CE INSTITUTE LLC BLOG

Please click HERE to view Massage Magazine's publication of CE Institute LLC founder Selena Belisle's article about CONTACT TIME, which is also known as "dwell time".  Unfortunately due to multiple reasons including rushed schedules and lack of training, some therapists are not practicing proper contact times with their disinfection processes.  Please read this article to learn more about what contact time is and how it should be practiced!

American Spa Magazine has published a portion of Selena Belisle & CE Institute's article:  How Sanitation Can Protect Spa Clients And Employees During COVID-19.  Please click HERE to review the article in full:

American Spa Magazine has published a portion of Selena Belisle & CE Institute's article:  Tips on Improving Air Quality in Your Spa.  Please click HERE to review the article in full:

By: Selena Belisle, Owner/Instructor CE Institute LLC, Miami FL

OSHA stands for:  Occupational Safety and Health Administration.[i]  OSHA provides information about workplace health and safety hazards. OSHA was created by congress to assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance.

OSHA is part of the United States Department of Labor. The administrator for OSHA is the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. OSHA's administrator answers to the Secretary of Labor, who is a member of the cabinet of the President of the United States.  OSHA covers most private sector employers and their workers, in addition to some public-sector employers and workers in the 50 states and certain territories and jurisdictions under federal authority.

Under federal law, you are entitled to a safe workplace[ii]. Your employer must provide a workplace free of known health and safety hazards. If you have concerns, you have the right to speak up about them without fear of retaliation. You also have the right to:

• Be trained in a language you understand
• Work on machines that are safe
• Be provided required safety gear, such as gloves or a harness and lifeline for falls
• Be protected from toxic chemicals
• Request an OSHA inspection, and speak to the inspector
• Report an injury or illness, and get copies of your medical records
• See copies of the workplace injury and illness log
• Review records of work-related injuries and illnesses
• Get copies of test results done to find hazards in the workplace

If you believe working conditions are unsafe or unhealthful, you may file a confidential complaint with OSHA and ask for an inspection. If possible, bring the conditions to your employer's attention. It is illegal for an employer to fire, demote, transfer or otherwise retaliate against a worker for using their rights under the law. If you believe you have been retaliated against in any way, file a whistleblower complaint within 30 days of the alleged retaliation.^x

You can file a workplace complaint with OSHA by[iii]:

• Phone #: 1-800-321-OSHA. OSHA reps can discuss your complaint and respond to any questions you have about filing a complaint
• Address: OSHA, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20210
• Website (more details are available on this page to file a complaint): https://www.osha.gov/workers/file_complaint.html

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This BLOG was written by Selena Belisle, the Founder of CE Institute LLC in Miami FL.  She is a retired professional athlete and has been practicing massage therapy for over 30 years.  Selena is an approved CE Provider with NCBTMB & the Florida Board of Massage.  She now teaches full time for the Complementary and Alternative Health Care Industries. You can learn more about Selena’s training and CE classes at www.CeInstitute.com

[i] “UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.” Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Retrieved online: 19 May 2018, www.osha.gov/about.html.

[ii] “UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.” Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Retrieved online: 19 May 2018, www.osha.gov/workers/index.html.

[iii] “UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.” Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Retrieved online: 19 May 2018, www.osha.gov/workers/file_complaint.html.

By: Selena Belisle, Owner/Instructor CE Institute LLC, Miami FL

We have a video about how to "properly" wash your hands from the CDC or Centers from Disease Control & Prevention.  The CDC answers many questions of all the know hows and know to's, including:

• Why use soap to wash hands?  Using soap with water is more effective at eliminating germs than just water alone.

• Should I use hot or cold water to wash hands? Either is fine.

• Should I use bar or liquid soap to wash hands? Either is fine.

• Should I use antibacterial soap to wash hands? Antibacterial soap is not necessary.

• How long should I wash hands? At least 20 seconds.

• Do I have to wash under fingernails? Yes.  Please click HERE for our blog about fingernail hygiene.

• Should I towel or air dry after washing hands?  Either is fine as long as it is clean and the hands are dried.

• Should I use a paper towel to turn off the faucet or open a door after washing hands?  There is not much scientific evidence to support this, but common sense says yes.

• Can I use a 60% alcohol-based hand sanitizer if I do not have access to soap and water to wash hands?  Yes, however, washing hands is preferred to kill or prevent the largest number of germs on your hands.  Your hands should remain wet or damp with sanitizer for at least 20 seconds with plentiful sanitizer for efficacy.

You can view the video by clicking the picture or by clicking HERE.

