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WVU Student Occupational Therapy Association Teams up with HealthSouth to Promote Brain Injury Awareness.
October 2011
The WVU Student Occupational Therapy Association teamed up with HealthSouth to make a float promoting brain injury awareness for the 2011 Homecoming Parade. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is often referred to as a silent epidemic, seeing as the majority of its effects are internal impairments rather than external. Although its effects are not always seen, the vast prevalence of TBI cannot be overlooked. TBI occurs every 23 seconds in the United States and 53 million people are currently living with a disability as a result of TBI. While treatment can help these individuals with recovery, the only true cure for TBI is prevention. So what can one do to prevent TBI? Wear a helmet! Whether horseback riding, skiing, riding a bike, playing football or any other sport, never underestimate the importance of wearing a helmet!
WVU Students and Faculty Present at the 13th Annual WVOTA conference.
October 10, 2007
WVU Division of Occupational Therapy graduate students and faculty presented at the 13th annual West Virginia Occupational Therapy Association conference held in Charleston, WV on October 6th 2007. The graduate students presented 19 poster sessions about their ongoing research to clinicians from all over the state. Four Faculty members: Dr Anne Cronin, Dr Steve Wheeler, Donna Colaianni, and Amanda Rogers also presented workshop sessions in the afternoon. "The quality of the WVOTA conference is always enhanced by the excellent poster and workshop presentations presented by WVU students and faculty", stated Diana Davis, President, of WVOTA.
WVU Student Occupational Therapy Association Featured in Dominion Post
September 21, 2007
The WVU Student Occupational Therapy Association was recognized for their work with Backpack Awareness Day in the Dominion Post today. The article included a picture of graduate students Allison Cipoletti and Ashleigh Pegg and comments from Brandy Kennedy. The article also included tips for safe backpack use.
Students from SOTA visited two elementary schools over two days as part of their Backpack Awareness Day effort. They educated students about how to safely pack and wear their backpacks. To make sure students were keeping the weight of their backpacks below the recommended 15% of their total body weight, the students also weighed backpacks and handed out charts to help the students identify the maximum weight they can safely carry. They also sent handouts home with the students for their parents.
The OT students hope that by interacting with elementary school students they can help them avoid chronic back and neck pain issues often associated with backpack use. One research study identified that 6 out of 10 students reported chronic back pain associated with backpack use. The OT students also are working to increase awareness of Occupational Therapy in the community, especially the profession's role in prevention and wellness.
For more information on backpack safety please visit: http://www.promoteot.org/AI_BackpackAwareness.html
Occupational Therapy Students Participate in AOTA 's "OT on the Hill Day"
September 18, 2007
The graduate occupational therapy class traveled to Washington, D.C. to advocate for health care legislation with members of the Senate and House as part of AOTA's OT on the Hill day. Students visited with members of the congresspersons' staff to discuss pieces of legislation important to clients of occupational therapy.
WVU OT students completed eleven visits to the offices of members of congress to discuss issues including the outpatient therapy cap, veterans' health care, access to occupational therapy in home health, and funds for Stroke and Brain Injury care. Students visited with legislators from their home states including: Senators Byrd (WV), Rockefeller (WV), Casey (PA), Spector (PA), and Biden (DE), and Representatives, Mollohan (WV), Rahall (WV), Capito (WV), English (PA), Doyle (PA), and Palone (NJ).
"The one thing that I hear consistently from the students was how impressed the staff people they met with were with the students' preparedness and ability to discuss the issues", stated Diana Davis, assistant professor of OT, who coordinates the trip; "These students represented themselves and the WVU OT program extremely well".
The WVU OT program has visited Washington, D.C. for the past four years. The students travel by bus to AOTA headquarters in Bethesda, MD and then take the Metro into D.C. to complete their visits and a little sightseeing.
First Year OT students take a gamble and host the Welcome Back Picnic
September 7, 2007
The Division of Occupational Therapy class of 2010 hosted the Welcome Back Picnic for students and faculty on August 25 at Chestnut Ridge Park. The picnic which had a Las Vegas theme this year hit the jackpot when even the weather cooperated with a beautiful day. More than 60 students and faculty members attended the event. The first year class provided food from Oliverio's (awesome) and home-made desserts (even better).
Events included giveaways for the faculty members (Thanks!) and gift card giveaways for the students who attended. The Gift Cards were donated by local merchants and included: a $100 Barnes and Noble card donated by Med Express, a $10 gas card donated by State Farm Insurance, a $20 Applebees card donated by GSK, a $10 Subway card, 2 free dinners at the Boston Beanery, a $5 Arbys coupon, 2 free dinners at Heavenly Ham, and a $20 gift card from Hibachi's. The water balloon toss was especially successful this year with participants getting as far as 20 feet away from each other before a winner was crowned.
Our congratulations to the class of 2010 for hosting one of the most successful Welcome Back Picnics ever!
Summer Fieldwork Experience at WVU
August 7, 2007
Summers are usually a busy time for our students that have just completed their Senior year in the OT program as they become eligible to complete a Level II fieldwork placement. They spend 12 full-time weeks in a setting with the end goal of reaching entry-level status by the end of those 12 weeks. Most students agree the first few weeks are challenging as they grow accustomed to their supervisor, navigating through the facility, and starting to build their own client caseload. As the weeks progress and confidence and skills build, soon it is time to wrap up the fieldwork and return to the classroom for Masters level courses. Several students were even offered interviews at their fieldwork settings this summer for jobs upon a May 2008 graduation. While this is more normal in the second fieldwork rotation, historically we have several students each summer that are offered this opportunity. This summer we had 41 students who have completed or are in the final weeks of their Level II fieldwork rotation. Some of those are in our Distance Education track and are eagerly awaiting an August graduation. We had students placed in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, Ohio, Maryland, Tennessee, Virginia, and Florida.
