Letter from the Leader of the Executive Committee
Dear MiOTA Members,
First, happy occupational therapy month! I hope each of you participates in a form of celebration of the profession and second please take time to educate others on the profession with live, on social media or as an educational event.
MiOTA is recognizing the profession is by identifying and celebrating outstanding MiOTA members.
During the past few weeks, the membership committee has been reaching out to members asking each member to consider identifying someone who has gone above and beyond in recent times as well as throughout their career. We are working to recognize all types of members, honorary, retired, students, occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants -if you have someone in mind please contact Sonny Grendal (Sonny.Grendel@hcr-manorcare.org) or Cathleen Johnson (director@miota.org).
The executive leadership committee and members of the association assembly are working hard to meet our 2021 goals to serve our members through advocacy and education, increase our membership numbers, support networking through virtual or live chapter meetings and provide high quality events and newsletters that feed your professional soul and help you grow.
We have an incentive to celebrate each member’s role in growing membership. If you refer someone who is not currently a member you will receive 50% off your membership fee. If you refer two members your next renewal is free. Take time to talk to a peer and encourage them to become a member. When you refer and someone signs up for membership, email Keeli Baker @ the MiOTA office – her email address is keeli.baker@MHSA.com
Thank you for your membership and Happy OT Month!
Cathleen C. Johnson, Co-Membership Director and Leader of the Executive Committee
Membership Discount to Celebrate OT Month!
To celebrate OT Month we want to offer our current members 50% OFF your next MiOTA membership renewal if you refer 1 NEW MiOTA member and 100% OFF (FREE) your next MiOTA membership renewal if you refer 2 NEW MiOTA members during the month of April.
**If you refer a new member, please contact our office at office@miota.org to get your member renewal discount code!**
How to celebrate OT month?
- Refine your “elevator speech” and “cocktail hour conversation” regarding what is OT
- Start a journal club – if you participated in the 3/22 webinar you are aware of the AOTA Journal Club resources
- Learn a new assessment tool and teach a fellow OT on what the tool entails
- Volunteer at a senior center to speak about a condition and how OT promotes health, restoration, and well-being
- Write a letter of recommendation for an outstanding student
- Jump on LinkedIn and meet a new OT professional or recognize an OT on their profile page
- Refer a non MiOTA member to become a member
- Submit a course for the MiOTA 2021 conference
University of Michigan - Flint OT Student Danielle Baker featured in "A Heart for People"
A student from U of M Flint OTD program Danielle Baker had was featured in an article “A Heart for People” published in the March 18, 2021 Magazine called “Diverse Issues in Higher Education”.
CLICK HERE to see the article.
Financial Report
As par for the beginning of every year we are currently in the red. This is normal working off prior year income to pay for the following years expenses. As off March 31, 2021 our budget is as follows:
Income: $7,226.19
Expenses $13,843.94
Net income -$6,577.75
The account balances after paying the March bills ar as follows:
Checking:$29,774.96
Savings: $14,509.70
Scholarship CD: $23,062.62
Submitted by Cindy Klinger, Finance Director
Membership Committee Report
Happy OT Month! My name is Sonny Grendel and I am the Co-Director of the Membership committee for MiOTA. First, I want to THANK YOU all for your membership. We are focusing on continuing to grow our association and offering a special incentive to ALL our current members referring a new member to join.
To celebrate OT Month we are offering our current members 50% OFF your next MiOTA membership renewal if you refer 1 NEW MiOTA member and 100% OFF (FREE) your next MiOTA membership renewal if you refer 2 NEW MiOTA members during the month of April.
**If you refer a new member please contact Keeli Baker at KBaker@mhsa.comto make sure you receive your discount!**
Upcoming Webinars/Educational Events
April 21st (2 Contact Hours)
6:00pm – 7:00pm – Hospice & OT
7:00pm - 8:00pm: There will be a live online OT practitioner panel to discuss, "How OT practice has changed since the advent of Covid" (Thank you UofM Flint SOTA and GVSU SOTA for putting this together)
May 6th Pain Assessment and Treatment – By Cathleen Johnson
(Meet your pain education requirements for re-licensure )
June Panel of Fieldwork Students Share Their Experience
July Updates to the Michigan OT General Rules
**We are looking for speakers on topics for monthly webinars!! Did you know you earn professional development contact hours that can be used for NBCOT and your re-licensure?
