A Note From Your MiOTA Leadership
Dear MiOTA members,
I hope this message finds you well; enjoying the crisp fall air reactivating valued occupations in the midst of our continued healthcare pandemic. This year has been a year of adaptation and modification of work, play, and even self-care; while being experts in such accommodations it is important for our personal and professional well-being to personally care for oneself while caring for others.
This year’s annual conference has like, many other events has been transitioned to a virtual experience. While we cannot be together physically, I know the experience will facilitate professional growth and renewal through learning, teaching, and acknowledging various milestones and achievements.
Thank you for your continued engagement professionally, your membership is the lifeblood of our organization and allows us to continue to serve the profession through advocacy and networking.
Kind regards and wishes for continued health and well-being,
Cathleen Johnson, OTD, OTRL, FMiOTA
Leader of the MiOTA Executive Committee
BOGO!! MiOTA Membership Special
Don’t delay - renew your annual membership between Thursday, September 16, 2020 and noon on Wednesday, September 23, 2020, to receive a one-year free membership for an OT / COTA or a current OT discipline STUDENT who is not currently a member.
Once you renew your dues, email our office at office@miota.org with the following information:
Email subject: MIOTA BOGO Membership
your first and last name
free new member's
-first and last name
-address, city, state, zipcode
-phone
-member type (OT, COTA, Student)
Pass it on during these difficult times!
MIOTA Executive Board
Virtual Conference 2020
Register for the annual fall conference!
Join us from the safety and convenience of your home or office as we learn more about integrating wellness into OT practice with keynote speaker Jill Hurley.
Sessions on Friday and Saturday will provide attendees with information about managing lymphedema at home, supporting students in fieldwork and in their leadership development, solving ethical dilemmas, pain in the pediatric population, using concepts from Crossfit to design interventions, OT and residential health and dementia health and well-being and many, many more.
If all those sessions are not enough, in addition, there is a poster session and SIS meetings.
Go to our website to check out the full conference program.
The conference schedule & session descriptions can be found on SCHED.com
All sessions will be held using Google Meet as the meeting platform.
Membership Report
Thank you for your membership! Your membership allows our volunteer organization to support educational events, keep informed about policy and legislative issues as well reimburse our lobbyist for his efforts as well as the office staff for their support.
Please encourage your peers, coworkers and students to join MiOTA; their additional membership increases our capacity to offer a number of benefits to our members.
Members of MiOTA enjoy the following outstanding benefits:
Exclusive continuing education opportunities (Monthly Webinars)
Network with peers and colleagues through regional chapter activities or statewide through the annual MiOTA conference
Support the profession of OT within the state of Michigan through the legislative monitoring and lobbying efforts of MiOTA
Receive The MiOTA Newsletter, a quarterly information source highlighting important issues and activities for OT around the state
Gain access to a “members only” portal on the MiOTA website where you can find important information and resources regarding legislation, job postings, continuing education opportunities, and more
Receive eligibility for the annual MiOTA awards which recognizes clinical excellence and professional contributions
MiOTA student members become eligible for scholarship awards
Through MiOTA, you can further serve your profession through volunteering for committees, task forces or by running for office on the Executive Committee.
Member Spotlight: Kimberly Ganzevoort, COTAL, CBIS, CCCE
In 2008, she graduated from the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program at Grand Rapids Community College. She is currently working towards Bachelor’s degree in health sciences at Western Michigan University. She is also a certified brain injury specialist.
Outside work, she enjoys playing cards and board games with friends, spending time with her family and being part of her church’s praise and worship team. Kim shares her new (first) home with her husband and says, “We enjoy working on projects to spruce up our new house and are competitive in nearly all we do together”.
Kim loves being an OTA. When asked what inspired her to join the field, she replied, “Funny story! My mom has worked in rehab for over 20 years now and I would frequently go up to the facility for parties, outings, and to spend time with the residents. I would read to them and assist in-group activities. One day I asked the activities director what I needed to study in school to do this for a living. She told me OT! While her answer probably should have been recreation therapy, once I started school I fell in love and would not change it for a thing.”
She enjoys building connections with local colleges and universities, working to get their students in to Spectrum Health hospitals and rehab settings and getting OT field experts into University classrooms. Kim states, “I think I am most proud of an interdisciplinary educational experience that I co-developed with a Site Coordinator of Clinical Education from Spectrum Health and Grand Valley State University (GVSU) instructors. In one day, we had 100 students from GVSU’s PT and OT programs come to the Inpatient Rehab Center in small groups to work with actual patients while learning how to administer functional assessments.” While it was being planned for several years, this experience was streamlined and implemented last Fall with great success. She further says, “We had plans to complete it again this year prior to the pandemic, we are now looking for alternative ways to provide a similar experience”.
Kim presented at last year’s annual conference in Frankenmuth. Kim asserts as a MiOTA member, “I love not having to search for the latest updates in our field regarding the ever-changing legislation. MiOTA keeps me informed and up to date. I also appreciate the monthly continuing education opportunities.”
If you would like to be highlighted or would like to nominate a MiOTA member, please email us at: website@miota.org or to Ray Roche: renukaroche@gmail.com