Summer Advocacy Season is Here!
Author: Laura VanPuymbrouck, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA; Committee Chair, ILOTPAC
Happy summer to all OTPs! While summer is filled with vacations and activities, it’s also the time when Illinois state senators and representatives return home following the end of the legislative session and marking the beginning of our summer advocacy season.
Advocacy - More Than A Buzzword
Author: Katie Little, OTS; ILOTA Blog Coordinator
As occupational therapy practitioners, our profession is renowned for its hands-on care and the ability to help individuals reclaim their independence. Beyond clinical walls and interventions often lies an unseen aspect of our work: advocacy. While some may believe this is just a buzzword, it is the very foundation that successful outcomes are built upon. Not only this, every victory we help consumers achieve, every barrier we help them overcome, serves as a compelling testimony as to why occupational therapy is essential, and strengthens our profession’s standing and ensuring its place in healthcare.
The 8th Annual ILOTA Student Conclave was held on February 15, 2025, hosted by Midwestern University. Big thanks to the committee who worked so hard to make this a successful event:
Capstone Journey: The World of Non-Profit Organizations
This blog post is an opportunity to highlight a capstone site that two current Midwestern University OT-III students are currently working at. The Mobility Matters Foundation (MMF) is a non-profit 501(c)3 foundation that was founded by Dr. Amy Siegler, BOCO, OTD, OTR/L. Dr. Siegler founded this non-profit based out of Western North Carolina in 2022 partly in response to NC Medicaid cutting reimbursement for telehealth services for many individuals, including Medicaid patients ages 21 and up who were accessing private OT/PT clinics. After completing her own needs assessment in her geographic area, she noted that there were extreme gaps in terms of access to healthcare, geographic, financial, and transportation barriers, insurance limitations, and lack of nearby seating & mobility clinics. As a result, Dr. Siegler founded the first and only seating and mobility clinic in Western NC that operates on a telehealth and pro bono level.
Attending Conference: Practitioner/Professor Perspective
Marissa Dastice
Ciara Brabant: What was your first conference experience like?
Attending Conference: Students’ Perspective
Hello readers! My name is Ciara Brabant and, I am a 1st year OTD student at Midwestern University. I am taking Samantha Tupas position as ILOTA blog coordinator for In the Now. This month I am posting the 1st of a 2 part article series about students’ perspectives on attending conference. I had the opportunity to speak with two students, Talya Flores and Samantha Dooley, from Midwestern University OTD program, about their recent experience attending the ILOTA conference.
Talya Flores attends the OTD program at Midwestern University as a 1st-year student.
Lewis University COTAD Interview
Hello readers! This month I had the wonderful opportunity to speak with the Lewis University COTAD Chapter. Miranda, Jay, and Dr. Susan Charnley, DrOT, OTR/L, CHT, joined me for an interview about their recent COTAD events and what their goals are for the rest of the year. I hope you all enjoy hearing about their experiences with COTAD!
Samantha
Image Description: 2022 ILOTA Annual Conference Committee members (from left to right: Veronica Fowler, Evguenia Popova, Linda Riccio, George Buckley, Beverly Menninger, Phyllis Hughes, and Rolando Jara. Also pictured are the two Platinum Sponsor logos, Midwestern University and Vivistim.
Fall is a season of change, learning, and reflection. In the occupational therapy community, the transition from summer to fall marks the start of the school year and the conference season. This year, the Conference Planning Committee has been tasked to envision a conference that would foster growth and community. Throughout the discussion, committee members reflected on the "art and science" of occupational therapy practice, the importance of celebrating and appreciating our achievements, and the opportunities ahead. The committee agreed that as we look into the future of occupational therapy, it is critical to move beyond resilience and consider how we can help one another thrive and evolve amidst uncertainty. The 2022 Illinois Occupational Therapy Association (ILOTA) Annual Conference theme emerged: "The Art of Reflecting, Thriving, and Evolving Together."
In reflecting upon "the art of reflecting, thriving, and evolving together," Linda Riccio (Conference Coordinator) shared, "what it means to me - is inspiration, re-invigorating ourselves at this point in the pandemic (and all that we have been through) with the help of our occupational therapy peers and colleagues." As a committee, we envisioned the 2022 ILOTA Annual Conference providing time and space for occupational therapy practitioners, educators, and students to reflect on their accomplishments and vision for the future. The conference team wanted to ensure that evolution began from within as they reconsidered the format for the conference. In reflecting on lessons learned, the committee aimed to maintain the best elements of past conferences. The discussion led to a decision to design a new hybrid conference that capitalizes upon the:
Interview with Midwestern University COTAD Chapter: Rocio, Gabby, and Dr. Robinson
Hello readers! This month I had the opportunity to speak with the members of the Midwestern University COTAD chapter. Gabriela Carmona, Rocio Torres, and Dr. Monika Robinson, DrOT, OTR/L shared their insights on what it means to be a part of COTAD and what others can do to contribute to their cause of diversity, inclusion, and equity.
