Grant Update: MT for Children at a Pediatric Infusion Center

Posted:Wednesday, June 25, 2025

In Fall 2024, Massage Therapy Foundation was pleased to award a $5,000 Community Service Grant to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, Oakland, CA, for their project, “Providing Massage Therapy for Children at a Pediatric Infusion Center.” Through the grant, UCSF launched a one-year Hospital-Based Massage Therapy Fellowship program to train up to 10 certified massage therapists (MTs) in working on integrative medical teams in hospital settings. To date, the program has trained eight MTs who have provided approximately 145 service hours to children who receive chemotherapy or other transfused/infused therapies at the UCSF Benioff Pediatric Infusion Center.

MTs participating in the twelve-month fellowship offer weekly 15–20-minute massage therapy sessions to pediatric patients age three and up. Massage therapy modalities such as Swedish, Craniosacral Therapy, Myofascial Release, Manual Lymphatic drainage therapy and general comfort and care protocols are offered dependent on the needs of the patient. Typically, gentle hand and/or foot massage with lotion or gentle massage over clothing to shoulders, back, arms, or legs is provided. Additionally, neck and scalp massages may be offered.

“We are thankful for the Massage Therapy Foundation gift which has enabled eight massage therapy fellows to provide trauma-informed, compassionate, hospital-based massage therapy to children and young adults at the UCSF Pediatric Infusion Center. Massage therapy offers a moment of connection, care, and dignity,” said Robyn Adcock, DACM, LAc, Dipl. OM, CMT.

“Infusion patients report massage to be a grounding, relaxing, and comforting experience. Many of the patients getting infusions suffer from neuropathy, chronic pain, anxiety, nausea, and fatigue. Fellows adapt techniques to be responsive to the medical environment and each individual’s needs – whether it’s offering gentle holds during chemo, a foot massage to support with anxiety, or a shoulder massage after the fifth hour of sitting in an infusion chair. Fellows establish a therapeutic relationship with patients allowing them to feel heard, understood, and validated in an environment where things may feel chaotic, out of control, or disempowering.”