Albany Med Inpatient Occupational, Physical Therapy, and Driver Rehab

Yesterday some of the OTs/PTs got together for one last hoorah with our PT Aide, Jada, as she leaves AMC and moves onto her next adventure in South Carolina. Jada, we love you and wish you all the best. 🫶🏼🏩

Happy OT month!! Congrats to Laura Franke on becoming the 1000th certified Neonatal therapist. Click the attached link highlighting her achievement!!
Awesome job Franke!! 👶🏼🏥❤️

https://neonataltherapycertification.com/ntcb-welcomes-the-1000-th-cnt-laura-franke/

Today we got to celebrate OT month and a few farewells. 💙🏥🍴

Happy OT MONTH! Meet Jaycee our newest level II OTD! 🩷

•How long have you been at Albany med?

I have been at AMC for almost 3 years in May.

•What motivated you to get vestibular rehab certified?

I learned how debilitating dizziness can be to patients, and was motivated to help others take away symptoms. I have been enjoying practicing vestibular rehab at AMC with our vestibular team (Jimmy and Jane too!)

•What is the stroke group you run and what does it include?

I started running a weekly stroke group on the neurosciences unit that focuses on utilizing the psychological/psychosocial aspect of our OT practice, to help facilitate patients positively grow after a traumatic event of a stroke. The group utilizes posttraumatic growth theory to help improve functional outcomes and decrease post-stroke depression and anxiety.

•Describe what you hope your patients take away from stroke group

The overall goal of the group is to provide hope to patients that have suffered from a stroke, and help others engage in meaningful activities of daily living.

•What has been your favorite population to work with

I enjoy working with neurological, multi-trauma, and cardiovascular patients.

•Would you rather vacation on the beach or mountain

I love the mountains so much, I enjoy hiking with my fiancé in the ADK and Lake Placid!

TBT to the solar eclipse Monday at AMC. A couple of the therapists were able to step out shortly & see it. 🌙 ☀️

April is Occupational Therapy Month. Follow along as we highlight different OTs in the AMC department! 🩷

Happy International Women’s Day to all the amazing women therapists we have here in the AMC department. 👩🏻‍⚕️👩🏼‍⚕️👩🏽‍⚕️👩🏾‍⚕️👩🏿‍⚕️

Here’s to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them. (May we treat them!)🩷

Check out some of our therapists participating in the Saranac Lake 3P!! The 3P’s include Pole (skiing), Pedal (biking), Paddle (kayak) and then a 5k. They got 23rd place out of 76 teams!
Nice job guys!⛷️🚴🏼🚣🏃🏼

The future AMC OT/PTs. 👶🏼🏩

Some of the AMC OT/PTs staying active & hitting the slopes this weekend. ⛷️🗻
Comment your favorite weekend activity to do when off work:

Shining a big spotlight and sending congratulations to our Physical Therapist Alix as she just passed her citizenship test! 🇺🇸 We are so proud of you and happy to have you as part of our team! 🎉

Rounding out OT month with another spotlight for our amazing COTA, Kellie! Get to know her below! 😊

What area of OT is your biggest interest and why?

The area of OT that is of interest to me is Sensory Integration. Throughout schooling, I was interested in Sensory Integration and how the sensory systems interact and can affect an individual's behavior/ function. Prior to beginning to work with more Adults/ Elderly individuals, I was mostly interested in sensory integration affects a child's behavior, specifically those with ASD and ADHD. Now that I have been working in the field with adults/ elders post-stroke, etc, I have started to become interested in sensory awareness, i.e. proprioceptive input and an individual's function.

How did you decide to pursue occupational therapy as a career?

I honestly am not 100% sure how I decided to pursue OT as a career. I always knew I wanted to work with people, specifically children or adults with disabilities, I started off in school studying to be a teacher, though had change my mind throughout schooling and started doing more research on Occupational Therapy and immediately realized that this is the field I want to work in, just reading and watching videos about what OT's do on a daily basis. I also worked in the dining department of a nursing home during the time of determining what I wanted to do and saw the residents using various types of adaptive equipment to maximize independence in self-feeding. Being able to work one-on-one with those residents/ individuals with various disabilities/ illnesses to maximize function/ independence in everyday living tasks.

What do you like to do for fun outside of work?
Outside of work I enjoy being outside- hiking/ walking, doing puzzles, reading, hanging with my cat Dale and my family.

What is your hidden talent?
Apparently I have a talent of winning things on the radio.

Our Physical Therapists created this wonderful potluck to celebrate the Occupational Therapists here at AMC for Occupational Therapy Month! We love our OTs and can’t thank you enough for all you do!

Special thanks to our wonderful photographer Armando for capturing the fun today 😊

Shining a spotlight on one of our amazing therapists Melissa! Melissa has been an amazing advocate for our profession throughout her time here at AMC. Get to know her below!

How did you decide to become an occupational therapist?
My dad suffered a SCI when I was in high school and spent a lot of time recovering on the inpatient rehab unit here at AMC, so I was able to see the positive impact OT had on his life and getting his independence back. I am now lucky to work with one of the OT’s who worked with him at that time (Laura Bauer).

