VERNON MEMORIAL HEALTHCARE

Occupational Therapy Makes it Possible... For further information call (608) 637-4385

What is Occupational Therapy?
Occupational therapy is a health and rehabilitation profession that helps you achieve the highest level of function and independence possible, following a disability, illness, or injury.
Complete rehabilitation may require you to see several specialists at Vernon Memorial Hospital and Clinics, including a physical therapist or a speech therapist.
Occupational therapy is an important aspect of the team effort to get you back on your feet again.
Our highly-trained therapists will help you improve your strength, endurance, coordination, and functional abilities.
Occupational therapy helps you regain the motion and function you may have lost due to such things as injury or arthritis. It will help you regain your independence.
As a patient, you will need a physician ’s order to receive occupational therapy services.

Therapy is Provided in the Following Facilities :
* Vernon Memorial Hospital - inpatients and outpatients
* Local school systems
* Home Health
Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Training: O.T.s help people regain the basic skills they need to perform daily living activities. Patients learn to dress, feed, or bathe themselves again after a serious illness, injury, or surgery using compensation techniques or special adaptive equipment. Lymphoedema Treatment: O.T.s help people remove chronic swelling in their arms or legs through guided exercise, specialized massage, bandaging techniques, and a home program. Modality Treatment: O.T.s provide treatments to the arm or hand using heat or cold applications, electrical current, or sound waves. Home Assessments: O.T.s evaluate a patient’s home environment and provide recommendations to improve safety and independence. This may mean adding grab bars, an elevated toilet seat, or a shower bench to the home. Return to Work Programs: O.T.s perform work-related consultations, evaluations (Isernhagen evaluations) and treatment programs designed to return an injured person
to work. This may include injury prevention consultations within the industrial setting or on the job site.
What do People like about Occupational Therapy at Vernon Memorial Hospital?
At VMH you’ll find a wide range of rehabilitation professionals, including occupational therapists and certified occupational therapy assistants. These individuals work as a team to give you one-on-one attention as you recover from your injury or disability. The staff is committed and friendly.

Our O.T.s are highly trained in a variety of areas. This means that the same professional who works with you on carpal tunnel syndrome may also help your father recover from a stroke, or your nine-year-old work on handwriting activities in school.
School-based Therapy: O.T.s provide treatment to students with a variety of special needs. Goals are set to facilitate a student’s optimum level of development and maximize their success in the classroom. Splint
Fabrication: O.T.s fabricate splints to improve hand position, hand function, or to provide joint stability and protection.

Aquatic Therapy:
O.T.s provide therapeutic exercises in a warm water environment to assist certain populations in obtaining their therapy goals.

Watsu

 Hand Therapy: O.T.s provide evaluation and treatment for hand-related injuries that may result in loss of motion, loss of function, pain, or swelling. O.T.s commonly treat hand and forearm conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, wrist fractures, or tendon damage due to trauma. Nursing Home Therapy: O.T.s provide evaluation and treatment to the residents who are referred for therapy. The goal of O.T. is to maximize the resident’s level of independence with daily living skills or to prepare them to return home, or to a less restrictive environment.