Celebrate functionality with TAMC's occupational therapists April 27

By Stephanie Bryant , Tripler Army Medical Center Public AffairsApril 26, 2012

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HONOLULU -- Tripler Army Medical Center's Occupational Therapy Clinic is hosting an open house April 27 in honor of Occupational Therapy Month.

According to the American Occupational Therapy Association, OT is the therapeutic use of work, self-care, and play activities to increase development and prevent disability.

Patients are referred to the OT Clinic because their life has been affected by some loss of function and Leonard Cancio, certified hand therapist, OT Clinic, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Services, TAMC, said they go to OT to regain it.

"One of the biggest (goals) we pursue is functional independence of the patient," Cancio said. "Whatever (the patient's) disability is, whether it is a spinal cord injury or a psychiatric injury, our emphasis is trying to get them back to functioning normally, such as getting dressed in the morning or using the bathroom."

A lot of what OT does is similar to physical therapy, such as active range of motion and strengthening exercises, but OT has a broader range of services.

"We work a lot with hand rehabilitation, have a (traumatic brain injury) program, work with inpatients, like those who have had strokes, and even provide pediatric occupational therapy," Cancio said.

For Cancio, who has been an occupational therapist for 36 years and retired from Tripler six months ago as the chief of Physical Medicine, the OT Clinic provides the perfect workplace environment.

"It is very low key (in the clinic)," Cancio said. "Because we are so geared toward function, we are very much family-oriented. We see people so often and are gearing them toward returning to their normal functional activities that it becomes a very friendly, low-key kind of environment."

The staff in the OT Clinic are dedicated professionals who take the patient's full picture into account - a person's psychological, physical, emotional, and social makeup as well as their environment.

"We are dedicated to providing the best care for our active duty service members, retirees and family members; we use comprehensive evaluations, client-centered interventions, best practice models and a holistic perspective approach to enable quality care to everyone we see here," said Lt. Col. Vanessa Meyer, chief, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Services and OT.