Welcome from the Leader of the Executive Committee - Cathleen Johnson, OTRL
Hello MiOTA members!
I hope you had a wonderful OT month! We had a fantastic, well attended virtual conference in celebration on April 23rd. Thanks to all who participated. It was a great opportunity to obtain a number of educational requirements for re-licensure. A big thank you to the conference committee!!
AOTA celebrated this year live in San Antonio; it was a great showing of 5,000 professionals learning from one-another, sharing resources, and networking. It had an inspiring keynote presenter, many festivities as it was the beginning of their “fiesta” event in San Antonio. After a break from our annual conference nationally, it was great to connect with friends, peers, and colleagues. The keynote, Dr. Bertice Berry, PhD, is a comedian, author, and lecturer. Her message had the crowd laughing and crying and left participants with a message that we each have a unique purpose it is our job to find it and share it. If you were not at AOTA, I encourage you to look up this incredible speaker.
There were many MiOTA members at the annual conference, good friends who attend regularly together as well as members who were recognized by their service to the profession of OT through the designation of Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association (FAOTA). This year Claudette Stork-Reid and Denise Justice, dedicated MiOTA members and volunteers received this extinguished award. Congratulations Denise and Claudette!
As the Leader of the Executive Committee for MiOTA, I participated in the Affiliated State Association President (ASAP) meeting. This two-day meeting provided opportunities to learn from other states and share our successes and opportunities as an organization. Here are some of the talking points or take-aways from the ASAP meeting
Potential changes to the structure of the Representative Assembly its structure and 13 motions related to bylaws – there were town hall events (Sara Androyna attended this meeting virtually and has an update in the newsletter on what to expect in the future as it relates to a vote by AOTA membership)
AOTA is willing to have a pilot of a group of states where AOTA financially supports a small group to determine whether a consistent management group for state associations would benefit from efficiencies and streamlining of databases. MiOTA has not committed to be a part of the pilot however we are considering to be part of an informational call as a executive committee to if we want to be part of the small pilot with AOTA.
From the Political Action Committee of AOTA we heard a number of updates:
-Telehealth – AOTA advocating for other permanent legislation Extended Telehealth Act
-Congress passed legislation to extend current Medicare telehealth – 151 days after public health emergency
-Medicare Part B cut for OTAs – focused on rural areas to be exempt; delay implementation due to high burnout rate; standardize the supervision requirements;
-2022 Cuts to Medicare Services – SMART act – need congress to pass to pause this cut the rest of 2022
-Home health – 1/1/2021 OT able to open cases; - which leads to greater leadership opportunity
From our Legislative and Regulatory Support of AOTA
Positive discussion about telehealth continuance;
MA as a qualified mental health practitioner – they are working on this
OT compact act – enacted – 16 states -Michigan is not yet one of the states however we have set targets to initiate lobbying in Michigan
If you are receiving this email, you are a MiOTA member – THANK YOU!
Best Regards,
Cathleen C. Johnson, Leader of the Executive Committee, MiOTA
The first MiOTA spring conference was a huge success! We had nearly 200 attendees in every session at our virtual event!
The concentration of presentations was related to areas of licensure. We heard presentations regarding the rules and regulations of licensure in Michigan, implicit bias, documentation, pain management, mandatory reporting, and human trafficking.
The conference planning committee would like to thank all the speakers who volunteered their time and Saturday to present to the attendees.
All sessions with exception of the implicit bias in healthcare were recorded. If you registered for the conference, you will be able to view these sessions asynchronously for a month after conference.
For those who were unable to attend the conference and you did not register, you will have the opportunity to purchase a session via the link on our website. _______________
The virtual session on “Managing Difficult Patients” was rescheduled to occur at the face-to-face conference this fall; October 6-8, 2022, at the Radisson Airport Hotel in Grand Rapids.
See you all this fall!
Denise Justice,
Conference Committee Chair
Denise Justice
Claudette Stork-Reid
ASAP Meeting
WMU Reception
Guacamole at Boudro's
OT Student - Abigail Fallon = $1000
Abigail Fallon is a second year OTD student at the University of Michigan – Flint. She graduated from Western Michigan University with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science. In her two-year gap from undergrad to graduate school, she was a Rehabilitation Technician at the University of Michigan Hospital in the inpatient rehab unit which is where her love for OT grew and where she knew OT was the profession she wanted to pursue for the rest of her life. Her current passion and special interest area is working with chronic conditions as well as neuro rehabilitation.
Abigail currently serves on the board of the HEART pro-bono clinic that is student run by the Physical and Occupational Therapy students at University of Michigan. The hands-on experience she has had working with chronic conditions as well as neuro patients has made her even more excited for the future. For her doctoral capstone, she will be working in Scleroderma research and is hoping to make a positive impact on the rare, progressive disease. As was her goal when she had chosen the field of Occupational Therapy, she’s excited to have the opportunity to provide hope to these patients and to help them regain the ability to participate in tasks that they might not have thought were possible anymore. Patients with rare diseases can often feel forgotten about or overlooked, but it is her hope to provide them with the attention and care they deserve.
