The occupational therapy profession is highlighted during the month of April nationally, as it is Occupational Therapy Month. Occupational therapists can help people of all ages (from babies to senior adults) with independence in daily activities. At Norton County Hospital, Chelsea Stagemeyer, OTR/L, sees patients regularly for evaluation and establishment of a plan of care, which can include exercise programs for post-surgical, muscle weakness and other upper extremity injuries. It can also include assistance for pain control and manual therapy for soft-tissue mobilization.
Chelsea discusses some of the ways she helps patients with fine motor coordination skills, pediatric therapy, fall prevention and home modification education, and wheelchair evaluations. Chelsea has a special interest in creating custom orthotic splints for hand and wrist injuries. Hear more about her work and the importance of occupational therapists in the health care system.
April is Occupational Therapy Month
Featured Speaker:
Chelsea Stagemeyer, OTR/L
Chelsea Stagemeyer, OTR/L, has a bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation studies from the College of Saint Mary, Omaha, Nebraska, and a master’s degree of occupational therapy also from the College of Saint Mary. She is the occupational therapist at Norton County Hospital. Transcription:
April is Occupational Therapy Month
Caitlin Whyte: April is Occupational Therapy Month. And occupational therapists can help people of all ages from babies to senior adults with independence in daily activities. At Norton County hospital, Chelsea Stagemeyer sees patients regularly for evaluation and establishment of a plan of care, which can include exercise programs, pain control, and manual therapy. She'll join us this episode to tell us more about her work.
From the plains of rural Northwest Kansas to you, this is Health in the Heartland presented by Norton County Hospital where medical experts aim to empower health at any stage of life. I'm your host, Caitlin Whyte. Now Chelsea, April is Occupational Therapy Month. To start us off, tell us what occupational therapy is and what we are highlighting with this month.
Chelsea Stagemeyer OTR/L: Yeah. Occupational therapy is a rehabilitation group that covers a holistic point of view to help people achieve their daily activities and what they find important to themselves. So like, if you have an injury or a stroke or a surgery, we can help modify or rehab you to get back to doing those things that are important to you, like getting yourself dressed every day or playing soccer or going back to work, anything like that.
We can also provide education for modifications or changes, so that way maybe the way you did it before the injury or surgery isn't the best way for you to do it. Now, we can come up with different ways for you to do it, that you can still be independent. My biggest thing as an OT is to make sure that you are able to independently do what you enjoy doing.
Caitlin Whyte: Tell us what it's like to be able to work with people of all ages from babies all the way to senior adults.
Chelsea Stagemeyer OTR/L: It's actually really cool. Working in rural health is an awesome opportunity because I get to see all gamuts of life. I get to see the babies and get to also work with the person who's 99 years old. And I love that you get to interact with people at, you know, some of their hardest points of life, but they have so much to teach you. And they also are so excited to figure out how to get better. And so I love just the variety that I get to experience every day. No two days are the same here and that's what I love.
Caitlin Whyte: Oh, I love that. And what are some ways that you're able to help these people of all different ages?
Chelsea Stagemeyer OTR/L: So it kind of just depends on what people are coming in for. But if it's for, you know, like after you broke your elbow, well, I'm going to work on increasing your range of motion, so that way you can feed yourself, wash your hair, go back to work and help with the strengthening of those things. I can do cognitive assessments. You know, as we age, our cognition isn't quite as sharp as it once was. We can make sure that we're as safe and as independent as possible for those changes.
And then I can also do wheelchair evaluations, so that way people can have accessibility to their environment and the community and everything that they want to go and be able to do, I can help provide the best equipment that they might need to achieve those goals that they have for themselves. But also just building relationships to figure out why they need my service.
Caitlin Whyte: So tell us about the process for a patient to receive occupational therapy. What do they have to do?
Chelsea Stagemeyer OTR/L: So in Kansas and with our hospital system, you just need to go and see your primary care provider and talk to them about what you're experiencing, and then they can refer you to occupational therapy and give you an order or like a prescription, is the easiest way for people to understand. And then you come in and we schedule you for an appointment.
