program. I work there a total of 8 hours a week (Tuesday 6pm-8pm for Acute Care and Long Term residents usually 10-15 minutes massages either sitting in a chair or in their bed, Thursdays 1:30pm-5:30pm chair massage for staff and 6pm-8pm again Acute Care and Long Term) I make $15 an hour right now. They allow me to hand out my business cards to everyone that I give a massage to. (I also have a room at a hair salon that I offer massage out of and I have gotten NO people from the hospital to come see me there) The hospital has decided that they want to keep me, however I feel as if they are trying to undercut me. Here is an email that was sent to me about their ideas for the future:

"Hi Sara,

I'm listing some of the things we're considering below and also some
of the information we would need from you to begin making MT more
permanent here at * the hospital. Let me know as soon as you can what you think of the items listed and also give us some of your ideas on how
things might work.

1) *the hospital would be willing to cover the cost of tuition for the oncology massage training for up to $1000.

2) We would be willing to offer a space at our assisted living building across the road for doing MT for staff of the hospital. This space would be offered at no charge to you but only employees of the hospital would be eligible (not spouses or family) for massages. These massages could be full or partial and could be done on a table. They would be scheduled by the receptionist at the assisted living on the days and times prearranged. The employee would pay you directly however we would expect a discounted rate for the employee since the space and the scheduling will be provided free of charge.

3) We would continue to have you providing MT to the acute care
patients however the Long Term Care patients would be either
scheduled as an activity or scheduled by the residents privately. We
would guarentee a minimum of hours you could expect from us each
week with additional hours coming from staff massages at the assisted living building. We also would continue with staff chair massages here at
the hospital.

4) Looking toward the future (Jan. 07 ?) we would start have you
provide therapy to the chemo therapy patients. The best estimate of
the number of patients during the past year was approx. 400 so this
could be an area providing a fair number of patients. These patients
would not be charged just as the acute care patients are not but you
would be paid an hourly guarenteed rate.

5) We would expect your time to be a little limited during the fall since
you'll be taking the Chemo class You could be providing
therapy sessions to the hospital staff at CBV during this time.

6) Items needed from you:

* Please provide a discounted rate for therapy for staff seeing
you at the assisted living. Include rates for 30min, 45 min,
60 min. or longer if necessary.

* How many hours could you be available? From August to Jan?
In Jan. after completing the Chemo training?

* What would you "need" as a guarenteed minimum number of
hours each week from the hospital?

* We checked Sara and unfortunately laws prevent us from
providing you with health insurance as a contracted employee.

At this point that's all I can think of Sara. Please let me know what
your thoughts are and please provide answers to the above questions
so the team can begin to put together a proposal. I will be off work
until Monday but please don't hesitate to call my cell phone if you have
any questions"

I also have another job as a secretary where I have health insurance and vacation time and I make $11/hour doing this. I dont feel like that the hospital doesnt understand that I dont want just another JOB, I want a career in massage therapy. I do need health insurance, I have allergies and frequently am sick in the winter months because of it. Another point that I am having conflicts with is- who is going to want to go across the street to pay for a massage when they can get a free chair massage at the hospital? People around here are always looking for something for nothing. At the hair salon I charge $25 for a half hour, $35 for an hour, and $50 for an hour and a half. These prices are what most MT's in my area charge, so it's not like I have outrageous prices to give discounts to the employees. Anyway- Sorry for the vent- I would like your thoughts and opinions and any advice anyone may have for me.

 

[Love is great]

I don't necessarily want to talk about if they are taking you for a ride or not, because I am sure there are a lot of factors there to consider. So, I'll leave that for the others to talk about.

However, I'd like to make at least one comment at this time, with other thoughts possibly to follow.

* Please provide a discounted rate for therapy for staff seeing
you at the assisted living. Include rates for 30min, 45 min,
60 min. or longer if necessary.

You will want to base this fee on what it would cost to get your own place. For example if it takes $1,000 / month to rent and run a space in your town, you can factor that into the perceneforum.xxxe you give as a discount. Also, you may or may not want to factor in the "advertising" to the hospital staff as a perk and add it into the discounted services too.

I'd also consider keeping a second job until you know this is going to work, since it seems they are going to allow you to come up with the hours.

1) *the hospital would be willing to cover the cost of tuition for the oncology massage training for up to $1000.

And, how much is oncology massage training. I'd negotiate they pay for about 3/4 of the cost. Not all, in case you end up moving on, but I think 3/4 is fair. Or you could negotiate that they pay for all of it, and you agree to stay there for at least 1 or 2 years. (I am basing this on the assumption that oncology training is around the $1,500-plus mark.)

 

[the only dode]

"I feel like that the hospital doesnt understand that I dont want just another JOB, I want a career in massage therapy."

I see what you're saying. Unfortunately, I don't think that's their problem. And by providing you training, really flexible hours, and several types of clients, this is a better "just a job" than many -- it involves *only* massage, and you are given scope to market yourself.

I don't think it sounds like they're trying to undercut you with that "discount" thing. If you consider the staff table sessions to be outcall, which they technically are if you have to haul your table, then all you'd have to do to keep prices level is discount your outcall rate. Take it no lower than your office rate and you're in business.

Good luck!