She was so grateful to have been chosen as a MIOTA Student Ambassador in the Fall of 2021 as the MIOTA Conference introduced many areas and emerging practice areas she had not yet learned about. She is so thankful to be a part of MIOTA and she is so excited and honored to have received this scholarship.
OTA Student - Angela Shaffer = $1000
Angela is a second-year OTA student at Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC). During her time at GRCC, she became a Phi Theta Kappa honor society member, facilitated virtual study groups for exams and quizzes, and actively participated in the Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA).
With SOTA, Angela volunteered with the OTAS program cohort making sensory take-home kits for elementary school students. She was on the bulletin board committee and a member of the "April is OT Month" SOTA sub-group. This group increased awareness of the profession by creating an infographic poster that was distributed throughout GRCC’s downtown campus. Angela assisted Professor Robin Pegg with a “make-and-take” activity and an in-service presentation at the United Methodist Community House- Child Development Center. She utilized social media to promote SOTA at Matthews House Ministry- a physical donation drive for winter supplies (tents, sleeping bags, and blankets) for the Grand Rapids homeless population. Angela facilitated one of six groups at a SOTA and MOKA event by designing an interactive rainbow yoga practice for MOKA clients with varying abilities. MOKA is a non-profit organization with a mission to support children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Angela is passionate about mental health care with a focus on early intervention, geriatric care, and postpartum/peripartum mood disorder treatment. She has a heart for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and is dedicated to helping each individual reach their full potential. She is committed to being a lifelong learner and looks forward to making a difference in the community through occupational therapy. When you get to know Angela, you will find that she is deeply inspired by the diversity and specialty applications in occupational therapy treatment.
Finance Report - Cindy Klinger COTAL
The MIOTA finances are doing well. As finance director I have enjoyed seeing MIOTA grow and work in the black year by year. This week I instructed Keeli to transfer $12,000.00 from the checking account to the savings account. This leaves enough funds to pay the rest of 2022 and put funds towards updating the MIOTA Website Our finances are as follows:
March 31, 2022
Income: Budget: $110,702.00
(Actual): $24,181.05
Expenses: Budget: $104,280.00
(Actual): $16,587.95
Net Income: $7,594.10
Account balances as of 2/28/22:
Checking: $50,694.83
Savings: $14,514.06
CD for Scholarship: $23,064.93
Bills Approved for payment:
MHSA for April $4,000.00
Vieth for – April $130.00
Scholarship Winners $1,000.00 each totalling $2,000.00.
When the CD becomes due we will transfer funds from the CD to the general account to cover the $2,000.00
Thank you for your support.
Membership Updates - Sonny Grendel, OTRL
Happy OT Month! On behalf of the Membership Committee…Thank you so much for being a MiOTA Member.
MiOTA Monthly Spotlight – We are encouraging YOU to nominate a fellow MiOTA member (or yourself!). If you have a nomination, please contact Renuka Roche (rroche@emich.edu).
The membership committee is committed to continuing to educate about the benefits of being a MiOTA member. Please invite us to attend an in person or virtual meeting. If you would like to schedule a time for one of us to attend an upcoming meeting, please contact Sonny Grendel (sonnykay12@gamil.com).
Advocacy Updates - Denise Henderson, OTRL
LOBBY DAY: What a great opportunity to connect, communicate, and advocate for occupational therapy with state representatives and within the profession. On February 24th we celebrated Lansing Lobby Day with a kickoff session by Bret Marr, our MiOTA Lobbyist, and the Advocacy Committee with over 80 people attending virtually. We hosted 5 virtual breakout sessions with OT practitioners and students gathering valuable information and feedback on “action topics”: New Pediatric Feeding Disorder codes, Understanding Auto No Fault, Interstate Licensure Compact, Telepractice, and documentation. Additional information on these action items is posted on the MiOTA website. Throughout the last week of February, 12 legislative meetings occurred with representation from students and OT practitioners from all over the state which increased OT awareness among state representatives. This year we also launched the ‘Student Advocacy Video Initiative’ and 9 videos were submitted from 4 different universities. Way to go students! You can view these advocacy videos posted on the MiOTA website under the Advocacy page.
OT MONTH: MiOTA would love to hear about the amazing OT Month activity that occurred across the state. Please share any videos, photo’s, outreach, or project in a brief narrative write up and submit to advocacy@miota.org by May 20,2022. We would like to share this on the website and Fb to increase year round advocating for OT.
AOTA CALL TO ACTION: AOTA has recently announced they are enhancing their Bylaws to “ensure a responsive and inclusive association for the future.” Two informational sessions will occur over the next two months with an opportunity for all eligible members to vote on the proposed Bylaws in June. Please take the time to attend an informational session, share your voice, and vote on the proposed Bylaws impacting your everyday OT practice. Follow this link to register for an informational session and for more information on the proposed Bylaws. Governance Enhancement Initiative
~ Advocacy Committee
Spring Representative Assembly Information - Sara Androyna, OTRL
Happy Occupational Therapy month!