The first appointment is an evaluation where it's kind of to understand what's going on, why this is debilitating to you and what we need to work towards to meet goals. It's very patient centered and individualized to those people. And then we create a plan of care that focuses on meeting those goals that we create together. Then the sessions will build up to those and we kind of check and make sure and assess that you are achieving the goals that you set throughout the whole plan of care.
Caitlin Whyte: Now, how does occupational therapy work with other areas of rehab, including physical therapy?
Chelsea Stagemeyer OTR/L: Yeah, I think it's super important to include other rehabs in, you know, my care, especially like for the inpatients that I treat. We kind of all work together. What I can help with can be incorporated with what they can help with. And if we all use those techniques together, we're going to provide the best success and best quality care for our patients.
So when physical therapy sees a patient in our inpatient unit, they might be focusing on ambulation like walking. Well, I can incorporate that into activities of daily living, like going to the bathroom or taking a shower. But it's important for PT to be involved to make sure their gait is safe and that they have the appropriate walking devices that they need, so that way I can focus on the activities of daily living portion of it.
A lot of times occupational therapy and speech therapy can be intertwined some also, because there's those gray areas between all of our departments. But if we work together to incorporate each of our skills, that patient's just going to have better outcomes and achieve the goals that those patients want to-- you know, to maintain their independence and get back to doing the things they were doing prior.
Caitlin Whyte: Well, it sounds like you're super passionate about what you do. Wrapping up here, what do you like most about your work?
Chelsea Stagemeyer OTR/L: I think my favorite thing about being an occupational therapist is the relationships that I get to make with my patients. I find it very important to be able to build rapport with my patients. I think that that's how you're going to achieve, and they're going to trust that you know what you're doing and that you're looking out for their best outcomes. And I think that making sure my patients feel that they're my most important priority at that point in time of my day. I think that it shows better outcomes in the end.
And I just love being able to talk to my patients and build relationships with them. And you learn so much. They have so much to teach me just as I do them. And I think that makes my day so much fun and makes the rest of some of the challenges that you might have in a day so much easier to overcome.
Caitlin Whyte: Wonderful. Well, Chelsea, is there anything we didn't touch on that you'd like to add?
Chelsea Stagemeyer OTR/L: I just think that occupational therapy is a service that we have here in our community that is often underutilized, but is a very good resource to have, and that a lot of people could benefit from. And I'm here, you know, to help with home safety, activities of daily living, hand and elbow injuries, anything that is causing debilitation for your daily life.
Caitlin Whyte: Well, thank you so much for your time and this information, Chelsea. And thank you for listening to Health in the Heartland. You may find out more about Norton County Hospital online at ntcohosp.com. That's N-T-C-O-H-O-S-P dot com. Take care of yourself and others. Be well.
April is Occupational Therapy Month
Caitlin Whyte: April is Occupational Therapy Month. And occupational therapists can help people of all ages from babies to senior adults with independence in daily activities. At Norton County hospital, Chelsea Stagemeyer sees patients regularly for evaluation and establishment of a plan of care, which can include exercise programs, pain control, and manual therapy. She'll join us this episode to tell us more about her work.
From the plains of rural Northwest Kansas to you, this is Health in the Heartland presented by Norton County Hospital where medical experts aim to empower health at any stage of life. I'm your host, Caitlin Whyte. Now Chelsea, April is Occupational Therapy Month. To start us off, tell us what occupational therapy is and what we are highlighting with this month.
Chelsea Stagemeyer OTR/L: Yeah. Occupational therapy is a rehabilitation group that covers a holistic point of view to help people achieve their daily activities and what they find important to themselves. So like, if you have an injury or a stroke or a surgery, we can help modify or rehab you to get back to doing those things that are important to you, like getting yourself dressed every day or playing soccer or going back to work, anything like that.
We can also provide education for modifications or changes, so that way maybe the way you did it before the injury or surgery isn't the best way for you to do it. Now, we can come up with different ways for you to do it, that you can still be independent. My biggest thing as an OT is to make sure that you are able to independently do what you enjoy doing.
Caitlin Whyte: Tell us what it's like to be able to work with people of all ages from babies all the way to senior adults.
