Tag: occupational therapy

With one of Kentucky’s premier certified hand therapists serving as a lead instructor, Spalding University’s Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy is offering a new graduate certificate and post-professional doctoral track in Upper Extremity Rehabilitation. Unique to this region, the programs will provide occupational therapists with advanced knowledge of the complex physiology and occupations of the hand and arm as well as training in how to evaluate and treat upper-limb injuries.

Spalding is now accepting applications for Fall 2020 for both the certificate and the post-professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) track. Assistant Professor Dr. Greg Pitts, a licensed OT and certified hand therapist who owns and operates Commonwealth Hand Therapy clinic in Lexington, will teach multiple courses.

The 15-credit-hour certificate program in Upper Extremity Rehabilitation consists of three five-hour courses presented in a hybrid format of online instruction and face-to-face skill development. Applicants must have a professional degree along with certification or licensing in occupational therapy or physical therapy.

The 30-hour post-professional OTD track, meanwhile, is designed for licensed occupational therapy practitioners who want to progress to the full doctoral degree. It involves five 13-week courses of online instruction blended once a trimester with in-person testing. It includes a three-hour course in upper-extremity wound care. A self-directed capstone is the final requirement.

CURRICULUM | Courses for the post-professional OTD
RELATED | All Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy programs

“These Upper Extremity Rehabilitation programs are really going fit a need – and not only in the Louisville area,” said Dr. Rob McAlister, Chair of the Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy. “Because the classes are primarily online, we can also serve the rest of the country and even beyond the limits of our country if a person can come to Louisville once every three months for a weekend. Then that person can attain a credential that really makes them more marketable in their profession.”

In addition to teaching the scientific principles related to upper extremities and injuries, Spalding’s new programs will also place an emphasis on teaching management skills and business applications in an upper extremity rehab clinic.

“Our dream was to develop a program where a post-professional occupational therapist could come to Spalding and learn real-world applications for both basic and complex orthotics and develop skills that will help perpetuate their careers,” Pitts said. “Students will also develop an understanding of the value of mentorship and the value of science as they apply it to the treatment of patients. You can become a very valuable employee because you can learn to help manage therapists and help provide good functional outcomes. You can become a leader in upper extremity rehab.”

Pitts is well-established as a leader in the field. He is the past chair of the American Hand Therapy Foundation, and he is currently on the board of the Hand Therapy Certification Commission. For years, Pitts has served as Clinical Director for On-Site Rehabilitation for Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Georgetown, and he is a past recipient of Kentucky’s Outstanding Occupational Therapist of the Year Award.

“Dr. Pitts is so passionate and so knowledgeable,” McAlister said. “He is a nationally recognized authority on upper-extremity care, and he is one of the foremost practitioners in the country. He owns his own business, so from a practitioner’s standpoint and from a business standpoint, he knows what it takes to succeed, and he can communicate that knowledge really well to students. The faculty teaching in these programs are world-class.”

Spalding Dean of Graduate Education Dr. Kurt Jefferson said the Upper Extremity Rehabilitation certificate and post-professional OTD track “continue the important tradition of Spalding’s occupational therapy program expanding its footprint both academically and clinically in Louisville and beyond.”

He continued: “The opportunity for healthcare professionals to gain continual knowledge and expertise in this area will benefit practitioners in important intellectual and professional ways.”

Visit spalding.edu/occupational-therapy for more information. Email postotd@spalding.edu or call (502) 588-7196 with questions.

With Commencement approaching on June 1, Spalding is publishing a series of stories and Q&A’s that highlight students from a range of degree programs who are set to graduate. Next up is Devyn Tompkins, who is earning the degree of Bachelor of Science in Health Science as part of a longer occupational therapy graduate program.

What is your favorite Spalding memory?
My favorite Spalding memory is being on the volleyball team for two years and making lifelong friends as well as being accepted into Spalding’s OT program my sophomore year.

Which accomplishments are you most proud of during your time at Spalding?
My biggest accomplishment that I am proud of is graduating with my Bachelors of Science in Health Science in three years and working on my master’s in occupational therapy.

