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Elevating Fieldwork Experiences: The Role of Evidence-Based Practice in Occupational Therapy

SIS FieldworkElevating Fieldwork Experiences: The Role of Evidence-Based Practice in Occupational Therapy

Kristina Hartsook, DrOT, OTR/L, BCP

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Empowering students in fieldwork: Building emotional intelligence skills through self-assessment

Empowering students in fieldwork: Building emotional intelligence skills through self-assessment 

Lucerito R. Gonzalez, COTA/L, MSOTS

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Decreasing Lymph Volume With the Use of Deep Oscillation Therapy

Decreasing Lymph Volume With the Use of Deep Oscillation Therapy

Candice D. Young E.d.S., COTA/L, CLT

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The Experiences of Siblings of Individuals with Special Needs

The Experiences of Siblings of Individuals with Special Needs   

Kim Dudzinski, EdD, OTR/L, Mary Stein, OT-S, Veronica Sarti, OT-S, Alexis Bellacera, OT-S, & Hannah Sbacchi, OT-S 

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Home and community health therapy services post Public Health Emergency (PHE)

SIS Home and Community Healthe Amanda KotolskiHome and community health therapy services post Public Health Emergency (PHE)

Amanda Kotolski, Ph.D., OTR/L

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Reintegrating occupational therapy in community mental health: a pilot program

 Current community-based mental health services in the state of Florida are sparse and focused on targeted areas, such as medication management, psychiatric services, trauma-based support groups, and day programming. Few programs or services facilitate community re-integration, and those that do, rely mainly on peer support services. The current continuum of care is not always able to account for the far-reaching effects of mental health and substance abuse issues and how they create obstacles to daily living and community participation. In Florida, mental health, substance abuse, and co-occurring disorder programs are under strain from a lack of funding. According to the State of Florida Appropriations Committee 2021 Annual Budget, only 7% of the allotted 3.8 billion dollars of funding to the Department of Children and Families is designated for community mental health and substance abuse services (The Florida Senate, 2022). These funds must stretch across all the programs and other related services. Funding for occupational therapy services is largely non-existent in these programs, despite a long history of treating this population. Occupational therapists (OTs) receive specialized education and clinical training to address areas within the continuum of community reintegration for clients experiencing mental health and co-occurring disorders. OTs can apply theory and conceptual models of practice stemming from a rich occupational science history to enable successful improvements in occupational participation and performance.

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Three important pathways towards telehealth integration: a closer look

Integration of telehealth services occurs within several notable pathways. These pathways include academia, clinical practice, and mHealth, which included Connected Health Devices (CHDs) or Wearable Digital Devices (WDDs). Virtual pathways interconnect and add value to the healthcare industry in diverse and useful ways. Conversely, they do not work well when intentional integration is not taken seriously. The academic environment is a good place for telehealth instruction, as this exposes future providers to value-based virtual care and expands access to their beneficiaries (Dy Aungst & Patel, 2020; Muntz et al., 2021). There are many health care professions that are purposefully incorporating telehealth instruction within their curricula (Dy Aungst & Patel, 2020; Muntz et al., 2021). This mindful integration was spurred from the need to embed instruction on telehealth within traditional practice models (Muntz et al., 2021). Similarly, occupational therapy (OT) programs were offered to instruct students on telehealth through ACOTE standard B.4.15 which was authorized in the summer of 2020 (Patterson et al., 2021). However, this educational standard does not explicitly outline how telehealth may be leveraged by academicians to enhance greater adoption. (Hui et al., 2021; Patterson et al., 2021). Telehealth’s integration within the academic setting is essential as it exposes occupational therapy students to didactic instruction, hands-on learning, and virtual simulation experiences that foster greater interoperability within the clinical arena (Posey et al., 2020).

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Call to Action: Share Your Feedback with CMS

Call to Action: Share Your Feedback with CMS

OT practitioners, it’s not too late to make your voices heard by CMS!
 
As you may already be aware, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking feedback on its Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) Proposed Rule for Calendar Year 2023. AOTA is in the process of finalizing a comment letter that will be submitted on behalf of organizational members, highlighting key areas of concern noted in the proposed rule and advocating for better access and reimbursement for occupational therapy services under Medicare Part B.
 
In this rule, CMS proposes a 4.4% decrease to the conversion factor and confirms continuation of the 15% payment cut for services delivered in whole or in part by an OTA. CMS proposes additional codes that may be delivered via telehealth after the COVID-19 public health emergency ends, but occupational therapy practitioners will only be able to access those codes for 151 days beyond the PHE since we are not considered permanent telehealth providers.
 