Tell us about some of the initiatives you've started here at the hospital to advocate for OT and increase recognition of our role amongst other staff.
I started the ADL tool / grooming kit that has made a positive impact on a lot of units here. The grooming kits provide patients with basic daily care supplies while they are hospitalized to not only maintain their self-care but improve their independence in this area despite their current injury / deficits. The ADL tool was created to improve basic mobility in addition to daily self-care tasks to reduce length of stay here at AMC.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
5 years from now I’ll have an almost 5 year old and hopefully a couple other kids running around 😊

Happy Occupational Therapy month to all of our amazing OTs and COTAs here at AMC! Stay tuned for some spotlights of some of our amazing therapists throughout the rest of the month.

The Department of Diagnostic and Therapeutic Services is pleased to announce a Health Careers Exploration Day on April 29, 2023! This event is designed to introduce high school students to healthcare professions outside of the traditional doctor/nurse route. There is no fee associated with students coming to this event, and lunch will be provided. There will be a range of representation, covering multiple levels of secondary education. The last day we will be able to accept registration forms is March 31st. Please spread the word to family and friends! Those interested in registering or spreading the word can email Megan at [email protected] for registration information.

Some of the careers represented include:

Occupational therapist
Occupational therapy assistant
Physical therapist
Physical therapist assistant
Clinical laboratory technologist
Pharmacist
Medical imaging technologist
Respiratory therapist
Speech and language pathologist
Non-invasive cardiology technologist
Neurodiagnostic technologies

Our therapist spotlight this month is Jane Shanklin, one of our physical therapists. We also want to extend our congratulations to her as she has recently been named one of Albany Med’s I Care Ambassadors! Get to know her below:

How long have you worked for Albany Med?
I have worked at Albany Med for 8 years

Why did you become a physical therapist?
I always knew I wanted to be in the health care field. I liked how physical therapy incorporated my background in sports with helping people achieve their prior/new levels of function and improve their quality of life.

Can you explain your role as a physical therapist with the complex care team?
I report on patients current level of function and help facilitate discharge plans and equipment needs for more challenging cases.

What do you like to do outside of work to unwind?
Outside of work I like to ski, hike and be out on the boat. Depending on time of year of course!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year and our department has been spreading the holiday cheer! Our staff enjoyed lots of food, games, and gifts today at our party and rocked our holiday outfits throughout the hospital.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season from our PT/OT family to yours!🎄❄️☃️

Happy Thanksgiving from our PT/OT department! We hope you have a wonderful holiday with friends and family! 🦃

On November 5th, members of our staff attended a Rehab Symposium hosted by Saratoga Hospital. Not only did we attend, but also offered 2 courses hosted by some of our own. Christa Dijstelbergen and Erin Savage presented on Neonatal Therapy and Jimmy Alvarez del Castillo and Jaycee Volkmann presented on Vestibular Rehabilitation. Thank you to Saratoga Hospital for hosting this wonderful event and to our staff who did a great job with their presentations!

Celebrated our momma’s to be, Cate and Alaina, today by throwing them a baby shower during lunch break! Thank you to all of our wonderful staff who helped provide a delicious lunch and desserts! 🍼👶🏻

Thank you to Megan Wyand and Hannah Miles for coming to give an inservice on the Bioness today! The Bioness H200 is an electrical stimulation device that re-educates muscles and reduces spasticity, helping our patients improve hand function and voluntary movement. Our therapists have had great success with the Bioness H200 during inpatient rehabilitation treatment sessions and look forward to fully utilizing this device to continue improving our patients quality of life!

On Sunday October 16th, a few members of our department attended the Breast Cancer Walk! Way to rock the pink and show your support ladies! 🌸💓

Happy PT month to all of our wonderful Physical Therapy staff here at Albany Med! As a thank you, our OTs threw a potluck lunch to celebrate! 🎉

October is PT month and we are kicking it off by shouting out our wonderful physical therapy assistants Todd, Jess, Armando, Karl, and Al! Thank you for all that you do!

Stay tuned for more features of our PT staff throughout the month!

Today, September 21st, is World Alzheimer's Day. Our PT/OT staff showed our support by wearing purple!

Our OT Spotlight for the month of September features 3 of our newest members of the department, Annie, Molly, and Monica! Welcome to the AMC family ladies! We asked them why they wanted to become OTs. Check out their answers below!

Annie: “I wanted to become an OT because I spent a couple summers working at Double H Ranch as a counselor. I loved the idea of adapting activities to enable children to play no matter the obstacle, and then expanding that to help humans live full, beautiful lives!”

Molly: “I saw my brother get OT when he was little, and the job looked like a lot of fun! Then, I volunteered at a senior home and saw how many people OTs can work with and enhance their quality of life.”

Monica: “I chose OT as it allows me to directly improve and influence the lives of people of all populations, while simultaneously challenging myself to find creative solutions.”

September 18th-24th is International Neonatal Therapy Week!!!

This week we would like to recognize our amazing neonatal therapists, Laura B, Christa, Laura F, Erin, and our other therapists who are not pictured Kayla, and Lisa.

Thank you ladies for all that you do to help facilitate the development and well-being of our smallest patients.

We are hiring!! We have full time and per diem openings for Physical Therapists, Occupational therapists, PT assistants, and a Driver Rehab Specialist! Scan the code below for more information on each opening and apply today!

*Please note that the link leads to all available jobs throughout the hospital categorized under Rehabilitation & Therapy. Not all listings pertain directly to this department so please read carefully before applying.*

Celebrating the future endeavors of two of our wonderful therapists with delicious desserts.

We wish our Driver Rehab Specialist, Carrie, and travel Physical Therapist, Shermaine the best of luck in their next adventures. We also would like to welcome our new Physical Therapist Katie to the team!