 

[Spice Man]

I agree with what others are saying...I don't think the hospital is being unfair to you. It actually sounds like they are just making an initial offer but are fully expecting you to counter and they openly invited you to express your needs and desires....how many employers do that? I think this sounds like a wonderful career and not a job. A lot of hospitals are not this open to massage therapy so I think it sounds like a wonderful way to pursue meaningful work and help others heal and feel more comfortable. If I were you, I would express that you absolutely need health insurance and benefits and see if they can make you an employee, if you are comfortable with that. I don't really see why they couldn't. Good luck with your decision!

 

[Happy Hunter]

I would have to agree with everyone else who feels that they are not trying to undercut you. It sounds like a fair trade for the room rental and the discount for the employees. You mentioned you make $15 an hour now doing massage for them. I make $13 an hour in a physical therapy office, plus a perceneforum.xxxe of private pay massage. Would you still be hourly for the acute patients? And then the discounted rate for the employees? What about your supplies? Can you use hospital sheets instead of your own? If they are providing your supplies, that helps out in a big way. And less work for you too!

As far as the cancer/chemo training is concerned, I know students who paid $1500 out of their own pocket for the cancer/massage training here in the Detroit area. With that kind of training, in years to come, you could go almost anywhere that has the same kind of program. Any time an employer is willing to contribute to your training, accept it as a way of their showing you their appreciation for your ablities.

Insurance: If they are not able to cover you for insurance, would it be possible for you to split the cost between you and the hospital? Or perhaps let you pay for your own through them? Many times hospitals have insurance that is very good and thier rates are lower due to the insurance being accepted at that hospital and the doctors who are affiliated with the hospital. You may have a waiting period however, mine was six months from my date of hire.

A lot of things for you to think about. Good luck and let us know what happens!

 

[Darlene]

First of all, I have to say Congrats for cracking open the opportunities in hospitals! Its not an easy job. I have to agree with the others as far as the discount based on what it costs to have your own rent etc. My comment is about the insurance. From my understanding of the IRS's rules on contractor vs. employee, you would be classified as an employee. They are providing the clients, steady hours, pay per hr not per patient, and even the materials in the shape of building and receptionist. One of the main rules from the IRS is that a contractor stands to make profit or loss based on how the company operates. I don't see you being able to making a loss here. I would check out the rules on the IRS website, http://www.irs.gov I believe. I would politely bring that up in your negotitations (and thats what this is). Also I would keep doing the employee chair massage, you have nothing to lose. You still get paid those hours and you can promote the heck out of the discounted table massages. Good Luck!

 

[Suzanne L]

Congratulations on your new opportunity.

This is a 100% negotiable opportunity. First, think about what you ideally want. Assume the hospital is giving your carte blanche. Not that they will but a person can dream

insurance
opportunity to market
space to practice
more pay per massage

Then put numbers to each of the important points. What is the insurance worth? Would that be worth a reduced rate? Would you be willing to become an employee to do it? Or do you want more freedom than that would involve? Get actual numbers for each point and do a spreadsheet. Let the numbers do the decision making.

The only thing that would concern me is not being able to work on employees family etc. On the one hand, I can see the hospital's point but on the other they are in effect limiting your income by saying who you can and can't work on. Is the space that they will provide is it in the hospital? Or maybe across the parking lot? Maybe something to offer the hospital is a % of those clients (employee's friends/family) charged at full price. If the hospital is providing the receptionist then everything would be out in the open.

As far as your concern about the employees not wanting to buy the cow when they're getting the milk for free (so to speak). I would change how I do/treat the chair massage. How long is your typical chair massage? I would limit it to 10 minutes or so and explain to the employee that there are some things that you just can't do during a chair massage (overtightened pecs for example) but can address much better in an hour long session. Have the appt. book ready and available (I would keep a duplicate with you at all times.) and book the employee right then and there.

Another thing to keep in mind is your physical health. Don't allow your readiness to start your career to overload your physical ability/stamina. It would be real easy to overdo it and book too many clients to fast.

Good Luck on your new career.

 

[babyboysanchez06]

Hospital based massage advice

Hello, - My two cents here: I currently work for two hospitals and work approx. 30 to 35 hours a week at both.

Is health insurance given? No
Is sick time/vac. time given? no
Can I set my own hours/days? Yes
Can I see visitors to hospital? Yes
Do I see in house pts? At times
Where do most of your client base come from? Word of mouth & employees.
Do you provide your own linen? No, hospital provides linen, washing of linen, all massage supplies including cream, tools I may need, bolsters, hot towel cabi, heated stones, table etc.
Do you get paid wether you have clients or not? No, I get paid only when I do massage. Fortunately, I'm nicely booked.
Who answers your phone? I have a health assistant who answers phone and schedules appointments & collects payment. { huge perk}
Do you get any money allocated for continuing education? NO
This may not work for everyone but it works well for me. Basically, it allows me to set my hours, be in charge of the types of massage I can offer, allow someone to set me up with all supplies and schedule my clients. We do have an employee discount, but we see non employees as well. Perhaps your program will expand to offer to non employees. We do not accept tips and that is another big draw to our place and we highly promote that!
Good luck with your decision. This job works for some, but not others. What a great time to live in this world that gives us many options to work.
Let us know what you decided.