AOTA has been continually advocating on these issues and AOTA’s voice is strong, but we are stronger when the voices of our members are raised in support of the needed changes to keep our profession alive. 
 
We encourage members to share your personal story with CMS on how these cuts and policies are impacting your practice. This doesn’t have to be a formal comment letter—it can be a few sentences, a case example, or a paragraph on the struggles you face every day in delivering quality occupational therapy services. 
 
CMS needs to hear from you that continued cuts and lack of access to telehealth services after the public health emergency will have a direct impact on Medicare beneficiary access to timely, medically necessary occupational therapy services. 
 
Comments are due to CMS by September 6, 2022 at 11:59pm. We hope you’ll take a few moments to share your real-world experience with CMS.
 
Your advocacy efforts will make a difference!!!
Thank you for your membership!
FOTA
 

Wake up to the occupation of sleep: Its importance in the older adult

Wake up to the occupation of sleep: Its importance in the older adult

by: Anette Bullard, MEd, COTA/L and Anjali Parti, OTD, OTR/L 

WAKE UP TO THE OCCUPATION OF SLEEPEveryone has experienced having to power through the day after a night of not sleeping well with every aspect of the day feeling more challenging due to your lack of sleep. The National Institute of Health (2017) identifies sleep as one of the most important occupations for maintaining all aspects of health. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2018) has recognized sleep deprivation as a public health problem with broad, negative effects on safe occupational performance. For the older adults the challenges brought on by age compounded with a lack of sleep can further decrease successful occupational performance. Many age-related changes tend to disturb patterns of sleep and the myth that older adults need less sleep is actually incorrect (Suni, 2022b). The older adult is confronted with additional sleep obstacles such as, chronic conditions, medications, diminished physical activity, and decreased cognitive exercise, all of which have all been associated with decreases in sleep satisfaction. The resulting downward spiral of poor sleep results in less successful occupational engagement. The Occupational Therapy Practice Framework includes ‘rest and sleep’ as an area of occupation and defining occupational therapy practitioners as qualified professionals to assist clients with the occupation of rest and sleep (American Occupational Therapy Association, 2020). This brief article seeks to assist practitioners with identifying resources and awareness for more consistently addressing the occupation of sleep in the older adults. 

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(DOH) issued a press release last week containing guidelines related to the Treatment of Gender Dysphoria for Children and Adolescents.

As you may know, the Florida Department of Health (DOH) issued a press release last week containing guidelines related to the Treatment of Gender Dysphoria for Children and Adolescents
 
As stated, the press release is guidance and does not create a requirement for health care practitioners.
 
According to our practice framework, and regardless of condition or diagnosis, occupational therapy practitioners support clients by offering evidence-based treatments which affirm the lived experience, encourage exploration of identity, provide a safe and supportive environment, maximize strengths and resources, reflect on consequences of treatment approaches, facilitate participation in preferred roles, and prevent loss of engagement in meaningful occupations. 
 
Clinicians with specific questions regarding the guidance should contact the DOH directly. 
 
Clinicians should also feel free to reach out to [email protected] with comments, concerns or to speak with practitioners familiar with these topics. 
 
FOTA will continue to share information as it becomes available.
 
Sincerely,
 
Your Government Affairs Team"

INTEGRATING HEALTH LITERACY IN EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

INTEGRATING HEALTH LITERACY IN EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING


Shirish Lala, EdD(c), MHS, OTR/L Academic Fieldwork Coordinator Daytona State College

The pursuit of acquiring literacy is intentional, purposeful, and deictic, and subject to change based on the contextual demands (Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, Castek, & Henry, 2013). Literacy can be loosely defined as a construct that provides an individual with the ability to read, write, and integrate information across a broad range of platforms in order to identify, recognize, and implement knowledge for the purpose of personal,social, or financial gain. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services describes health literacy (HL) as “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions” (National Network of Libraries of Medicine [NNLM], 2011). However, according to the Centers for Disease Control, low HL is a serious public health issue affecting nine out of every ten adults (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2018a). At least 50% of the adults without high school education are at risk for experiencing severe health crises including medication errors, increased hospital visits, higher mortality, and greater health expenditure as compared to those with adequate HL levels (Brach et al., 2012).


