The Skiff Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation department has announced a new massage therapist offering appointments four days a week at the hospital.
Melanie Lahart, LMT, is no stranger to Skiff Medical Center, as her husband, Willie, worked there as a respiratory therapist for more than 30 years. He was, in fact, the reason she learned there was an opening for a therapist.
“He suggested I call Matt Scotton, the department director,” Lahart said. “I ended up having a meeting with Matt and we decided it would be a great fit for both sides.”
“Melanie has excellent skills,” Scotton said. “She is very kind and she pays great attention to the details of her work. I know that she’ll provide great care and compassion to all her massage therapy clients to help them feel better and move better.”
Lahart’s new position will be in addition to her existing part-time massage business in a West Des Moines dance studio. The clientele there is significantly different than that at a hospital, she said, and she’s excited to expand the range of people she has the opportunity to treat.
“As a massage therapist, you’re always looking for different venues, different experiences,” she said.
Lahart is fairly new to the world of massage, having received her training at Urbandale’s Body Wisdom Massage Therapy School in 2012. The calling is just the latest in her eclectic, ambitious career path, which has included serving in the military, working for Blue Cross/Blue Shield, teaching history and anthropology as a DMACC adjunct instructor, helping prison inmates earn their GEDs and assisting middle schoolers as a paraprofessional. She’s also been a flight attendant, assistant city planner for Bettendorf and emergency management coordinator for Jasper County.
After such a variety of experiences, how did massage therapy come to her attention?
“In 2010, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and in 2011, I had a mastectomy and then reconstructive surgery,” she said. “During that time, I started thinking a lot about the importance of touch. When a person is touched in a hospital or medical setting, it’s often an injection, or an IV being started, or something very clinical. Massage offers a completely different version of healthcare touch. Massage allows the body to relax, it helps with circulation, it helps with joints. It’s healing. It helps the person to have a sense of, ‘It’s going to be OK.’”
When she’s not working, Lahart enjoys reading, traveling, running, playing soccer, hand-quilting and practicing ballroom and salsa dancing with her husband.
“We also have seven children between us,” Lahart said, “along with eight granddaughters between the ages of 1 and 8, so that keeps us busy.”
The services Lahart provides at Skiff include Swedish massage, deep tissue massage, reflexology, lymphatic drainage massage and essential oil aroma therapy. Sessions are available in 30-, 45-, 60- and 90-minute increments and both discounted rate punch cards and gift certificates are available.
To learn more about Skiff, call 641- 78-SKIFF.