Rockhurst University | Learning, Leadership and Service in the Jesuit Tradition

View the annual issue of Rockhurst University - Occupational Therapy News 2011 - 2012 (PDF)

AOTA Fieldwork Educators Certificate Program Workshop
Attention OT Fieldwork Educators,  AOTA Fieldwork Educators Certificate Program Workshop (PDF) is available April 24-25, 2013 in San Diego, CA at Annual Conference!

Occupational Therapy Research Capstone Symposium
Friday, Nov. 16th, 2012
2:00 - 6:00 pm
Science Center 115

2012 Occupational Therapy Research Capstone Symposium Schedule (PDF)

Click here to visit our OT blog http://www.otfieldofview.blogspot.com/.

Become our Facebook Friend!
That is right, we are on Facebook! Become our friend - it is a great way to reconnect with classmates and instructors. We are listed as Rockhurst Occupational - Therapy.

Please help us remember your OT class!
We would welcome any pictures you may have of your class. Please email to Beth Harris or mail at Rockhurst University, Occupational Therapy Department, Attn: Beth Harris, 1100 Rockhurst Road, Kansas City, MO 64110

McGee Family Gift Bolsters Occupational and Physical Therapy Training

Throughout the generations, Kansas City’s McGee family and the McGee Foundation have generously supported Rockhurst. From the Louis B. McGee Residence Hall and Joseph and Anne McGee Chair in Communications, to unseen infrastructure and maintenance improvements, gifts from the family and the Foundation have left an indelible imprint on the campus. The McGee Foundation is now making an impact in yet another area – a new occupational and physical therapy functional and mobility lab.

Through this gift, Rockhurst will build a “real-life” training environment for OT and PT students. In today’s healthcare environment, patients are discharged from rehabilitation programs and returning home earlier than in the past. Clinicians across the country have responded to this challenge by creating specially designed clinical spaces to carry out high-level functional and mobility simulation – in effect enabling patients to practice activities in a safe, true-to-life, simulated environment, before returning home.

The new Rockhurst lab will closely resemble a contemporary rehabilitation clinical environment with equipment that can be used with a wide range of patients and conditions. The lab includes features such as a functional living space complete with a kitchen and bathroom, which will allow students to work with simulated patient scenarios before they work with actual patients.

“We’re very fortunate in gifts such as this one, which foster professional excellence and best practices even before students enter the workforce,” said Amy Drouin, director of foundation and corporate relations. “This is an incredibly generous donation, one that takes our physical and occupational therapy programs to an entirely new level.”

OT Grad Featured in Rockhurst Magazine
The Winter 2010 issue of Rockhurst Magazine includes a story written by Jan Sokoloff Harness that features many graduates from Rockhurst University who are working in the healthcare field.

Titled, Rockhurst Cares for You, the article begins...

"A Rockhurst education touches your head, your heart and... your health? Absolutely. With undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide variety of health care fields, Rockhurst University delivers a powerful antidote to systemic problems in health care. We're educating doctors, nurses, therapists and others who enter the healthcare field devoted to being men and women for and with others. Bolstered by Jesuit values, Rockhurst alumni - including the six profiled here - approach each patient mindful of 'cura personalis,' care for the whole person."

We're proud that one of the graduates from our OT program was featured in this article. Brian Mills graduated in the class of 1990 and is now manager of therapy services at KU MedWest Therapy. Brian and a partner developed and patented a medical tool used in OT Practice.

Here's his story....

The people he met at Rockhurst continue to shape Brian Mills' career. Mills, manager of therapy services at KU MedWest Therapy and Wyandotte Therapy, recently partnered with physical therapist Larry Briscoe, '00, to create a medical tool that clearly reflects the compassion of "magis," and finding a more purposeful and effective way to carry out their work. The ethics at Rockhurst, the very high level of respect for the whole person and the idea that we're here to serve, never lapsed. I wasn't required to take religion courses, but the idea of service was there all the time and has become part of my career. I worked with a partner, Larry Briscoe, to create a multifunctional joint measurement tool. We approached it from a service perspective. By developing this tool, we can be more efficient with patients. For example, if we're working on the burn unit, it generally takes three therapists. One holds the extremity because of the skin grafts, another takes the measurement and — given the need for sterility — still another writes it down. By increasing the therapists' efficiency, we don't have to spend as much time manipulating the extremities being measured, so we can make it easier on the patients. Sure, occupational therapy is a career, but the idea that we're here to serve underlies all we do.

Brian Mills, '00
Occupational Therapy

Featured Alumni: Lisa Mayer-Berry
In order to honor the 20th Anniversary of the department it is important to remember Rockhurst University's emphasis on "Learning, Leadership and Service in the Jesuit tradition." Current students complete work and services keeping this mission in mind, but this mission has been carried throughout the years as Alumn continue to work while fulfilling the mission. A great example of this is Lisa Mayer-Berry of the Class of 1997.

Lisa has done several activities fulfilling the category of Learning. For two years she was a traveling OT, enabling her to not only learn about different facilities and diagnoses, but she was able to learn about different cultures as well as grow as a therapist. She was also co-participant in a DVD on Sensory Integration titled "Sensory Integration Strategies", produced by Gifted Learning Project in 2007.
Additionally, she has been published twice in OT Practice:

Mayer-Berry, L. (2001). In the clinic: Promoting occupational therapy in the school system. OT Practice, 6, 21-22.
Mayer-Berry, L. (2006). Worlds apart: Fine motor skills in children in the U.S. and in a developing country. OT Practice, 20, 24-25

Fulfilling the category of Leadership, Lisa co-authored an assessment and curriculum titled "Every Move Counts, Clicks and Chats: A Sensory-Based Approach to Communication" (2007).

Lisa also completed several activities to fulfill the category of Service. She completed a mission trip to Guatemala in the summer of 2005. Lisa has worked for the Infant-Toddler of Johnson county and Gardner-Edgeraton School District. Currently, she works part-time for Blue Valley School District and has been there for five years. Additionally, she has continued to proved in-services and presentations on Sensory Integration to local interest groups including KOTA and the Down Syndrome Guild of Johnson County.

Lisa was able to create a lot of great memories from Rockhurst. She still remembers enjoying the hands-on classes such as Kinesiology lab. She was also able to have fun with study groups and going out afterwards.

Thank you to Lisa for continuing to fulfill the Jesuit mission and provide a great example of what our department strives to be!

A Generous Thank You to Guest Lecturers!
This past semester we have been lucky to have so many amazing practicing OTs provide their knowledge and expertise. So thanks to all who have helped us expand our knowledge! We truly appreciate all you have done! If you are interested in sharing your expertise please contact Kris at kris.vacek@rockhurst.edu.

Ketti Coffelt-Johnson
Sue Cox
Ellen Klem
Kim Littlejohn
Peggy Lynn
Brian Mills
Linda Nobles
Jane Rues
Kim Salinski
Jamie Starcervich
Lora Wendling
Suzie Wiley

Occupational Therapy Alumni
We are looking for you! Please email your current information.

Alumni Corner
The Alumni Corner is a place for Rockhurst OT alumni to tell their peers about potential employment opportunities or just make a personal announcement. If you know of anything Rockhurst Alumni might be interested in hearing, please e-mail the information to Career Services. Career services is available to Alumni and Graduating Students. To check for new opportunities in Occupational Therapy, contact Mike Theobald by phone at 816.501.4061 or mike.theobald@rockhurst.edu