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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO DEPARTMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
Progress Notes
From the Desk of the Department Head Dear friends and colleagues, Between March 2013 and June 2014, the faculty and staff of the Department of Occupational Therapy undertook an extensive self-study of the entry-level (MS) program, in association with the re-accreditation of that program. This highly collaborative process was led by the MS program director Liz Peterson and the Self-Study Committee: Maria Larson, Jenica Lee, Kathy Preissner and Celeste Januszewski. The process involved faculty, staff and key stakeholders, including current students, fieldwork educators, employers of UIC graduates, and alumni. The Report of the Self-Study was submitted to the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) in July 2014.
Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar, Professor and Head
I am very proud to say that during those months of hard work, our faculty and staff embodied the values of teamwork, commitment and dedication to excellence. The outcomes associated with our self-study process were excellent. At the end of their visit, the on-site team reported their assessment that the UIC MS program met each of the ACOTE educational standards. Additionally, the on-site team highlighted four strengths of the MS program (see below). Congratulations to all OT faculty, staff and students!
ACOTE ONSITE REVIEW DEPARTMENTAL STRENGTHS 1. The administration is lauded for its support for the occupational therapy program as evidenced by additional faculty and staff positions, faculty mentoring and development opportunities, space for the department, and financial support for students to engage in professional activities at state and national association meetings. 2. The program director is commended for her ability to foster a collaborative environment for strong and talented faculty that results in excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service. Her leadership results in a strong curriculum with well-articulated curricular threads of theory, research, and practice. 3. Occupational therapy faculty are commended for their dedication to serving as role models and exemplary leaders to students and others in the occupational therapy profession. Faculty are recognized by students, fieldwork educators, and employers as caring teachers and scholars who foster collaboration within the practice community. This results in high student retention rates and graduates who are recognized as evidence-based, autonomous, motivated leaders in their work settings. 4. The occupational therapy students are recognized for their passion for occupational therapy, professional reasoning, leadership abilities, and work ethic. This results in students who are academically well-prepared, and confident in their ability to become lifelong learners and leaders in the profession.
New Research Grants
UIC OT to promote healthy lifestyles among Latino youth with disabilities through new community partnership Professor and head of the OT department Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar and kinesiology and nutr ition assistant professor Angela Odoms-Young received funding from the Chicago Community Trust for their project, “Development of a community coalition to promote healthy lifestyles among Latino youth with disabilities and their families.” The team will be working closely with participants and staff from El Valor and the Chicago Park District. In the photo to the left, Dr. SuarezBalcazar is meeting with OT MS and OTD students and postdoctoral fellow Ashmeet Oberoi, who are assisting on the project. L to R: Aliza Rothstein (2nd year MS), Alex Agudelo (OTD), Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar, Ashmeet Oberoi (postdoc), Melina Marte (2nd year MS), Kayla Smith (1st year MS)
New grant will offer help to people with disabilities in navigating healthcare
Illi-SOTA: Assistant professor Susan Magasi is the principal investigator on a five-year NIDRR-funded community-based participatory research study to develop, implement and evaluate a peer health navigator intervention to improve healthcare access, quality and outcomes for people with disabilities. The intervention, “Our Peers – Empowerment and Navigation Supports (OP-ENS),” will match Medicaid enrollees who have physical disabilities with highly trained peer navigators who will help them acccess care through a process of barrier identification, goal setting and action planning.
This study is part of a federallyfunded Rehabilitation Research and Training Center Grant on Improving Health and Function for People with Physical Disabilities (PI: E. Roth).
Building a knowledge translation collaborative to promote healthcare justice for people with disabilities
Susan Magasi was also awarded a nine-month grant from the UIC Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement to develop a knowledge translation collaborative between occupational therapy graduate students and people with disabilities.
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News from OT Faculty and UI Health Clinicians
OT Faculty News Clinical associate professor Kathy Preissner authored Occupational Therapy Practice Guidelines for Adults with Neurodegenerative Diseases, which was published by the American Occupational Therapy Association earlier this year. Celeste Januszewski, visiting clinical assistant pr ofessor , has been appointed to the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Mental Health Workgroup.
