Session Description

8:00AM-9:00AM: Keynote

Keynote

COL Paul F. Pasquina, MD;

TBA

Management of Orthopedic Upper Extremity Injuries within a Soldier Population: Best Current Practices

Krista L. Brown, CPT, SP, OTR/L, CHT; U. S. Army Medical Specialist Corps, Ft. Sam Houston, TX
Jason Judkins, CPT, MOT, OTR/L; San Antonio Military Medical Center, Ft. Sam Houston, TX

Occupational therapists working within the U. S. Army work with a variety of service members with diverse upper extremity orthopedic injuries. This session will present current practices for the management of orthopedic upper extremity injuries within this population. It will present unique challenges faced by Soldiers returning to duty following such injuries. It will also discuss the role of occupational therapy in facilitating the Soldier's return to everyday activities and warfighter tasks.

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Occupational Therapy in the Battle Against Pain

Joyce Engel, PhD, OT, FAOTA; University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI

Pain is a primary reason to seek as well as avoid healthcare. This workshop will increase our understanding of pain in service members. The nature and scope of pain will be characterized.  A biopsychosocial model of pain will be used to discuss methods of pain assessment and to explore common occupational therapy interventions for pain.

Occupational Therapy's Role in Utilizing Assistive Technology to Meet the Needs of Service Members & Veterans with Traumatic Injuries and PTSD

Melissa L. Oliver, MS, OTR/L; McGuire VA Medical Center, Richmond, VA

The knowledge of various assistance technology devices and strategies is critical when evaluating and training individuals with traumatic injuries and PTSD.  This presentation provides an overview of assistive technology and occupational therapy theory and how to incorporate that into the occupational therapy evaluation process.  This session will focus on the benefits and challenges when using assistive technology as well as the implementation and training of the technology.  During the session, various examples of assistive technology devices for various traumatic injuries will be discussed including future possibilities of assistive technology.

Ted Chapman, MS, OTR/L, CHT; U.S. Army Medical Specialist Corps, Fort Sam Houston, TX

This session will discuss the rehabilitation of burn casualties with a focus on improving speed towards healing and restoring function.  The session will begin by describing the assessment and treatment of burn wounds, to include grafts and flaps, followed by a discussion on the prevention and correction of burn scar contracture and deformity.   However, the majority of the session will be on describing and discussing the primary obstacles to restoring function:  Cardio-Vascular, Neurological, and Integumentary Systems with an emphasis on managing complications related to deep burns to the face and hand.

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Bringing TBI and Vision Into Focus: What Can We Do as Occupational Therapists

Imelda Llanos, MS Visual Disabilities, OTR/L; James A Haley VA Medical Center, Tampa, FL

This presentation will cover the most common visual consequences in brain injury, with focus primarily in TBI. A discussion of findings found in this population will be presented as well as the functional complaints usually associated with them. Areas that will be covered will include vision loss, visual field loss, oculomotor disorders, and visual processing challenges. An overview of assessment tools and intervention strategies to address these vision problems will be presented.

Occupational Therapy:  Bridging the Gap between Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) and Return to Work

Paul A. Fontana, OTR, FAOTA; Center for Work Rehabilitation, Inc., Lafayette, LA

This presentation will give the attendees an overview of an industrial occupational therapy program designed to assist the wounded warrior's return to competitive employment.  Regardless of whether the injured soldier wishes to remain in the military or transition into civilian employment, the skills of the occupational therapist are instrumental in facilitating the improvement of the soldier's physical functioning which are critical to landing and maintaining meaningful employment.  Through progressive work conditioning, work hardening, and realistic functional capacity evaluations, the Industrial Occupational Therapy Programs will improve the individual's level of function, improve the individual's ability to sustain activities 8 – 12 hours/day, day in and day out that is needed for maintaining competitive employment as well as ensure a documentation system that will both objectify the functional results and provide strong defense when challenged.

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Best Occupational Therapy Practices for Service Members with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Mary Vining Radomski, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA; Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Institute; Minneapolis, Minnesota;
MAJ Sarah B. Goldman, PhD, OTR/L, CHT; Office of the Surgeon General, Falls Church, VA

Service members with concussion/mild traumatic brain injury (c/mTBI) present with acute and possibly chronic symptoms that may interfere with their return to duty and community life.  Occupational therapists play important roles in soldiers' and veterans' recovery, rehabilitation, and reintegration after c/mTBI.  In this session, we will be describing Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs structures and resources that advance recovery after c/mTBI. We will also provide an in-depth review of Version 2 of the Army Office of the Surgeon General/ Rehabilitation & Reintegration's Mild TBI Toolkit, with emphasis on recommended assessments and interventions for occupational therapists.