What’s your favorite spot on campus?
Being at the Pod with my friends.

At Spalding, we like to say that, “Today is a great day to change the world.” For many of our students, Commencement is a world changing experience. After graduation, how do you plan to change the world, big or small, and who inspires you to be a #spaldingworldchanger?
My family inspires me to be a #SpaldingWorldChanger. They push me to do my best and have supported me throughout my college journey. I plan to change the world by being the best occupational therapist I can be and provide exceptional services to my future clients.

Is there anything else you would like to share about your Spalding experience?
I am so grateful for the endless opportunities Spalding has given me.

Spalding University announced Wednesday, Sept. 5, that it has reached a milestone in its ongoing, largest-ever capital fundraising campaign: surpassing $30 million in total contributions since 2014. They have supported new construction projects, facility improvements and academic and scholarship programs that broadly impact campus and student life.

The $30.4 million raised to date is a record for a Spalding campaign, and it far outpaces the original fundraising goals – $20 million by 2020 – set by the university’s board of trustees when it voted to launch the campaign four years ago. The goal was officially upped to $30 million in 2016.

“We are extremely grateful for the individuals and organizations who have stepped forward in support of our campaign and the mission and progress of Spalding,” Chief Advancement Officer Bert Griffin said. “We’ve made improvements all over campus and have not used any tuition dollars to make it happen.”

Spalding President Tori Murden McClure added: “Through this campaign, we have provided our students and the community with more resources and services while making our campus greener and more beautiful. We are grateful to our many partners who are helping us meet the needs of the times and change our community for the better.”

Some highlights of the $30 million capital campaign:

● Nearly $11 million in student scholarships and fieldwork stipends have been or will be distributed by way of the campaign, including more than $4 million in federal grants for clinical psychology and social work students from the Health Resources and Services Administration.

● More than $7 million has been donated or pledged in support of a greening initiative that has beautified the 23-acre downtown campus. Completed projects include the Mother Catherine Spalding Square green space on West Breckenridge Street between South Third and South Fourth and 2.2-acre Trager Park, which, in partnership with Louisville Gas and Electric Company and the Trager Family Foundation, opened last fall at the corner of South Second and West Kentucky. The Trager Park site was formerly an unused asphalt lot.

Ongoing outdoor projects are the seven-acre athletic fields complex between South Eighth and South Ninth streets that will be the home of Spalding’s NCAA Division III softball and soccer teams, and the Contemplative Garden at Spalding University, which will be a meditation space at 828 S. Fourth St. that is designed to honor Trappist Monk Thomas Merton and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Thanks to a recent anonymous $500,000 challenge grant, installation of the playing surfaces at the fields complex is expected to begin this fall, and it could be ready for competition by late spring 2019.

FROM WHAS: Spalding works to build Ninth Street ‘Field of Dreams’

● Kosair Charities has contributed more than $1.2 million to Spalding in support of the Kosair Charities Enabling Technologies of Kentuckiana (enTECH) assistive-technology resource center, the Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy and the Spalding School of Nursing.

RELATED: Spalding, enTECH receive $275,000 grant from Kosair Charities

● A $500,000 challenge grant from the James Graham Brown Foundation has helped raise $1 million to develop programs focused on restorative justice and restorative practices as well as Spalding’s Center for Behavioral Health.

● Nearly $1 million was raised to renovate the lower level of the Columbia Gym into a student fitness center and lounge.

● Other facilities that have undergone major improvements and modern updates are the Republic Bank Academic Center, which is the home of Spalding’s nursing and social work programs; the Spalding Library; the historic Tompkins-Buchanan-Rankin Mansion; and the Egan Leadership Center Lectorium.

Kosair Charities has awarded a grant of $275,000 to Spalding University for the 2018-19 year that will be used to enhance and support growth at the Kosair Charities Enabling Technologies of Kentuckiana (enTECH) assistive technology resource center, which primarily serves children with special needs, and to continue a pediatric fieldwork cooperative involving Spalding occupational therapy graduate students.

