Guest Blog: Celebrating National Occupational Therapy Month

By: Jim Mecham, MSIE, OTR/L, CPE

This April, I am proud to partner with APTQI to celebrate National Occupational Therapy Month, a time to honor the occupational therapy (OT) profession, recognize dedicated practitioners, and raise awareness about how occupational therapy helps improve individuals’ skills and mobility used in everyday activities. The support occupational therapists offer helps enhance the health, well-being, and independence among Americans across the country.

Occupational therapy offers rehabilitative care and plays a vital role in helping individuals regain function for daily activities following illness, injury, or disability. This is achieved by tailoring interventions to the patient’s needs, establishing and adapting routines, and offering cognitive and emotional support. For older individuals, OTs can bring valuable insight for determining prevention strategies to avoid falls and promote safety, which is particularly important as falls are the leading cause of injuries and injury-related fatalities. By helping patients overcome physical, emotional, and social challenges, occupational therapy can help also older adults maintain their ability to perform daily tasks – preventing injuries and hospitalizations and allowing seniors to live full, self-sufficient lives.

When it comes to falls, I take prevention personally. My own grandmother suffered a fall, leading to a broken arm and forcing my grandfather—who was at the time an active 88-year-old golfer—to stay home and become a caregiver for her. Within a few years, both of my grandparents had passed away, largely due to the lasting impacts of my grandmother’s fall. Millions of families nationwide have similar stories, but this does not have to be the case. Physical and occupational therapy are specially designed to identify risks and prevent falls before they occur.

The Stopping Addiction and Falls for the Elderly (SAFE) Act (S. 2612/H.R. 1171) would give Medicare beneficiaries access to a no-cost falls risk assessment from a physical or occupational therapist—the falls prevention experts—as part of their annual wellness exam. Last month, I joined APTQI on the Hill to engage with lawmakers and advocate for the SAFE Act so that what happened to my grandparents doesn’t happen to other families.

Join us in celebrating National Occupational Therapy Month by taking action to keep older adults safe and at home. Urge your lawmaker to pass the SAFE Act HERE.

Jim Mecham, MSIE, OTR/L, CPE, is the President, Chief Operating Officer, and Co-Founder of OccuPro.