Soldiers in Transition

Sheri Michel, OTD, OTR/L; Warrior Transition Battalion, Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, TX;
Elizabeth Sadler, MHA, OTR/L; Army Office of the Surgeon General, Falls Church, VA

Occupational therapists, working for the US Army, provide services across the full continuum of care. This session will focus on the ongoing journey of rehabilitation and reintegration of the wounded, ill, or injured Soldier. This session will discuss the role of occupational therapy in the Soldier's transition back to productive occupation as either a Soldier or a civilian.

Occupational Therapy with the Wounded Warrior Amputee: Best Practices and Current Updates

This session will review amputee and prosthetic training for military members with major limb loss. Topics include: a review of an upper extremity amputee protocol, use of mirror box for phantom limb pain management, advances in upper extremity prosthetics, rehabilitation after targeted muscle reinnervation, and current research updates in amputee rehabilitation.

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Treating Core Symptoms of PTSD Using Sensory-Based Strategies

Teresa Gomez-Lansidel, OTR/L; Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX
Lynn Stoller, MS, OTR/L, RYT; Cotting School; Lexington, MA

Recovery from PTSD has often been elusive, though this picture is changing with the advent of new evidence-based treatments. Occupational therapists aim to help those with PTSD recover, compensate, or adapt so they can reengage in necessary daily life activities. This session will present a general overview of PTSD, describe recent neurobiological discoveries that should be considered when developing best practices for PTSD, and highlight occupational therapy approaches to PTSD treatment. Participants will learn emerging sensory-based strategies, which when combined with effective cognitive and occupation-based treatment practices, provide optimal conditions for symptom relief from PTSD, and re-engagement in life.

Yasmin Gonzalez, OTR/L, ABDA, CLT; James A Haley VA Medical Center; Tampa, FL

This session will address spinal cord injury & diseases. Areas to be addressed include: illustrations of pathways, assistive technology equipment, orthotic, functional electrical stimulation/neuro-prosthesis use, research, and need for specialized education. As we identify our polytraumatic patients we must be educated on multiple types of approaches which may address the orthopedic upper extremity injuries, amputations, mild traumatic brain injury and other. This presentation will address the clinical areas that would facilitate these specialized treatments. These areas will discuss: EADL environmental activities of daily living and the ventilator dependent patient, hand function and neuro-prosthesis, general management of SCI OT, polytrauma challenges and upper extremity injuries. As we share our experience, we hope to offer the attendants tools to understand and deliver a continuum of care as they are serviced in all our OT areas in the VA's and civilian facilities around the Nation.

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Fundamentals of Driving Assessment after Brain Injury:  Evidence Based Guidance for the Generalist Occupational Therapist

Theresa Prudencio, MPH, OTR, CDRS; William Beaumont Army Medical Center; El Paso, TX

The session will focus on an in-clinic assessment model that combines state driver license guidelines with evidence based measures of performance that are considered essential for safe driving. The model guides assessment, referral, and timing of intervention. Participants will practice using the model through case studies presentations during the session.

Impact of Deployment, Injury, and Psychological Health on Military and Veteran Families: Prevention, Intervention, and Resources

Gregory Leskin, PhD; UCLA National Center for Child Traumatic Stress, Los Angeles, CA

The overall goal of this session is to explain the potential impact of deployment, psychological health status, and physical injury on military and veteran families, including military children.  The attendees will be able to describe risk and resilience factors that may serve to endanger or protect the psychological health of military family members and be able to list current prevention and intervention efforts, including evidence-based practices, offered through the military and civilian organizations that support the psychological health of military families.  Military and civilian service providers will be able to demonstrate their ability to quickly access high quality resources in order to conduct appropriate assessments, delivery quality interventions, and provide expert case management for military families and children.

Discharged: Facilitating Role Transition for Reintegrating Soldiers, Veterans, and Their Families

Leslie F. Davidson, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA; Shenandoah University, Winchester, VA;
Mary Vining Radomski, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA; Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Institute; Minneapolis, Minnesota;

With the drawdown of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, hundreds of thousands of Service members, and their families, will embark on the complex mission of transitioning.   Occupational engagement shapes transitions for these men and women as boundary crossing, reframing identity and social expectations, and negotiating cultural shifts are hallmarks of these changes. In this session, we examine role transition theory as reflected in the Service member's journey from military life during a time of war to civilian life. We propose occupational therapy practices that are designed to facilitate transition to civilian occupational roles and suggest implications for the profession's transition post-war.