The grant continues the longtime support of Kosair Charities for Spalding and enTECH, which provides affordable access to assistive-technology toys and therapeutic devices while also offering therapy and community engagement programs. Since 2014, Kosair Charities has contributed more than $1.2 million to enTECH, Spalding’s Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy and the Spalding School of Nursing.

“EnTECH is a tremendous community resource on Spalding’s campus that uses modern technology to help children learn, grow and play,” said Keith Inman, President of Kosair Charities. “We support its desire to grow and serve as many children and families as possible as this directly aligns with our mission.”

“Through the Kosair Charities Scholars Program, students will gain valuable pediatric fieldwork experience. We support the efforts of Spalding’s Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy to train skilled, compassionate students who want to work with kids.”

enTECH improvements

Located on Spalding’s campus at 812 S. Second St., enTECH will use $200,000 of the 2018-19 grant funding in the following ways:

● Create “switch camps” and pre-vocational computer training for children 10-17 years old who have disabilities or limited mobility. The camps will introduce the children to assistive technology devices known as switches that allow users to navigate a computer and operate programs such as Microsoft Word and Excel. Conventional keyboards, mouse devices and other computer accessories are often inaccessible to individuals with limited mobility, making it difficult to get a job or succeed in classroom environments that require typing on a word processor, entering data or navigating a web browser.

EnTECH will upgrade its computer lab with switches that are designed to sense pressure, heat, puffs of air or facial movements in order to detect computer users’ intentions and help them navigate a program.

● Purchase two interactive autism robots – known as Milo ($7,500) and Nao ($10,500) – that will help children on the autism spectrum develop skills such as communicating verbally, making eye contact and understanding what others are thinking or feeling.

Milo has a life-like face that mimics emotions, and the robot speaks directly to the child. Nao performs fun, playful actions like playing a drum, pointing and dancing.

● Purchase four OptiMusic Beam systems ($7,500 each) that use a combination of lights and sounds to encourage children with disabilities to explore and interact with their environment. EnTECH’s Kosair Virtual Immersive Playground room already has four OptiMusic Beams, and their popularity has led to increased demand.

● Renovate the entryway and transitional spaces of the enTECH facility – housed in the former Kosair Shrine Temple – into a lively, clearly defined space that is appealing for children and celebrates Spalding’s partnership with Kosair Charities.

● Revamp the enTECH website and enhance enTECH’s marketing efforts in order to help grow the number of children receiving services and resources.

Continuation of Kosair Charities Scholars Program

The other $75,000 of grant funding will be used to continue and expand the pediatric fieldwork cooperative known as the Kosair Charities Scholars Program, which began in 2016. The grant will fund stipends for 15 graduate students from the Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy to perform their 12-week Level II training at approved child-centric sites.

The fieldwork placements will result in dozens of children receiving services.

To qualify for the Kosair Charities Scholars Program, students must commit to working with children or providing occupational therapy services to youth for a minimum of three years after graduation.

“We’re extremely grateful for the support of Kosair Charities,” said Cindee Quake-Rapp, chair of the Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy. “This grant will help make enTECH an even better resource for children, and it will strengthen Spalding’s ability to train great pediatric therapists.”

About enTECH: Kosair Charities’ Enabling Technologies of Kentuckiana (enTECH) is a division of the Spalding University Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy. It is one of five state-designated assistive technology resource centers in Kentucky. Its mission is to create assistive technology solutions to meet the needs of the times through the enhancement of all people’s participation in everyday life activities. More information is available at entech.spalding.edu.

About the Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy: Established in 1995, Spalding’s Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy prepares students to become outstanding occupational therapy practitioners in varied health, education and community settings. Its nationally ranked master’s-level training program is leading the way by transitioning to a doctorate-level program well prior to a deadline mandated by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education. More information is available at spalding.edu/occupational-therapy.