Ashley Stoffel and Sandy MagaĂąa mentored Marlen Garcia and Dallas Castillo, who were LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities) trainees for the 2013-2014 year and both are recent graduates of the MS OT program.
UI Health Clinician News The UI Health inpatient adult physical disabilities team welcomed a new COTA, Angela Bryant!
In October 2014, Kay McGee (pictured left), UI Health clinician and coordinator of the inpatient adult physical disabilities OT team, was awarded the UIC Award of Merit which recognizes employees for their sustained excellence in performance and commitment to their jobs.
Matt Clinger (pictur ed r ight), UI Health clinician, has joined the Academic & Clinical Collaboration Committee role to facilitate communication between UIH and the UIC OT Department. UI Health Clinicians Matt Clinger and Kate Ciancio have taken on increasing teaching roles in the UIC OT department.
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OT Student News
I L L I S O T A H A P P E N I N G S
UIC’s Illi-SOTA (Illinois Student Occupational Therapy Association) chapter engages in various service, professional development and networking opportunities to provide additional opportunities that complement the MS program. At the Fall Prevention Fair hosted by Palos Community Hospital, student volunteers joined OTs, PTs and vendors to spread awareness of fall risks and strategies to prevent falls for community-dwelling older adults. Topics addressed by students were low vision, fall management strategies, home safety, Matter of Balance and community resources.
L to R: Karen Lukaszewski, Molly Hoisington, Kathryn Duke, Melina Marte, Jazmin Carranza, Andrea Cebulski
Second-year MS students expressed interest in visiting the founding of the profession, Jane Addams’ Hull-House of 1889. Clinical associate professor Gail Fisher joined students in this hands-on learning experience. The Jane Addams Hull-House Museum is located on UIC’s east campus. L to R: Andrea Cebulski, Elizabeth Wade, Dorian Carter, Melina Marte
First- and second-year MS students participated in a kickball game with Rush OT students to develop new connections.
L to R (standing): Kayla Smith, Eva Hoffrichter, Andrew Dorgan, Janki Patel, Tabatha James, Evelyn Ingargiola, Ricky Mak, Andrea Cebulski, Cathleen Litz, Annie Elder (kneeling): Melina Marte, Merril Idiyalil, Luna Barry,Michael Barry, Aaron Picus
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OT Student News Illinois Occupational Therapy Association (ILOTA) 2014 Conference The 2014 ILOTA Conference, themed “Beyond Disability,” took place at the Hilton Lisle/Naperville, Oct. 2325. A record number of second-year MS students presented their research findings at the annual statewide conference through oral presentations as part of research platforms and at the poster session that took place. L to R (standing): Sara Ellena (recent UIC graduate), Andrew Dorgan, Staci Chan, Andrea Cebulski, Martha Mattingly, Merril Idiyalil, Melina Marte, Karen Seymour-Ells, Janki Patel, Elizabeth Wade, Jimmy Oldenburg (kneeling): Ricky Mak, Michael Barry, Jenny Popova, Aurora Tabar
ILOTA Conference Keynote Address
Joy Hammel, Wade/Meyer Endowed Chair in Occupational Therapy, presented the 2014 ILOTA Conference keynote address on the conference theme, “Beyond Disability.”
L to R (top row): First-year students Jessica Weiler, Kim The, Roshni Patel, Becky Sax, Karen Lukaszewski, Annie Elder, Eva Hoffrichter, Ana Garcia, Adam Kaltenhauser, Dalmina Arias, Emily Miller, Jocelyn Knight (middle row): Melanie Milling, Shannon Vogel, Sophia Anagnos, Sarah Easton (bottom row): Rachel Kim, Molly Hoisington, Aline Xayasouk, Jazmin Carranza, Amy Krischer
Fieldwork Experience Andrea Cebulski addressed self-advocacy as part of her level 1B fieldwork experience at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) Gateway Chapter in St. Louis, MO. She presented “Self-Advocacy and Effective Communication.” Through this presentation she highlighted her knowledge of core occupational therapy and disability studies concepts. She will be featured in the Student Voice section of ILOTA’s quarterly newsletter, The Communique, to share her opportunities and experiences as a fieldwork student in a nonprofit community organization.
