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I am finding myself more interested in cardiopulmonary care as my grandma was in the hospital over 5 weeks and received NO occupational therapy. I think it would be beneficial to spread awareness that this is in fact within our scope of practice. This is a brief description of how OT can be involved as part of a treatment team within a hospital. It is just one example of how and who all is involved in care of cardiac/lung patients at a hospital.

Bed Rail Entrapment Statistics Today there are about 2.5 million hospital and nursing home beds in use in the United States. Between 1985 and January 1, 2009, 803 incidents of patients* caught, trapped, entangled, or strangled in beds with rails were reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

I found this article interesting because the new protocol it addresses seems to help a patient bounce back after surgery, reduces recovery time, and reduces the use of narcotics after surgery. After all, getting back to the routine of life and our daily occupations is what we do in OT!

I found this really neat resource for individuals going through the cancer process. This program is for the patients at Columbia - Presbyterian Medical Center who are going through cancer treatments and the volunteers of this program will comfort them, provide them with information, or just sit with them when they are getting their treatment just to pass the time. All of the volunteers have had cancer so they understand the different aspects that it entails. This would be a great idea for other hospitals to implement.

This article gives a little history on the Shriners and their work with burn patients. With their four burn hospitals, Shriners cares for children with burn injuries from the time of acute injury through rehabilitation and individual reconstructive needs throughout their childhood.

This is the pamphlet from Hamilton General Hospital that is given to their burn patients. It covers everything we discussed in class with Teri in easy to understand language and provides visual aids of the different levels of burns. It also talks about the role of OT, exercises, diet and nutrition, coping and recovery, ADLs, caring for the skin, and what the patient is to do once they return home. Good info!

This article from AOTA really hit home with me. My mom had a stem cell transplant in November of 2012, and it saved her life. Your immune system is severely compromised during a stem cell transplant, and because of that she had limited access to people, and places outside the hospital. My mom is an adult, and she had a hard time with the limited social interaction, so I can only imagine how hard it is for a child to go through a stem cell transplant and be able to play with their peers at school or at a playground. I know a lot of us will not deal with cases as severe as a stem cell transplant, but it is still encouraging to know that occupational therapy can help. The therapist in the article worked with the kids to make sure they did not develop muscle weakness, or lose ROM while they were in the hospital. This article really made me appreciate the holistic care that OT provides, regardless of your age.

Home Mobility - Practical application of bed mobility, dressing techniques on the bed and in the wheelchair, bathroom accessibility and modification.

OSHA has developed safety guides that can be implemented in healthcare settings. Topics include: Slip/Trips/Falls, patient handling, ergonomics, etc.

WHO IS A CANDIDATE FOR ANTERIOR HIP REPLACEMENT? Many people suffering with arthritis, hip pain, stiffness and limited hip movement can now choose minimally invasive surgery when hip replacement is the chosen treatment of the patient and their doctor. One of the least invasive surgical options is Anterior Hip Replacement. No muscle detachment, no hip precautions. The only place that does this approach in Knoxville is UT hospital.

Physical restraint reduction was associated with significant reduction in average length of stay in convalescent medical wards, especially in the cognitively impaired patients.

This article talks about independent aging and living at home for as long as possible is always preferable to residing in a rest home, where you are away from what is familiar and existing in a hospital-like environment. But, you may have some natural fears to being home alone, just in case something happens. Just thought this article tied in to the upcoming home assessments

hanger prosthetics and orthotics. There is a Hanger location in downtown knoxville right by Fort Sanders Hospital.

This article talks about reasons why elder patients may be at risk for falling as well as strategies and modern technology to help improve safety in hospitals and nursing homes.

Group repository for online resources related to Theory and Treatment of Physical Disabilities

This video helps to understand what happens in the marrow and cells of someone going through a stem cell transplant. My dad went through this over the summer and he was healthy enough and his cancer cells were low enough that they could use his own stem cells for the transplant. It is amazing that the immune system can drop to undetectable during this process and a person not develop infection, but that was the case for my dad. He was only hospitalized and given 1 bag of plasma and 1 blood transfusion during his recovery and never had any infection. New treatments for cancer are being found all the time, but this disease seems to affect the majority of families.

Musculoskeletal disorders are developed over a period of time and doesn't result from instantaneous trauma such as falls. It is the leading cause of the most time away from work reported in workplaces.This article provides tips to prevent or slow down the disorders.

This article touches on several different issues related to occupational therapy. The article on burns is interesting, because it combines two different areas that we have studied, telehealth and burn rehabilitation. The OT in the article, along with other healthcare team members, discover the benefits of using telehealth to check in with patients who cannot make weekly visits to the hospital, like burn victims.

canine helpers visit patients in the hospital with cancer

I found this PDF about MET levels that was created by the Heart Centre at St. Paul's Hospital in Canada. I liked how they explained what MET is.

I haven't observed any acute or critical care units prior to OTA school or during fieldwork. This article gives a first-person account of what occupational therapy does in this setting.