Last year I wrote a ''Thankful Blog'' including a list of things I was thankful for over the course of the year.  Likewise, I have many things to be thankful about this year.  They include: Great patients, coworkers and managers -In just 5 short months of working, I've learned a great deal from the people I interact with at work. ...

Check out the new robotic arm OTs and PTs in Ohio are using to help stroke patients regain strength and function in their upper extremities. There’s a picture with the story. http://www.chillicothegazette.com/article/20091125/NEWS01/911250316 The robot is called ReoTherapy, and it’s programmed to do five types of movement with the patient, ...

            One of the primary factors that control salaries of long term care therapists is the reimbursement fee schedule that is established by Medicare. Basically, dollar amounts are set for various levels of care, and each higher category means a higher reimbursement rate. Therapy minutes ...

As most of our readers know by now, our monthly magazine ADVANCE for Directors in Rehabilitation has ceased publication, and has been merged with the newly rebranded ADVANCE for Physical Therapy & Rehab Medicine. The new magazine, still distributed on a bi-weekly basis, will maintain all the popular features you've come to know and trust, ...

  One of the questions I get asked often is why I remain a COTA, and not further my degree to an OTR. This is a question I ask myself, and as much as the change would be nice sometimes, there are many reasons why I remain a COTA. Of course the educational factor is first. As much as I enjoy school, the things that come with it such as ...

  Happy Fall, fellow bloggers!  Brrrr...I have finally switched the summer clothes (oh, how I love them!) for the warm, cozy fall and winter ones (oh, how I NEED them!).  Actually, to be more accurate, my husband did the switching since our clothes are stored in the attic.  There was a time when I could have done this myself; ...

We lived in West Palm Beach, Florida. You'd think we would have been in heaven.  The sun, the sand, the glitz. But our experience was far from heavenly.  While I finished out the remaining six weeks of a contract assignment, my husband moved down to get us settled. He says if he'd have known then what he knows now, he would ...

  Healthcare reform, the economic depression, reduced insurance reimbursements, Medicare and Medicaid cutbacks, how will this affect the future of the COTA?             Some people are quite nervous right now, thinking that Obama's healthcare reform will eliminate the COTA position. ...

Yesterday was a bad day.  That's how I went to bed remembering it, anyway.  Mulling over its badness, I realized yesterday was really only bad in spots. Because those ''spots'' had come toward the end of the day, they eclipsed all the good that came before them.  My next thought surprised and challenged me.  I was only ...

  Well, I must admit that talking to others with different experiences and listening to the other side of the story is one good way to learn. This past weekend my thoughts were changed on the health care reform issues, and simply by listening to another opinion from someone who sees another side of the story. ...