We love our occupational therapists every day, but we’re especially thrilled to showcase their skills throughout the month of April during Occupational Therapy Month! Whether it’s a newborn in the neonatal intensive care unit, an adult involved in a car accident, a patient going through cancer treatment, or an adult recovering from a stroke – occupational therapists throughout the UofL Health organization are making a difference!
What is Occupational Therapy?
Occupational therapy is a science-driven, evidence-based profession that enables people of all ages to participate in daily living or live better with injury, illness or disability. This is accomplished through designed strategies for everyday living and customizing environments to develop and maximize potential.
By taking the full picture into account – a person’s psychological, physical, emotional and social make-up – occupational therapy assists people in:
- Achieving their goals
- Functioning at the highest possible level
- Concentrating on what matters most to them
- Maintaining or rebuilding their independence
- Participating in the everyday activities that they need to do or that simply make their life worth living
Occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants are experts in helping people perform the occupations they need and want to do every day.
What conditions can occupational therapy help with:
- Neurologic injuries, including stroke, brain injury, and spinal cord injury
- Movement disorders, including multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease
- Rehabilitation from severe life changing illness or injury including cancer or trauma
- Developmental delays and disabilities
- Burns and wound care
- Hand therapy
- Orthopedic injuries
- Lymphedema
- Driver’s training & rehabilitation
Where do occupational therapists work?
At UofL Health, you will find occupational therapists working in:
- Hospitals: If you are recovering from trauma, surgery or disease, occupational therapists help to manage daily activities such as feeding, dressing, bathing and grooming. They can help assess the patient’s ability to safely discharge home or if additional rehabilitation services are needed.
- Inpatient Rehabilitation: Provide intensive therapy to help you regain independence as part of a specialized rehabilitation team after serious illnesses or injuries.
Outpatient Rehabilitation: Occupational therapists in the outpatient setting focuses on helping patients get back to meaningful activities they were doing prior to their injury. For children, this may mean assisting with the transition back to school or achieving developmental milestones. For adults, it may mean regaining skills to allow return to work, increase involvement in the community or improving household independence and safety. UofL Health – Frazier Rehabilitation Institute also offers specialty services such as hand therapy, driving rehabilitation and lymphedema services (consider hyperlinks to these specialty programs).
If you do experience an accident, injury, illness or condition that impacts your ability to engage in what matters to you the most, UofL Health occupational therapists will be there to help you live life to its fullest no matter your health condition, disability or risk factors.