About Kosair Charities: Established in 1923, Kosair Charities’ mission is to protect the health and well-being of children in Kentucky and Southern Indiana by providing financial support for clinical services, research, pediatric healthcare education and child advocacy. More information is available at kosair.org.

While dozens of graduates from Spalding University Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy work in and around Louisville, many other alumni have found jobs across the country that they said pay well and are personally fulfilling. Here, we highlight one of them, Clarissa Tenido Perry, who works at the Villa Pueblo Skilled Nursing and Rehab Center in Pueblo, Colorado.

Clarissa Tenido Perry, a native of Hawaii who attended high school in West Virginia, got job offers in Southern Indiana and in Colorado – where she wanted to be – shortly after graduation from ASOT in 2015.

“Anywhere on the West Coast, there are a lot of jobs,” she said. “Anywhere in the South and in any rural areas there are plenty of jobs.”

She said she felt eager and prepared to go work out west after Spalding placed her at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland for her Level II fieldwork.

Tenido also got her bachelor’s in health science from Spalding, participating in the bridge program in which senior undergraduates can begin working toward their graduate-level OT coursework and finish a year sooner. She said she enjoyed the small class size of the ASOT program.

“I felt like it was more of a family atmosphere, and that was really nice,” she said. “They promoted that feeling and culture. … I think Spalding helped me become a well-rounded therapist. I’m doing a little bit of outpatient and a little bit of skilled nursing. But if I wanted to go on into mental health, or community therapy, I would be able to do it with all the knowledge and all the education I received from Spalding. So I would highly recommend it. I think they did an excellent job in educating and getting me ready for whatever setting I chose to work in.”

Learn more about the Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy.

Watch a video about the Spalding Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) program.

Register for a Aug. 28, 2018 Spalding OTD info session.

While dozens of graduates of Spalding Univesity’s Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy  work in and around Louisville, many other alumni have found jobs across the country that they said pay well and are personally fulfilling. Here, we highlight one of them – 2015 alumnus Tom Cox, who is a hand therapist in Florida. 

Tom Cox credits his Spalding Level II fieldwork under and current ASOT faculty member Dr. Greg Pitts for setting him on the path to success in hand therapy. He said that right after graduation, he earned a job in Washington, D.C., making $79,000 initially and that within the first year received a raise to six figures. As of the summer 2018, he works under a group of hand surgeons and orthopedic surgeons in South Florida.

Cox said Pitts instilled in him the “Four C’s” of a successful therapy practice – caring, communication, confidence and competence. “His big philosophy is that if you love patients, they recognize that, and you’ll never be slow at your clinic,” Cox said. “That’s how I’ve operated, based on his philosophy. If patients know you genuinely care about them, genuinely love them, and are genuinely invested in them getting better, they’ll bend over backwards for you with what you ask of them.”

From 2013-17, 95 percent of Spalding graduates passed the National Board Certification of Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) exam, which is required to become a registered and licensed occupational therapist. Cox said he was impressed by the way the Spalding faculty prioritizes board exam preparation.

“At Spalding, you’ve got some of the best professors in the nation, in my opinion,” Cox said. “You had really good professors who were passionate about the subjects, so they armed you with the information you need. And they prepare you for that NBCOT extremely well, and that’s what you want to be prepared for. If a program doesn’t prepare you for the boards, it’s not worth going to. … If anyone wants to be set up for success, Spalding would be the place to go.”

Learn more about the Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy and its new doctor of occupational therapy (OTD) program.

A major renovation, an array of new assistive technology and a commitment to helping children resulted in the unveiling over the past week of a key community resource at Spalding University.

Spalding’s Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy (ASOT) and the Kosair Charities Enabling Technologies of Kentuckiana (enTECH) assistive technology resource center debuted the new Virtual Immersive Playground for children with special needs. The room of high-tech toys and video and sensory devices – located on the third floor of Spalding’s College Street Building, 812 S. Second St – was made possible through the support of Kosair Charities.

