Milestones

Through the years, the Swedish Institute has expanded and evolved as times changed. 

1916 – Students received 1,666 hours of training in physiotherapy, 666 of which were spent in hospitals. Graduates were given a license to practice by New York City. 

1926 – Lillian F. Phillips, a 1926 graduate of the program, became an assistant to the school's founder, Captain Theodore Melander. She later became Director of the school, a position she held until the late 1960's. The library is named in honor of her stewardship of the school for over forty years.

Graduating class of 1947, with Capt. Melander in the center and Lillian F. Phillips on his right. Valerio Pasqua (fourth row from front, fifth man from left) describes his experience as a student in that class in the school newsletter (SInews, Vol.2, No. 1, page 5) and also came to visit the school in June 2003 (News & Special Events, News Archive).

1954 – State legislation transferred the training of physical therapists to the college level. The Swedish Institute elected to keep its focus on massage therapy. 

1967 – Massage therapy became a licensed profession in New York State. The Swedish Institute was instrumental in this initiative, which protected the title of the profession and the terms used to describe the profession. 

1975 – The profession of massage therapy became a practice-protected health care profession in which the title and practice were restricted to those licensed in the profession, except for certain other health care professionals, such as nurses, who were exempt. The Swedish Institute strongly supported this professional enhancement.

1984 – The P.H. Ling Clinic was created by Sidney Zerinsky, then Director of the school, in order to offer low-cost therapeutic massage to the public while providing students with an opportunity to perform supervised sessions.

1985 – Shiatsu was added to the school's curriculum, as a response to the growing interest in the Eastern energetic perspective of the body. 

1989 – The massage therapy profession was further strengthened by a change in title from "masseuse or masseur" to "licensed massage therapist" and the New York State Education Department officially recognized the abbreviation "L.M.T." so licensees could legally use them in their professional title. Administrators of the Swedish Institute worked closely with New York State officials to develop this important advance in the profession.

1996 – The Swedish Institute broadened its commitment to innovative health care when it initiated a three-year Master's level Acupuncture Program. 

1998 – The Massage Therapy Program further evolved to lead to an Associate in Occupational Studies degree.

2003 – The Acupuncture Program was granted degree status as a Bachelor of Professional Studies/Master of Science degree in Acupuncture.

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