Chelsea Stagemeyer OTR/L: It's actually really cool. Working in rural health is an awesome opportunity because I get to see all gamuts of life. I get to see the babies and get to also work with the person who's 99 years old. And I love that you get to interact with people at, you know, some of their hardest points of life, but they have so much to teach you. And they also are so excited to figure out how to get better. And so I love just the variety that I get to experience every day. No two days are the same here and that's what I love.
Caitlin Whyte: Oh, I love that. And what are some ways that you're able to help these people of all different ages?
Chelsea Stagemeyer OTR/L: So it kind of just depends on what people are coming in for. But if it's for, you know, like after you broke your elbow, well, I'm going to work on increasing your range of motion, so that way you can feed yourself, wash your hair, go back to work and help with the strengthening of those things. I can do cognitive assessments. You know, as we age, our cognition isn't quite as sharp as it once was. We can make sure that we're as safe and as independent as possible for those changes.
And then I can also do wheelchair evaluations, so that way people can have accessibility to their environment and the community and everything that they want to go and be able to do, I can help provide the best equipment that they might need to achieve those goals that they have for themselves. But also just building relationships to figure out why they need my service.
Caitlin Whyte: So tell us about the process for a patient to receive occupational therapy. What do they have to do?
Chelsea Stagemeyer OTR/L: So in Kansas and with our hospital system, you just need to go and see your primary care provider and talk to them about what you're experiencing, and then they can refer you to occupational therapy and give you an order or like a prescription, is the easiest way for people to understand. And then you come in and we schedule you for an appointment.
The first appointment is an evaluation where it's kind of to understand what's going on, why this is debilitating to you and what we need to work towards to meet goals. It's very patient centered and individualized to those people. And then we create a plan of care that focuses on meeting those goals that we create together. Then the sessions will build up to those and we kind of check and make sure and assess that you are achieving the goals that you set throughout the whole plan of care.
Caitlin Whyte: Now, how does occupational therapy work with other areas of rehab, including physical therapy?
Chelsea Stagemeyer OTR/L: Yeah, I think it's super important to include other rehabs in, you know, my care, especially like for the inpatients that I treat. We kind of all work together. What I can help with can be incorporated with what they can help with. And if we all use those techniques together, we're going to provide the best success and best quality care for our patients.
So when physical therapy sees a patient in our inpatient unit, they might be focusing on ambulation like walking. Well, I can incorporate that into activities of daily living, like going to the bathroom or taking a shower. But it's important for PT to be involved to make sure their gait is safe and that they have the appropriate walking devices that they need, so that way I can focus on the activities of daily living portion of it.
A lot of times occupational therapy and speech therapy can be intertwined some also, because there's those gray areas between all of our departments. But if we work together to incorporate each of our skills, that patient's just going to have better outcomes and achieve the goals that those patients want to-- you know, to maintain their independence and get back to doing the things they were doing prior.
Caitlin Whyte: Well, it sounds like you're super passionate about what you do. Wrapping up here, what do you like most about your work?
Chelsea Stagemeyer OTR/L: I think my favorite thing about being an occupational therapist is the relationships that I get to make with my patients. I find it very important to be able to build rapport with my patients. I think that that's how you're going to achieve, and they're going to trust that you know what you're doing and that you're looking out for their best outcomes. And I think that making sure my patients feel that they're my most important priority at that point in time of my day. I think that it shows better outcomes in the end.
And I just love being able to talk to my patients and build relationships with them. And you learn so much. They have so much to teach me just as I do them. And I think that makes my day so much fun and makes the rest of some of the challenges that you might have in a day so much easier to overcome.
Caitlin Whyte: Wonderful. Well, Chelsea, is there anything we didn't touch on that you'd like to add?
Chelsea Stagemeyer OTR/L: I just think that occupational therapy is a service that we have here in our community that is often underutilized, but is a very good resource to have, and that a lot of people could benefit from. And I'm here, you know, to help with home safety, activities of daily living, hand and elbow injuries, anything that is causing debilitation for your daily life.
Caitlin Whyte: Well, thank you so much for your time and this information, Chelsea. And thank you for listening to Health in the Heartland. You may find out more about Norton County Hospital online at ntcohosp.com. That's N-T-C-O-H-O-S-P dot com. Take care of yourself and others. Be well.