An opening reception was held Wednesday, April 11 – attended by many members of Spalding’s faculty and staff and the Kosair Charities board – and the room was in use for first time last week at the year’s first five-day Kosair Integrated Technology Experience (KITE) camp for children with special needs.

The Virtual Immersive Playground is the finished product of a renovation project started last winter to transform what had been an old band room. Risers and carpeting were removed, and a sleek, open space was created with assistive equipment, including touch-screen and gesture-recognition devices, along the walls.

“The transformation from the old band room is stunning,” said Dr. Cindy Quake-Rapp, chair of ASOT. “I think this is going to be a real showpiece for anyone at Spalding to show people what we’re doing for the community and the kids we’re serving, thanks to Kosair Charities.”

The equipment in the Virtual Immersive Playground is meant to engage children in positive physical, cognitive and sensory experiences. The devices are designed to be therapeutic, educational and fun, and many are intended to teach the concept of cause and effect by using gesture-recognition and motion-sensing technology.

“I’m just ecstatic about the fact that we have this amazing space, and all this equipment is therapeutic,” said Dr. Josh Skuller, enTECH director and ASOT faculty member. “It’s another avenue that we can provide occupational therapy, speech therapy; even physical therapists could come in here with a child. It’s just something to help increase kids’ potential.”

KITE ‘truly a multisensory experience’

A couple dozen children attended last week’s KITE camp.

A young boy with physical and cognitive challenges stemming from a severe brain trauma suffered as an infant could be seen smiling as he experienced the light and sounds of the gesture-recognition equipment.

“The children realize that if they want to uncover something, they have to step on it. To move a ball, they have to kick the ball,” Quake-Rapp said. “They learn how to interact with their environment. The touch-screens have interactive games that teach them everything – shapes, body parts, colors, numbers, letters.

“It’s truly a multisensory experience for them.”

Though the Virtual Immersive Playground is new, KITE camps have been an ASOT and enTECH staple for years.

The five-day camps are held three times a year for any children 2 1/2 to 9 years old with special needs. The kids make stops throughout the day to the Virtual Immersive Playground, to the gym space with games and exercise equipment in the College Street ballroom and to art and sensory rooms on the first floor of enTECH.

Skuller said he has enjoyed seeing the same children come back to KITE year after year and watching how they progress.

“It’s wonderful knowing that the parents value this program so much,” Skuller said, pointing out a 9-year-old boy who’d been coming to KITE since he was 3. “He learned to ride a bike here.”

Speaking of enTECH and its resources more generally, Quake-Rapp said that in her previous teaching stops, she had not encountered a university with an assistive technology center like the one at Spalding and enTECH.

“We help evaluate people for technology, so they get the best piece of technology. We loan equipment out, we give equipment away,” she said. “And it’s amazing for our students to see what OTs can do by helping people with special needs use technology.”

Academic component

Spalding’s master of occupational therapy (MSOT) students are required to participate in a KITE camp once during their curriculum, and Quake-Rapp said many students and alumni volunteer over and over.

Skuller teaches a pediatrics class in which students spend the final week working with kids at enTECH.

“They have to figure out how to work with the kids, figure out interventions, figure out how can they utilize the equipment in here to help the child progress,” he said. “It’s been a great hands-on experience. Being able to apply what they’re reading and their classroom knowledge with this facility really helps firm up what they’re doing.”

The Auerbach School is transitioning to a doctor of OT program starting in January of 2019, and Quake-Rapp said she expects students will pursue enTECH- and KITE-related Capstone projects.

“Those students will be very much woven into enTECH,” she said “We’ll have some very good clinicians in here.”

ASOT master’s student Rico Thomas, who is set to graduate this summer, said he expects the Virtual Immersive Playground to draw more children to KITE and enTECH and more OT students to Spalding.

“You can use this area to learn about different disabilities and what each of these pieces of equipment does for a child,” Thomas said. “It gets your mind thinking about how to incorporate technology along with meeting your client halfway and finding the best outcome for them.

“When I’m looking at OT schools, I’m looking at what benefits me but also what benefits the population that’s around it. Spalding has that.”