After an injury or illness, individuals need comprehensive rehabilitation to lead meaningful and productive lives. Integral to their recovery is occupational therapy. Tailored therapy helps individuals regain skills to complete daily activities, from bathing and grooming, to money management and problem solving. Occupational therapy is also important because it helps individuals learn to live with any physical or cognitive deficits resulting from their injury or illness. Learning compensatory strategies can help patients live life to the fullest.
This April, Nexus Health Systems joins in celebrating National Occupational Therapy month. To recognize this important therapy, we’re highlighting our occupational therapy services. Engaging residents in functional activities to optimize their daily living, our team develops therapeutic activity agendas to meet a variety of skill levels. We begin residents with basic self-care skills which include bathing, grooming, feeding, and toileting. Then, we focus on redeveloping higher functioning skills, like cooking, cleaning, laundry, reading and writing, problem solving, telephone use, and social interaction.
Nexus Health Systems’ licensed therapists aim to provide a resident with the skills he or she needs to achieve independence in all areas of their lives ꟷ both cognitive and physical. A variety of functional tasks are used to target basic activities of daily living and independent living skills which enhances residents’ motor skills, self-esteem, and sense of accomplishment.
Offered in individual and group sessions, Nexus Health Systems’ occupational therapists utilize extensive on- and off-campus resources. Brandy Chastain, certified occupational therapy assistant, explained, “We have a lot of resources to use and we can be really creative with the occupational therapy activities we offer to meet our patients’ individual needs.” Our 26-acre campus provides home-like settings where residents relearn and practice skills. The campus boasts a fishing pond, horticulture center, car wash, and simulated apartment, to name a few.
Depending on what’s important to the resident, what they’re going to do when they discharge, and what kind of support they will have, our team develops a plan to address community reintegration. Through activities like trips to the grocery store, meal planning, and money management, as well as engaging technology and functional electrical stimulation and wearable biofeedback devices, we ensure our residents are prepared to be successful after leaving our campus.
This April, we’re excited to highlight our occupational therapy services! Should you be interested in more information, please visit our occupational therapy webpage or contact our admissions department at 855.729.0855