The American Med Spa Association (AmSpa) will merge with the International Aesthetic and Laser Association (IALA) to add more than 250 members to its more than 1,200 existing members.
Nicole Strothman founded the IALA in 2008 to bring together various industry stakeholders to focus on legal changes affecting medspas. At the time, many states and business owners were struggling with who could use certain medical devices, what level of physician supervision was necessary, and what was needed to ensure the lowest incident rates.
As general counsel at Ideal Image, a retailer of medspas in North America with more than 130 locations, Strothman realized the importance of focusing on laws that protected both patients and medspa owners and formed IALA as a trade association to help address these issues. IALA successfully worked hand-in-hand with various interest groups, including national aesthetic chains, single operators, and healthcare professionals to pave the way for patient safety focused laws in multiple states across North America.
“Given AmSpa’s focus on compliance and the laws affecting the medical aesthetic industry, we felt combining our membership was a perfect synergy. For the last decade, IALA has been instrumental in keeping up with legislative changes, monitoring special interest groups, and spearheading government change to ensure patient safety is front and center. I feel confident that under the AmSpa umbrella our members will continue to receive the most up-to-date industry news in the ever-changing legal landscape that affects all med spa owners and staff,” said Strothman.
“We are excited and proud to welcome IALA into the AmSpa family. Their commitment to training, safety, and legal compliance make this trade organization a perfect fit with the American Med Spa Association,” said AmSpa founder and director, Alex R. Thiersch, JD.
IALA’s membership will transition to the AmSpa group over the next month. Members will receive benefits including access to their state’s medical aesthetic legal summary, live and recorded business and legal webinars, and member pricing on AmSpa events.
