Occupational Therapy

OT_cookiesOccupational Therapy (OT) improves upper extremity function and reasoning abilities through the practice of activities of daily living (ADL’s), neuromuscular re-education, cognitive stimulation, and safety awareness.

Occupational therapists also re-educate residents in the use of adaptive equipment to compensate for loss of function. To enhance upper extremity function, occupational therapists may use splinting and orthosis.  They address proper wheelchair positioning and wheelchair mobility as well.

Regaining one’s independance is the goal of each therapy discipline, and it is critical that all disciplines work together toward this goal, which is why we often work on these different programs in the same treatment area.  That way each therapist is in tune with what each other is doing, which can speed up recovery time and get people back home more quickly.  We encourage families to get involved daily with the therapy department and become an active participant by attending treatment sessions.  This plays a huge part in resident motivation and can dramatically improve residents performance, thus reducing recovery time.