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International News OT Student News
CASP – Therapists without Borders
In September 2014, the department of OT launched its Therapists Without Borders program in collaboration with the Ann Sullivan Center of Peru. Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar, Joy Hammel, Robin Jones, and OT clinician and OTD student, Carson Mumma launched the program. During their one-week immersion experience they had the opportunity to work with six different CASP participants and their families; to consult with several staff on many projects; to conduct an OT training workshop with 60 CASP staff introducing them to occupational therapy; to deliver lectures to university students; and to run a workshop for 350 parents on promoting healthy lifestyles during the School of Parents program.
Karolinska Institutet On October 13 and 14, the OT department and the Karolinska Institutet (KI) sponsored a twoday workshop on communitybased participatory research. Six faculty, one PhD student and two postdoctoral fellows from the KI Division of Occupational Therapy participated in the workshop along with several OTD and PhD students and OT faculty from UIC. L to R: Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar, Ann Helen Patomella (KI), Susan Magasi, Lena Borell (KI), Jenna Heffron, Staffan Josephsson (KI), Mandana Fallah Pour (KI)
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National News
Capitol Hill Day
L to R: Jamie Selfridge, Becky Sax, Dalmina Arias, Shannon Vogel, Gail Fisher, Evelyn Ingargiola, Kathryn Duke, Jessica Weiler, Jocelyn Knight, Tabatha James (not pictured: Kayla Smith)
Ten MS students accompanied clinical associate professor Gail Fisher to Washington, D.C. for AOTA’s Capitol Hill Day on Sept. 15, 2014. They were briefed by AOTA Federal Affairs staff on the latest bills affecting OT practice. This is the fourth year that OT students have received travel awards from the department to attend Hill Day.
Along with more than 500 other students and practitioners, the students met their U.S. representatives and senators and their staffs to advocate for expansion of access to occupational therapy and repeal of the Medicare outpatient therapy cap. “This was truly an incredible experience and really helped me understand the role of advocacy in our profession (and how important it is!). It was so inspiring to be surrounded by so many advocates who care so deeply about our profession and our clients,” one participant said.
Scholarship of Practice The OT department was honored to welcome Wini Scott, PhD, former department head, on Oct. 20, 2014. She presented, “A Conversation about Diversity: Why it Matters and How to Move Forward,” as part of the Scholarship of Practice lecture series. It was attended by students, faculty, clinicians and visitors from outside the department. Dr. Scott discussed a framework from which to examine ethnic, racial, and cultural diversity and led a group activity about critical thinking. Attendees examined the dimensions of diversity in a case study, shared their findings with the audience, and received enriching input from Dr. Scott.
Primary care expert visits UIC Sherry Muir, MOT, OTR/L, assistant pr ofessor of occupational science and occupational therapy at St. Louis University, was invited to the UIC OT department to share her experience in forging a role in primary care clinics in St. Louis. She co-presented at a seminar on the Affordable Care Act and primary care opportunities for students in the occupational therapy doctorate program. She also delivered a lecture for students and faculty, and she assisted the faculty in envisioning a role in primary care for the department. Plans are in the works for future collaboration.
OTD Proseminar presenters L to R: Mansha Mirza (UIC), Gail Fisher (UIC), Marla Robinson (University of Chicago), Sherry Muir (St. Louis University)
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Alumni from the 1950s and 1960s come back to visit the occupational therapy department
Twenty guests recently joined AHS assistant dean for advancement Elise Krikau and clinical associate professor Gail Fisher for an alumni luncheon. Six students provided assistance and served as guides for the visitors. For some alumni, it had been years since they had seen each other, and joyous reunions filled the halls, where the alumni viewed their newly restored and remounted class photos. The department benefits from strong support and connections with our alumni!
Scholarship of Practice Conference March 30, 2015 With distinguished lecturer Joy Hammel, PhD For updates and further details visit: www.ahs.uic.edu/ot
Editors: Melina Marte, Mariel Corona & Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Occupational Therapy 1919 W. Taylor St. (MC 811) Chicago, IL 60612 otdept@uic.edu This edition of the UIC Department of Occupational Therapy’s Progress Notes can also be viewed on the OT website: www.ahs.uic.edu/ot