Samantha:
Hello Readers!
Here is some scholarship and grant application information brought to us through the support of the American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF).
The AOTF is the nation’s leading standalone non-profit investing in new OT research and the future OT workforce. For almost 60 years the philanthropic generosity of the OT community has enabled AOTF to advance the science of occupational therapy and strengthen our profession.
Poetry and Self-Reflection
Hello all! We’ve had a lot of interviews and OT history on the blog recently. For today, I want to change things up and present to you a poem from OTD student at Midwestern University, Tara Schoen. I want to thank her for taking the time to write this wonderful poem and for allowing me to share it with all of you!
It’s a beautiful poem that discusses death and our connection to the people we love. It also shows how OTPs can utilize creative writing as a therapeutic tool in our practice. Also, please feel free to check out the interview that I did with Tara where she explains her methods behind writing it.
Hello all! Today I bring you an interview with ILOTA board member Elizabeth Kohler-Rausch. In this interview, Elizabeth talks about her professional background, her position with ILOTA, and what she’s learned from being in this position.
1. What is your current position on ILOTA’s board and activities do you engage in to fulfill that role?
I am the co-coordinator for the Pediatrics Special Interest Section.
Develop and implement policies and procedures for the identification, collection, and analysis of quality, risk, and patient safety information
Educate and train the leadership, staff, and physicians as to the quality and patient safety program and their respective responsibilities in carrying out the program
Advise departments on designing quality improvement and patient safety initiatives
Hello all! This month In the Now is covering the work and history of Mary E. Black, an occupational therapist who has made an impact on occupational therapy through her talent in crafts and weaving.
Who is Mary E. Black?
Mary Black was born on September 18, 1895. Interestingly enough, Mary Black did not start off her career as an occupational therapist, she started off as a weaver. From her start at the young age of eight, Mary’s talent in weaving would make a huge impact on her career as an occupational therapist.
Impact on Occupational Therapy
At age 23, Mary became an occupational aide at McGill University in Montreal. She worked specifically in a program for disabled soldiers. After her time there, Mary worked in the Nova Scotia Tuberculosis Sanatorium and then at the Nova Scotia Hospital in Dartmouth. There she taught crafts to veterans who returned from World War I. She would then go on to organize an occupational therapy program not just for soldiers but for civilians as well.
During Black History Month, ILOTA recommended practitioners listen to Episode 4 of the 1619 Podcast. Dr. Maud Makoni provides a reflection on the podcast.
Health care access and disparity for our black patients/clients as OTPs
Healthcare is a human right, and OTPs, are already participating in closing the healthcare disparity gap. I listened to the 1619 podcast, Episode 4: How Bad Blood Started (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1619/id1476928106?i=1000449718223) and agreed with all the sentiments shared. Much progress has been made nationally and internationally, but as clinicians, we still have some ways to arrive at healthcare equality. From a provider perspective, who is Black, I have experienced health care disparities indirectly. By this, I mean through the lived experience of relatives, friends, and some of my patients. Honestly, the discrepancy comes down to humanity’s disservice and not necessarily racial divide occasionally. I have seen the people around me struggle with the lack of or insufficient medical care resources, just like the man in the podcast who died of preventable disease, the familiar story of many.
Finding the balance between education, work, and family is a hard task! And with all the places we want to go, things we want to do, and hobbies we have it can feel impossible to find time for it all. (Did I mention that you also have to get between 7 to 9 hours of sleep?)
Recently, I had an interview with Dr. Glen Cotton, a professor in the entry-level Occupational Therapy Doctoral (OTD) program at Midwestern University. He has started to tackle the issue of balance with the OTD 2024 cohort at Midwestern University by creating a student-run Wellness Group. In this interview, he and I discuss the motivation behind creating the committee as well as the importance of teaching future OTPs strategies to maintain balance in life.
Can you tell me about the OT Student Wellness Group?
Spring always makes me think of new beginnings. The melting of snow brings fresh flowers and the chance to finally put away the heavy winter coat. The changing of seasons shows how a different perspective can make a huge difference, it can turn a street of slippery ice and snow into the road less traveled on the way to vacation!
For as much time as OTPs and OT/OTA students spend reading articles and textbooks, and writing research; we can also benefit from being reminded of the value of our profession through a different lens. The poem and short story that you read below express the values of occupational therapy in a refreshing light!
Thank you to all those who submitted their creative writing. It was so inspiring to read about what occupational therapy meant to you.
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