April is National Occupational Therapy Month

April 21, 2005
By Jesse Virgil
Staff Writer

Occupational therapy is skilled treatment that helps individuals achieve independence in all facets of their lives.

Occupational Therapy gives people the "skills for the job of living" necessary for independent and satisfying lives according to www.aota.org.

April is nationwide occupational therapy month celebrated by all OT specialists and organizations such as: The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, National AMBUCS, Inc. and VSA arts.

Occupational therapy is a practice needed for those with work related injuries, limitation following a stroke or heart attack, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, mental health or behavioral problems including Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress, burns, spinal cord injuries, amputations, broken bones or other injuries from falls, sports injuries, or accidents.

At St. Ambrose a special treat was presented to the OT department by the mayor of Davenport, Charlie Brooke. On April 18 he proclaimed April occupational therapy month in Davenport.

As for St. Ambrose itself, the OT department has found an interesting and exciting way to celebrate a subject they hold dearly.

“There are campus-wide trivia question going out to all the faculty members,” second year OT student Beth Imel said.  “There are prizes awarded to people who are right. There are also trivia questions that go out to all the OT students and whoever gets the questions right get put in a jar and people can little prizes.”

Currently the OT department has 65 students enrolled in the field.  While 25 are graduating this semester, the department will grow by five students with 30 new arrivals in the fall.

Recently, St. Ambrose and Genesis announced a new building of occupational therapy and physical therapy, which is scheduled to be in use by fall 2008.

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