As a Medical Assistant and Assistant Manager at a small Oklahoma Medical-Spa, I, along with my colleagues, face an imminent threat to our livelihoods due to the upcoming regulations of House Bill #2998, also known as The Laser Hair Removal Act. This bill, taking effect on November 1st, 2024, will exclude Medical Assistants from the list of professionals authorized to perform Laser Hair Removal Treatments.

Countless Medical Assistants like myself, devoted to serving the Aesthetic community in Oklahoma, stand to lose our jobs and the ability to provide for our families. The ripple effect of this legislation will undoubtedly affect the small businesses that employ us as well, possibly leading to closures and raise Oklahoma's unemployment rates, as well as taking nurses away from critical care positions during the nation-wide shortage of healthcare professionals. 

Changes to the bill can mitigate these worrying possibilities, as the services we provide are both essential and safe. We propose the addition of an Emergency Clause to the Laser Hair Removal Act. This addition would acknowledge Medical Assistants as health care professionals authorized to administer Laser Hair Removal Treatments, thereby securing our jobs and, in turn, the wellbeing of our clients.

We believe the bill as it stands is problematic, as up-to-date training with various laser devices used in the industry serves to legitimize our capability and proficiency in administering such treatments.

We now call upon our fellow Oklahomans, lawmakers, and all who value fairness, to join us in urging our legislators to reconsider the parameters of House Bill #2998. Your support translates to the preservation of many jobs and a robust aesthetic community in Oklahoma. Please sign this petition to include Medical Assistants in House Bill #2998, The Laser Hair Removal Act. Thank you.

Letter to the Governor:

My name is Natalie Cunningham, 

I am currently employed as a medical assistant/laser hair technician and floor manager at The New Laser Light, one of Oklahoma’s oldest and most popular medical spas for the last four years. The owner and acting Physician, Dr. Victoria Johnson, M.D., of which I work under direct supervision is one of very few pioneers in this field that paved the way into aesthetic treatments for Oklahoma. At our workplace we as medical assistants help to care for a high volume of her patients. Over the years of my experience, I have undergone a copious amount of training that includes but is not limited to infection control, safety and sanitation, sterilization, anatomy, medical devices such as laser hair reduction machines, as well as many other medical aesthetic devices. I’ve worked hard to continuously build this education and my career.

The new bill HB #2998, The Laser Hair Removal Act, taking effect November 1st, 2024, excludes and prevents me from performing laser hair reduction treatments as a medical assistant. This has caused harm to my personal livelihood and how I support myself and my family and will be the end of the career I have worked hard for. Not only does it harm me but will harm many Oklahomans in the process.

While I understand the importance of safety regarding these types of treatments, and having only nurses who have studied a broad range of processes within the human body could be helpful, I have been able to focus and specialize in this particular area in understanding the biological process and am equipped with the knowledge necessary to carry these treatments out safely. 

We are currently facing a nationwide shortage of healthcare providers. Nurses are very much needed in our hospitals and urgent care facilities as we endure another unprecedented round of patients who need critical care for sickness and disease amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Oklahoma small businesses will suffer and take much of the brashing, unemployment costs for Oklahoma will soon rise due to this bill and cost even more money at the states expense by putting our highly skilled and properly trained Oklahoman’s out of a job.

I ask that you please reconsider the promulgation of this rule and amend to include medical assistants. 

Thank you for your time and I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely, 

Natalie Cunningham