Second week with the NHS and things are moving along nicely. I've spent time with each of the relevant community health care groups. My own, the 24/7 team, is analogous to a medical ward in a hospital. Services are provided around the clock to patients who could very easily wind up in a hospital if not monitored and treated. Some patients get up ...

  ''I can explain it to you, Joey, but the understanding is up to you.'' - Dennis the Menace (by H. Ketcham), 11/23/09   What guidelines do you use when seeking informed consent from your clients? I have often thought about the challenges inherent in the concept of informed consent when interacting with and providing services for ...

I spoke with Emily Lopez Neumann, an an immigration attorney at Reddy & Neumann, P.C., Houston, TX, about the immigration process for PTs recently.  What follows is a Q&A of our discussion. Question: Are you seeing a change in the way immigration handles the PTs since the Doctorate of PT is becoming the norm? Answer: I have ...

Hey, all!  Here we are heading toward Thanksgiving and ''all you can eat Turkey Day!''  I crack up when people say, ''Gosh, I feel so tired after Thanksgiving dinner because of all those tryptophans!''  I can't imagine that it just might be from simply eating too much!  But who am I to judge, especially when I am ...

Based in Ann Arbor, MI, The Legacies Project archives self selected memories from the elderly population and categorizes it into videotaped histories.  It began as Jimmy Rhoades recounts a personal experience.  ''My dad was diagnosed with cancer and we were told he had six months to a year to live.  I was in my 20s and still ...

Back in August, I blogged about my mother and her attitudes about death. Recently, we had the opportunity – if you can call it that – to examine the subtleties of her perspective, and how it is reflected in her advanced directive. Mom was taken to the ER around 10 p.m. on Saturday night with severe back pain that turned out to be the symptom of ...

  Hi, again!  I'm afraid you caught me in another ''I wonder how people can BE that way'' mood!  I'll try to keep the frustration from weasling its way into my ''voice'' today; but it will be difficult.  So, let me tell you my story and get it over with. As an occupational therapist, I have had the distinct pleasure of ...

  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. ...

When I worked in Palm Springs I held a tape recorder for a gentleman during the therapy session who was recounting his time in the war and in great detail his time in Burma.  It was fascinating to hear this man's history.  He was doing it so his family will have a better understanding of him and a record of what he accomplished.  ...

The top story on CNNhealth.com today reads, ''Seniors Wii bowl for world record and for health.'' According to the Guinness World Records, a world record was recently set in Houston, TX--for the world's largest senior citizen Wii bowling tournament! The Houston area's largest Medicare HMO--TexanPlus--put on the event, which drew 600 senior ...