The RA held its Spring 2022 meeting as a hybrid meeting on March 30, 2022. This was
the first time the RA has held a hybrid meeting. The hybrid meeting was recorded and is
available to members to watch on the AOTA website under the RA page. There were 13
motions being discussed and voted on. Motions 2-7 and 11 were on the consent
agenda. During the Meeting motions 3, 4 and 5 were removed from the consent agenda
to be further discussed. Below you will find all of the motions with the results of the
voting. After voting on the motions the RA discussed the member requests for RA
Action. The RA took a vote to consider whether to explore the requests for action on
“social media usage and E-professionalism standards in OT/OTA Education”. The RA
voted to not move forward with the request as it is clearly defined within the code of
ethics. As the outgoing RA member for Michigan, you may be aware that no one was
nominated to replace my position. This will leave our state without a Representative on
July 1st. They are beginning the process of selecting appointees to fill my position in
accordance with our bylaws. A message will be broadcast to AOTA members in the
next few days, but I am reaching out to you to see if you may know of an aspiring OT or
OTA in Michigan that you would approach about the position. It is imperative that we
have full representation to address motions brought before us as well as managing
potential changes to our governance process.
Respectfully,
Sara Androyna OTRL
Michigan Rep to AOTA Representative Assembly
Motion 1: Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstone: Purpose and Value Passed
Motion 2: Rescind the Official Document titled “Occupational Therapy’s Perspective on
the Use of Environments and Contexts to Facilitate Health, Well-Being, and
Participation in Occupation. Passed
Motion 3: revised Policy E.3 Occupation as the Common Core of Occupational Therapy
and rescind Policy E.2 The Philosophical Base of Occupational Therapy and Policy
E.13 Reaffirmation of Commitment to Occupation-Based Practice. Passed
Motion 4: Rescind Policy E.4: Publication of Items for Action to the Assembly.Defeated
Motion 5: Rescind Policy E.5: Assembly Election Area and Representation. Defeated
Motion 6: Revised Policy E.7: Support of Post Entry-Level Education. Passed
Motion 7:Revised Policy E.9: Licensure and rescind Policy E.12: Licensure Portability.
Passed
Motion 8: Societal Statement on Conversion Therapy. Passed
Motion 9: Societal Statement on Community Violence. Passed
Motion 10: Societal Statement on Gun Violence. Passed
Motion 11: Position Statement on Chronic Conditions. Passed
Motion 12: Sustainability and Climate Change Passed
Motion 13: Affirming Sexual Orientation: Passed
URGENT NEED! Delegate to the AOTA Representative Assembly Needed!
Michigan is in need of a delegate to the AOTA Representative Assembly!
The term for the RA member for your state will end on June 30th which will leave your state without a Representative. It is imperative that a candidate from your state be found to appoint to this position.
As the president of the state OT affiliate, we hope that you will spread the word about this
opportunity to serve on the Representative Assembly.
The nominations window opens at noon Eastern Time on Wednesday, April 13, 2022, and ends
at 11:59 a.m. (just before noon) Eastern Time on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. The RA position is
open to any OT or OTA who is licensed in your state and a member of AOTA.
The appointment will be made for a three-year term beginning on July 1, 2022.
Here is a link to the job description for the Representative to the Representative Assembly.
https://www.aota.org/about/leadership-governance/aota-governance-documents/-
/media/f3f6a42f31694ad694566000d262f7ca.ashx
Here is the link to the nomination site.
https://aotaappointments.secure-platform.com:443/a
We are happy to answer any questions or clarify the process. Please direct questions to
AOTA Listening Sessions RE: Proposed Bylaw Changes for Members
AOTA will be having additional listening sessions on the proposed Bylaw changes for members only. These sessions will be coming up soon on April 25th and April 28th. Please share the information and links below to register with your members and board members who are also AOTA members.
To register for an information session click links below for the times you want to attend.
April 25 from 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm ET
or
April 28 from 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm ET.
All voting members are called to vote on the adoption of the Bylaws changes from June 9–23. Be sure to sign into AOTA.org to view all member-only content.
MOTEC Fieldwork Educator Days
You can still access these sessions via the recordings on the MOTEC page on the MiOTA website!
CLICK HERE TO FOR MORE INFORMATION
Every year MOTEC provides free Fieldwork & Capstone Educator Days events. These events are designed for fieldwork education coordinators, experienced fieldwork educators, and those who are new to or interested in becoming fieldwork educators. We recently expanded our event to include education sessions for capstone site mentors of OTD students.
The purpose of MOTEC Fieldwork Educator Days is to provide tools and resources to support best practice in fieldwork education and to share developments in Michigan occupational therapy programs. Each day is the same program with content related to various fieldwork topics. Participants receive a certificate for six free contact hours of continuing education credit.
This year, MOTEC held an online webinar series on May 4th and 6th, 2022. Please see the session descriptions below. We appreciate your dedication to fieldwork and capstone education!
Home Modification Occupational Therapy Alliance
Send an email to info@hmota.net and join us in building the Home Mod OT market.enter text