Two students ventured out into international OT experiences with one student going to Ireland and one to Ecuador. More information is to follow as the students return to the States with pictures and tales of occupational therapy treatment in far off lands.
We also had 9 students choose to complete a Level I fieldwork experience this summer. This is an option for students (once they complete the Junior year), which may assist in making their workload lighter in the academic year or in the case of some of our Distance Education students that is when they are able to take some time off. We are proud to have our students in multiple different states and even countries, representing the OT program here at WVU.
Camp Gizmo a Success
July 30, 2007
Two WVU Division of Occupational Therapy faculty members and one student spent last week (July 21-25) at Camp Gizmo in Romney, WV. Camp Gizmo, coordinated by WV Birth to Three and funded by multiple state agencies and the State of West Virginia, is an intensive hands on camp for parents and their children with significant and multiple developmental needs to learn about assistive technology. The camp also serves to educate professionals and students about the use of assistive technology.
Dr. Anne Cronin, associate professor, and Garth Graebe, assistant professor and clinical director, spent the week consulting with families and other health professionals. Dr. Cronin and Mr. Graebe spent most of their time consulting in the augmentative communication laboratory on issues of positioning and switch access. Additionally, Dr. Cronin also consulted with families to support self care and feeding. She also presented on feeding and eating in conjunction with the Feeding Clinic team from the WVU Center in Excellence in Disabilities (CED).
Bethany George, an occupational therapy graduate student, attended the camp as part of her Level II fieldwork experience at Milestones, a Birth to Three agencies in Hurricane, WV. Bethany spent her week consulting in the positioning and mobility lab.
For more information about Camp Gizmo, visit their web site at: http://www.wvdhhr.org/birth23/campgizmo.asp
WVU Division of Occupational Therapy Launches its Alumni Web Site
July 24, 2006
The Division of Occupational Therapy is proud to announce the launch of its alumni web site. The web site, which will allow alumni to interact with each other and OT faculty, is a culmination of over a year's worth of effort of the Division of OT and the Academic Technologies Department of Health Sciences.
The web site allows alumni to post and view updates of their professional and personal achievements, view upcoming alumni events, and keep up-to-date on happenings in the Division of Occupational Therapy. First time users will have to create an account to verify that they are alumni of the program, they can do this by going to http://www.hsc.wvu.edu/som/ot/Alumni/index.asp and clicking on "Need an account?" at the bottom of the page.
When asked to comment on the importance of the program's alumni Dr. Randy McCombie replied, "While the OT Program has yet to graduate its 10th class, which it will do this May 2008, the quality of its graduates have already made significant positive impacts on the health care of the people of West Virginia and for those of many other states. Our graduates hold management positions, have made presentations at state and national conferences, have taught courses in occupational therapy traditional and continuing education, and have served in an ongoing capacity as Level I and Level II Fieldwork supervisors. We are extremely proud of the quality and the many successes of our alumni."
"The most important thing is that the site be responsive to alumni and provide them what they want and need", commented Diana Davis, assistant professor and web site monitor, ". if alumni have requests or suggestions I encourage them to contact me or any faculty member and we will do our best to make it happen."
The alumni web page can be found at http://www.hsc.wvu.edu/som/ot/Alumni/index.asp or can be reached from the Division of Occupational Therapy home page at http://www.hsc.wvu.edu/som/ot/index.asp
Newest OT Students Begin Their Journey
July 18th, 2007
The newest classes of Occupational Therapy students began classes in late June and early July. Eleven OTA to MOT distance education students came to campus for the first time on June 22nd and on July 2nd 32 traditional students started classes. Both classes of students begin the program by taking Anatomy and Current Topics in Occupational Therapy. The traditional students are also the first class to dissect human cadavers as part of their Anatomy class.
The newest classes of Occupational Therapy students began classes in late June and early July. Eleven OTA to MOT distance education students came to campus for the first time on June 22nd and on July 2nd 32 traditional students started classes. Both classes of students begin the program by taking Anatomy and Current Topics in Occupational Therapy. The traditional students are also the first class to dissect human cadavers as part of their Anatomy class.
When asked to reflect on the incoming classes of students, Dr. Randy McCombie, Chair of the Division of Occupational Therapy said, "The incoming class of traditional students marks the twelfth class of Occupational Therapy students at WVU. Once again, the quality of these students is excellent as reflected in overall and prerequisite grade point averages as well as other performance standards. The incoming class of OTA to OT students marks the fifth class for the distance education track. This particular class reflects not only the quality of the applicants applying to the track but also reflects the uniqueness of the program in attracting students who's home locations literally span the breadth of the nation - from California in the west, to New York in the north, to North Carolina in the east, as well as from West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, and Virginia. We are truly excited about the caliber and make-up of the students in these two tracks."
The Division of Occupational Therapy welcomes the class of 2010!
WVU Division of Occupational Therapy alumnus joins the faculty
Garth Graebe, MOT, OTR/L, Class of 2001, has joined the faculty as the Clinical Director."We are very pleased to have such an experienced clinician join our faculty to help re-start outpatient clinic", states Diana Davis, Assistant Professor and chair of the serch committee."With his broad experience in the clinic and in business and marketing we believe that he will build the outpatient clinic into a thriving practice."
Garth has previously been employed with Aegis therapies as the Rehab Program Coordinator at Golden Living Center (previously Morgan Manor). While employed at Golden Living Center, Garth expanded the rehab services offered, including tripling the rehab staff from 3 to 9 employees and overseeing construction of a new state of the art rehabilitation area within the facility.
Garth plans to use his skills to promote the growth of the clinical program in the Division of Occupational Therapy, stating, "I am looking forward to making the outpatient clinic a successful reality for both the Division and the community".