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FOCUS Quarterly Deadline Approaching

FOCUS quarterly
FOCUS QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER DEADLINE IS MARCH 15

FOTA Boosts Quarterly Publication 

In a persistent move towards meeting the needs of its membership and readers, FOCUS, the official publication of the Florida Occupational Therapy Association (FOTA) has been renamed The FOCUS Quarterly.  The Author’s Guidelines have been adapted to include formal review of submitted materials, and inclusion of a variety of opportunities for the novice and seasoned writers in the community of occupational therapy and collaborating partners.  

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Human Trafficking CE Requirement

Hello,

Just a reminder that there is now a requirement for a Human Trafficking CE

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CHILDREN AND COVID-19

CHILDREN AND COVID-19

by: Kimberly McKinney MOT, MPT, tDPT, PHC
FOTA SIS Early Intervention/School Systems Chair H2 Health at Georgia-Pacific Palatka

The news about the coronavirus is everywhere, but what effect is it having on kids? According to a new study from China’s Shenzhen province (led by scientists from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention) believes that although children do contract COVID-19 they do not get sick as quickly as adults. This is believed to be due to children having healthier lungs (from not smoking or fewer years of exposure to pollution) (Pappas, 2020).

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FOTA... Who We Are

FOTA...

Who We Are

The Florida Occupational Therapy Association (FOTA) is an all volunteer organization with the exception of one paid employee. That one employee, which many of you who have contacted the organization already know, is named Janine. She is fantastic at what she does for the organization, handling many of the day to day tasks that administratively need to be addressed. FOTA proudly represents the interest of over 16,000+ occupational therapy practitioners (occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, and students). Currently, membership in our organization is approximately 1,000 total members, with half of those members being students (our future practitioners). Of the 500 approximate practitioners, we have 50 or so practitioners who are tasked with running the organization and the scope of its reach. So, you might ask, why all the honesty? Because FOTA believes in transparency and we feel it is important you know who we are and what we do. We also need to be honest in expressing how necessary you are to that definition, as we are all simultaneously co-evolving.

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The Role of Occupational Therapy: Providing Care in a Pandemic

From AOTA

The Role of Occupational Therapy: Providing Care in a Pandemic

This is an unprecedented time in health care that is evolving every day. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, many organizations and occupational therapy practitioners are struggling with the question, “what is the appropriate role of occupational therapy during a pandemic?” Guidance from federal agencies is continually shared as the status of the pandemic within the United States is evolving on a daily basis. AOTA urges occupational therapy practitioners to continue to check guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for the most up-to-date information. More

COVID-19 Update and Resources


 COVID-19 Update and Resources


March 22, 2020 

FOTA recognizes the impact of Covid-19 (coronavirus) on individuals, families, the nation, and our world as we all adapt to these uncertain times. OT Practitioners across the state of Florida have all been challenged to remain healthy and ensure safe practices to prevent further community spread. As many of you have worked in various sectors or continue to be on the front lines, the influx of executive orders at the local, state, and national level can cause confusion as to what steps to take next. Of the utmost importance is to ensure your safety and that of your family, while following orders to reduce and prevent community spread.


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Trauma and TraumaInformed (TI) Approaches to Care: Applications to Occupational Therapy Practice

Trauma and Trauma Informed (TI) Approaches to Care: Applications to Occupational Therapy Practice

Trauma is widespread and has profound effects that can lead to emotional and physical distress throughout the lifespan. Statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on abuse and violence in the United States indicate the following:

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Poised For Success

Poised for Success

(First in a series of articles describing FOTA’s Leadership Development Program)
 By Susan Hermes, OTD, BCP, OTR/L and Elena Vizvary, MS, OTR/L

 
FOTA has a long history of being a leader in occupational therapy state associations and innovations as one of the early established state associations and licensure. The Leadership Development Initiative emerged from passionate members approaching elected leadership of Florida Occupational Therapy Association (FOTA). These members had been involved with American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Emerging Leaders and Emerging Managers programs with positive professional outcomes. The question was raised if something similar would be a match for the membership needs and the FOTA strategic plan. A small committee was formed to determine if mentoring or leadership was the direction that would fit the current members needs, marketing, and leadership efforts. Compromise and constant collaboration to make sure sequential steps were followed to gather information and align with evidence based content to guide the successive years.

2016 OT/OTA Student Survey


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It's Really A Thing

It's Really A Thing 

Mirtha M. Whaley, PhD, MPH, OTR/L, SIS Chair, Mental Health

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