Please make sure to check your E-mails and the MiOTA website/Facebook page for additional information on upcoming webinars and educational opportunities.
Spotlighted Members
The membership committee has been reaching out to spotlight a variety of MiOTA members that have gone above and beyond in recent times and throughout their career. We are working to identify and recognize all types of members – honorary, retired, occupational therapist, occupational therapy assistance and students -if you have someone in mind who you would like to spotlight please contact Sonny Grendel (sonny.grendel@hcr-manorcare.com)
Thank you so much for your continued support for the Michigan Occupational Therapy Association and for the profession of Occupational Therapy.
Detroit Chapter Makes a Comeback in 2020!
2020 was a year that brought us all many challenges and reminded us of the value of human
interaction; and that meaningful occupation is vital to our lives. In an effort to reconnect with other occupational therapists in the area that may be experiencing some of the same things that I was, I looked to my local MiOTA chapter and found that it was no longer active. I embarked on a mission to get the Detroit chapter going again.
Southeast Michigan has a large number of OTs in practice and I think we can all benefit from networking, advocating our profession, supporting each other, and sharing each other’s expertise. After taking time to organize and learn the ropes, the Detroit Chapter held its first virtual meeting discussing Michigan auto insurance reform and its effect on reimbursement.
The Detroit chapter has two additional meetings scheduled for 2021. April 29, 2021 will be a virtual meeting, and the September 9 th meeting will be the first in-person meeting. Going forward in 2022, the Detroit chapter is hoping to host monthly in-person meetings while maintaining the virtual attendance option.
If you are interested in learning more about the Detroit chapter you can contact the
chapter leader, Andrea Washington, at Awashing2@dmc.org or look for us on Facebook at
MiOTA-Detroit Chapter
Chapter Leaders Needed!
Open Positions:
Western region - chapter leader needed
Southwest region - chapter co-leader needed
Please contact Cathleen Johnson (director@miota.org) if interested.
Happy 1-Year Anniversary to LE&RN
LE&RN is the Lymphatic Education and Research Network, an internationally recognized non-profit organization founded in 1998 to fight lymphatic diseases and lymphedema through education, research and advocacy. With chapters throughout the world, LE&RN seeks to accelerate the prevention, treatment and cure of these diseases while bringing patients and medical professionals together to address the unmet needs surrounding lymphatic diseases, which include lymphedema and lipedema.
To accomplish these goals, LE&RN sponsors research fellowship grants, an international patient registry and biorepository, live-stream symposiums, the peer-reviewed journal Lymphatic Research & Biology, weekly e-newsletters, scholarship grants to lymphedema therapists, conference travel awards to young researchers, and a vibrant website with features such as Ask the Experts, connecting patients with the field’s more renowned practitioners.
In 2016, LE&RN created World Lymphedema Day on March 6th, which was established by unanimous vote of the United States Senate. (https://lymphaticnetwork.org/). For more information about LE&RN visit the website: LymphaticNetwork.org.
LE&RN has State Chapters in the USA, as well as International Chapters. The Michigan chapter of LE&RN was started in April of 2020 despite the global pandemic. Several Occupational Therapists at Michigan Medicine, along with community members, physicians, and other health care providers saw a need for change through activism.
If you are interested in joining the Michigan chapter of LE&RN, please contact Monica Hubbert, OTR at mojordan@med.umich.edu or Katie Rogers OTR kathroge@med.umich.edu
ACOTE Seeks New Accreditation Evaluators
Applications due August 20, 2021 The Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE®) is seeking new members for the Roster of Accreditation Evaluators (RAE). RAE members evaluate the compliance of more than 500 occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant educational programs with ACOTE Accreditation Standards through on-site evaluations and online reviews. Their work provides ACOTE with the necessary information to make accreditation decisions, and helps to ensure the competency of future occupational therapy practitioners. ACOTE is placing a strategic emphasis on expanding the diversity of the practice and education settings, and the education levels represented on the RAE. Occupational therapy clinicians are especially needed and are strongly encouraged to apply.