OT Month Spotlight

 

	Karen Milchuck, OTR/L CHT Occupational Therapist, Certified Hand Therapist What types of outcomes can patients expect when being treated by an Occupational Therapist? Patients receiving occupational therapy should expect care that is focused on the needs and deficits of that particular patient, not just their diagnosis, as we look at patients as a whole person. In treatment, I will not only address the deficits of improving range of motion, decreasing pain and improving strength, but focus on achieving the ability to return to the normal activities that are important to them. An Occupational Therapist uses the medical and occupational model to return a patient’s ability to perform self-care, work, and recreational activities. Occupational therapy uses evidence-based treatment and years of clinical knowledge to achieve the greatest outcomes. Occupational Therapists work to restore patients’ best quality of life. We will also give you the skills to adapt to care for yourself and be independent while healing or with a permanent disability. Why is focusing on areas of occupation important to you and your patient’s overall health/well-being? Over my years of experience, I have worked in industries to recommend modifications for employees and my patients to improve their safety and healing. I have performed on-site therapy in work settings and treated the injured worker with repetitive/cumulative trauma diagnoses and catastrophic injuries from work-related injuries. I also have performed functional capacity evaluations, final disability assessments, and performed work conditioning. I apply my experience from these various angles to achieve the greatest functional return in their work. It is important to break down a challenging task to rebuild each skill successfully so a patient can return safely and effectively to their job. Not only is a person’s job their source of income to pay for their needs, but it gives people a sense of identity and affects their self-worth as productive members of their family. If they have these negative thoughts, it affects their healing progress and mental health.
	Emily Blessing Occupational Therapist What types of outcomes can patients expect when being treated by an Occupational Therapist? Patients can expect a friendly face to provide them encouragement, hope, knowledge, and guidance to help them get back to doing everything they need and love to do. They can expect someone to work with them when even the smallest parts of everyday life feel like a loss until they recover and can celebrate the everyday wins. They can expect to get back to feeling like themselves and what brings them meaning. Why is focusing on areas of occupation important to you and your patient’s overall health/well-being? A focus on occupations essentially means focusing on each person for the unique tasks and life roles that make up who they are. Occupations are important because our communities need our patients to return to their integral roles. These occupations are important for our patients’ mental and physical health, and a focus on that is the best way to keep treatments fun and effective.
	Jessica Lois, OTR/L Occupational Therapist What types of outcomes can patients expect when being treated by an Occupational Therapist? OT interventions can help decrease pain, improve mobility, strength, and function to work towards helping individuals return to their daily tasks and hobbies. Why is focusing on areas of occupation important to you and your patient’s overall health/well-being? It is important for me to provide my patients with the best care to help improve their awareness to make the correct changes to help perform their day-to-day activities. By implementing meaningful exercises with reinforcement and encouragement, I can help my patients get back to doing the things they love.
	Kyle Joseph Brinning, MSOT, OTR/L Occupational Therapist, Hand Therapist What types of outcomes can patients expect when being treated by an Occupational Therapist? Patients can expect a comprehensive approach to their care and their outcomes when being treated by an OT. Occupational therapy takes pride in evaluating the diagnosis and evaluating the patient as a whole being, including the relationship between psycho-social, emotional, and physical factors. Why is focusing on areas of occupation important to you and your patient’s overall health/well-being? Occupations are important to us as therapists and as patients because they are typically the main reason we seek treatment. Occupations include dressing, cooking, playing sports, working, and spending time with friends and family. Often, patients want to complete occupations independently, and it’s our goal to help provide patients with the tools to do so.
	Brooke Brooks, OTR/L, CHT Occupational Therapist, Certified Hand Therapist What types of outcomes can patients expect when being treated by an Occupational Therapist? In two words, RESTORED FUNCTION! In occupational therapy, collaborative goals are set with the patient to resume their daily occupations. For some, this can mean restoring range of motion to grasp a toothbrush again or learning proper mechanics to throw to participate in sport without injury. For others, it may be improving mobility and strength to lift 50 lbs for a safe return to work. Occupational therapy helps each unique individual take back their “normal” life! Why is focusing on areas of occupation important to you and your patient’s overall health/well-being? As an Occupational Therapist, I believe the biggest gift we can give a patient is restoring their independence! By bettering each individual’s physical abilities to perform their occupations through a functional-based treatment plan, I can see them re-gain independence and see their mental health and well-being improve!
	Lori Risner OTR/L, CHT, ASTYM Cert. Occupational Therapist/Certified Hand Therapist What types of outcomes can patients expect when being treated by an Occupational Therapist? When working with an Occupational Therapist, patients can expect a collaborative and constructive experience to help return them to the highest functional level of independence. As Occupational Therapists, we have many tools to help patients achieve their goals. It may include educating on proper lifting mechanics to take the stress off a painful elbow or modifying their workstation to allow them to perform their job while reducing stress on certain joints or the risk of further injury. Sometimes we need to adapt daily activities with special equipment to allow them to protect their joints while still being independent in their daily tasks. We improve strength, range of motion, flexibility, and educating, modifying, and adapting to help our patients achieve the best outcomes and return to the highest level of function after an injury or illness. Why is focusing on areas of occupation important to you and your patient’s overall health/well-being? Everything we do in life is considered our occupation, from getting out of bed in the morning to feeding our pets, caring for our children, going to work, or enjoying a day on the golf course. When an injury or illness disrupts our ability to perform these tasks or enjoy the things we love, it affects every aspect of our lives as well as our physical and emotional well-being. When function returns, it allows us to resume participation in these daily activities. Still, it improves the quality of life, leading to higher self-esteem and an overall improvement in our physical and mental well-being. This is what we strive to achieve for all our patients, and helping it become a reality is a reward in itself.
	Carolyn White, OTR/L, CHT Occupational Therapist/Certified Hand Therapist What types of outcomes can patients expect when being treated by an Occupational Therapist? Expected outcomes from Occupational/Hand Therapy would involve eliminating or reducing pain, developing a functional grasping pattern, and regaining full, normal strength in the upper extremity. Why is focusing on areas of occupation important to you and your patient’s overall health/well-being? How a patient uses their body during functional tasks can directly contribute to upper extremity conditions. Correcting abnormal movement patterns is an important role of the Occupational Therapist. Whether a patient is involved in a sport, works as an assembler, or plays a musical instrument, Occupational Therapists can analyze movement patterns, and provide valuable recommendations to optimize their overall strength and conditioning. It’s not enough to just resolve a patient’s symptoms, correcting movements patterns, educating the patient with preventative measures, and successfully returning to independence is the goal.