SRMC therapists spread the word about their services

Occupational therapists won't help anyone find a job, but they do assist clients in becoming independent.

The four occupational therapists who work out of Sidney Regional Medical Center are focusing on community awareness during the month of April, occupational therapy month.

"We think of occupation as what people do throughout their day," said occupational therapist Tish Treinen. "And if there's any type of impairment or problem that impedes their independence, then we step in and help them."

OT patients can be babies, senior citizens or anyone in between.

For example, a child's occupation is to play, eat and sleep. If a child is unable to do any one of those things, she might need the help of an occupational therapist. It's much the same for adults.

"When you become an adult, your primary occupation is to take care of yourself and your family," said occupational therapist Reni Petik.

An occupational therapist's main goal is to help her patients gain independence. Many people don't understand the difference between an occupational therapist and a physical therapist, Treinen explained.

"Physical therapy gets them strong, but we get them independent," she said.

While a physical therapist might teach a patient how to walk, an occupational therapist might teach them how to get dressed or to get into a car.

The OTs at SRMC see in patients in long term care and home health patients, as well as pre-school and school-aged children.

Treinen evaluates children for physical impairment, environmental delays and developmental delays.

"We evaluate them and then decide if they need a program and then develop that program," Treinen said.

The therapists do a lot of work with patients at the hospital for upper extremity strengthening. They also assist patients with pain issues for repetitive strain and tendonitis.

The occupational therapy department agreed that they can make a huge difference in a patient's life.

"We take them from being dependent on someone to their independence," Treinen said.

This can be done through home modifications as well as through modifications in how a person dresses themselves using adaptive equipment.

"We make them as independent as they need to be or they can be," said occupational therapist Lacy Krysl.

Treinen teaches her patients how to play and to get around on their own.

"I think too, a lot with our outpatient caseload, I mean they come in and they're in pain and they can't use their arm, they can't do stuff and then by the end of it they're back to work and they're doing the things they need to do, want to do and are expected to do," said occupational therapist Jamie Rezac.

For example, when a patient receives a hip replacement, she isn't allowed to bend past 90 degrees. This make it difficult to put on shoes or socks.

"So if you tried to get yourself dressed without lifting your leg up, or without bending, how are you gonna do that?" Petik asked. "So we have adaptive equipment, they're called sock aids, reachers, shoe horns so that people can dress themselves without messing up the surgery that was done."

This prevents patients from needing to rely on others to help with basic tasks after surgery as well.

"Some people do prefer to let their spouse or a child help them, but there are some people that live by themselves and they wouldn't be able to go home if they couldn't learn how to use the adaptive equipment or the adaptive techniques so they could do it themselves," Petik said. "And we'd all rather be home, I think."

Many times patients are excited and surprised by the usefulness of the adaptive equipment, Treinen said. The occupational therapists at SRMC just want inform the public about their services during the month of April.

"I think a big thing for OT is getting our name out there," Rezac said. "Letting people know what we do, that we're here, that we can help them and we're not the same as physical therapists."

SRMC still receives phone calls from hospitals or facilities asking if occupational therapy is available at the hospital.

It's nice for patients receiving care in other cities to know that they can receive occupational therapy required by out of town doctors right at home in Sidney.

"I think, overall occupational therapy really looks at the whole person," Treinen said.

Occupational therapists don't just consider a patients' physical health, but her psychological and emotional health as well, she added.

"And if we see that there's something going on, that needs to be addressed, we do," Treinen said. "We don't focus in on say, just an arm."

SRMC's physical therapists conducted an activity last Thursday with Sidney pre-school kids to get the word out about occupational therapy. With the help of the occupational therapists, the kids made their own ice cream.