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This spa, salon and massage therapy sanitation information is gathered for you from the CDC with commentary by Selena Belisle, the Founder of CE Institute LLC in Miami FL. She is a retired professional athlete and has been practicing massage therapy for over 30 years. Selena is an approved CE Provider with NCBTMB & the Florida Board of Massage. She now teaches full time for the Complementary and Alternative Health Care Industries. You can learn more about Selena’s training and CE classes at www.CeInstitute.com

Last Friday, July 10, 2020, the Florida Board of Massage Therapy (FL Board) voted UNANIMOUSLY to allow distance learning in place of live hands-on CE class for the 2021 LMT renewal season.  I just received an update from the FL Board that explains their staff are still working on CE rule change updates and then, they have to provide those new CE rules to the Joint Administrative Procedures Committee for review. The committee could approve - or - return the new rules back to FL Board for revision. In summary, and according the FL Board itself, it's hard to provide new information about how to comply with new CE rules or requirements that are not yet in effect.

According to the FL Board's unanimous vote, it is sure that we will be able to provide distance/online learning in place of the live hands-on CE requirement for the 2021 season, but it's not possible to provide anymore information on this new CE rule because it has not yet been adopted or approved.  We will report new information as it becomes available from the Florida Board of Massage Therapy.

CE Institute LLC is working both with NCBTMB and the Florida Board of Massage Therapy to gain all new rules and get our live CE hands-on courses approved for distance learning.  We might not be able to get all of our massage subjects approved for distance learning, but we will offer a strongly discounted distance learning webinar program to support all Licensed Massage Therapists who have been through such a terrible time with the pandemic.  Our goal is to offer a special $99 - 24 hour Florida Licensed Massage Therapist CE Renewal Package by January 1, 2021.

I will post updates on our BLOG here and all of our social media - once I receive more information. Thank you for your patience as we work hard towards adopting these new CE practices into our school :) 

Author: Selena Belisle, Owner/Instructor, CE Institute LLC, Miami FL

We just had an article published about how to improve your workspace air quality for your spa, salon or massage therapy establishment with estheticianEDIT.  You can view the article in it's entirety by clicking HERE.

Many bodyworkers, massage therapists, spa and salon workers are not working right now because they cannot socially distance themselves during this pandemic aka COVID-19.  This work disruption has been economically devastating for most.  Today, I found a sweet article that told about how a wife took a job as a dishwasher in an assisted living facility right here in Jacksonville Florida, so she could still see her husband, after being separated from him for 114 days due to COVID-19.  It is fact that many of us have been separated from loved ones during this pandemic - so this could one creative example of seeing your loved one, while continuing to be of service and earning a little extra income too.

Now, I'm sure some of my colleagues will think that they didn't go to school and spend years or decades, perfecting their craft to do dishes.  But some of us do have to seek new opportunities right now, and I feel this is a perfect example of clever ingenuity.  There are many different and "new normals" to be had.  Please feel free to share your ideas here on this BLOG post, or on social media so that we can all help each other during this extraordinary time of COVID-19.  If you're being deprived of visiting a loved one in a restricted medical facility and need income, seeking alternative employment within their facility might help you and many, in more ways than one.   

Click HERE to see this story on Fox News:  https://www.foxnews.com/us/wife-dishwashing-job-nursing-home-alzheimers-husband

Author: Selena Belisle, Owner/Instructor, CE Institute LLC, Miami FL

A fever is a temporary increase in your body temperature, often due to an illness. Having a fever is a sign that something out of the ordinary is going on in your body.  For an adult, a fever may be uncomfortable, but usually isn't a cause for concern unless it reaches 103 F or higher.

Fever occurs when an area in your brain called the hypothalamus — also known as your body's "thermostat" — shifts the set point of your normal body temperature upward. When this happens, you may feel chilled and add layers of clothing or wrap up in a blanket, or you may shiver to generate more body heat, eventually resulting in an elevated body temperature.

Normal body temperature varies throughout the day — it's lower in the morning and higher in the late afternoon and evening. Although most people consider 98.6 F normal, your body temperature can vary by a degree or more — from about 97 F to 99 F — and still be considered normal.

Fever or elevated body temperature might be caused by:

• A virus
• A bacterial infection
• Heat exhaustion
• Certain inflammatory conditions (i.e. rheumatoid arthritis)
• A malignant tumor
• Some medications (i.e. antibiotics, seizure or blood pressures medications)
• Some immunizations
• Sometimes the cause of a fever cannot be identified[i]

A fever can be a sign of a more serious medical illness, which could include infectious or contagious disease.  It is usually best to refer a feverish client to a physician, and in some cases, request approval and/or direction from the physician for massage therapy, spa or salon services.

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Author Selena Belisle is the Founder of CE Institute LLC in Miami FL. She is a retired professional athlete and has been practicing massage therapy for over 30 years. Selena is an approved CE Provider with NCBTMB & the Florida Board of Massage. She now teaches full time for the Complementary and Alternative Health Care Industries. You can learn more about Selena’s training and CE classes at www.CeInstitute.com

[i] Mayo Clinic Staff. “Fever.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 21 July 2017, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fever/symptoms-causes/syc-20352759.