• 2019 MiOTA Annual Conference Update
• Membership Update
• Communications Updates
• Upcoming Webinar
• Webinar Presenters Needed!
• MiOTA Scholarship Information
• Financial Report
• Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) Updates
• Advocacy Committee Updates
• Tri-Alliance Committee Updates
• Michigan Cancer Consortium (MCC) Update
• Pain Consortium Meeting Minutes
• Friends of OT in Michigan
• Member Spotlight: Jennifer Smith Schank, OTR/L

There were over 260 attendees at the annual conference this year. The Bavarian Inn was certainly a special place to host the conference for our 100-year anniversary. MiOTA really enjoyed having Wendy Hildenbrand kick off the conference at the welcome reception Thursday evening. Wendy, the new AOTA president, talked about “Relationships, Resilience, Relevance: Returning to the Basics of our Profession”. The keynote speaker Laurin Jozlin talked about “Suicide Prevention” with practical application to our professional and personal lives given the roots of our profession originating in mental health and the rise of suicide among teens. The weather was perfect on Thursday afternoon for the 5K event with Sara Clark achieving first place for women’s division and Christian Andrews earning first place for the men’s division. MiOTA will be sending $50 to Special Olympics. We had a variety of exhibitors AOTA, Theramazing, Adaptive In-Home Solutions, Numotion, Danmar, A&A Driving, Wipos, Michigan Outdoor Mobility, Ambucs, NBCOT, Warelolgie, Excel Neuro-Optometric Clinic, Talem, University of Michigan/Michigan Medicine Brachial Plexus and Peripheral Nerve Program, Brain Injury Association of Michigan, Michigan Dept. of Health, and Nuprox. Cindy Klinger did an amazing job creating the MiOTA memorabilia display for the MiOTA table. The FRIENDS of OT in Michigan Silent Auction earned $350 on Friday evening. The conference planning committee did a superb job. Thank you to Denise Justice, Cindy Klinger, Kirsten Matthews, Bethany Burge, Susanne Terry, Keelia Parise, Joanna Coddington, Holly Grieves, Marjorie Levine, and Sarah Johnson.

Next year’s conference will be held at the Radisson Hotel in Kalamazoo from September 24-26, 2020. Call for papers will open soon and end on April 15, 2020.

Dear MiOTA members,

As of the end of October our organization has 745 active members. This is an increase for the past two years. Thanks to those that have supported our organization by volunteering and recruiting new members in your day to day interactions. Our largest portion of our membership comes from students and new grads, making retention of new occupational professionals one of our most important area to focus upon.

Here are a couple of tips to recruit professionals to join our organization:

• When taking a student for their level I or II experiences encourage membership and even consider a graduation gift of membership.

• Offer to attend a chapter meeting with a non-member; non-members who join at the chapter meeting receive a 25% discount on their membership fee.

• Offer to host a chapter meeting at your organization and encourage your other staff members to attend and join.

• Participate in a webinar event hosted by MiOTA and share what you learned and let your peers know that that you received a PDU to be used toward renewal of licensure and NBCOT recertification.

• If you are a manager of occupational therapy services, consider changing a policy or rule where continuing education benefit funds can be used toward membership.

The membership committee is focused upon meeting students in classroom events, providing high quality educational events, spotlighting members, and always professing the value of membership to our members as well as those considering membership.

Lastly, our organization continually supports the protection of consumers of occupational therapy as well as the profession itself. This past year, members and leaders in our organization have attended the the Michigan OT Board meetings, hearings regarding changes to our rules, and events where changes in insurance coverage impacted the covered of rehabilitation services. The leaders of MiOTA volunteer countless hours to protect our profession, share that fact with your peers who are non-members. I ask each of you this question – Should non-members, who do not look out for their profession benefit from information that you receive because of being a member?

Thanks to all for your support of the profession and our organization. Continually, grow our membership in your professional interactions with others.

Sincerely,

Cathleen Johnson, OTD, OTRL, FMiOTA Membership Director and membership committee members

MiOTA is still seeking presenters for December 2019 and all of 2020. Webinars are free to MiOTA members and are an excellent way to share your professional knowledge, network with colleagues, and earn continuing education credits towards your Michigan licensure and NBCOT recertification.

Presenting in webinar format is an excellent way to gain comfort in presenting and to give presentations a test run before presenting live in front of your colleagues, your class or your community. MiOTA will work with you to determine a time and date that works best for your schedule. We provide the presentation platform and take care of registration, technical issues during the webinar, and distribution of certificates of attendance. You provide the knowledge. If you are interested in scheduling a presentation, please e-mail miotawebinars@gmail.com.

Thank you to everyone who has presented already this year! This year’s webinars included:

• NBCOT Test prep by Eric Checkley
• Preparing for Lansing Lobby Day 2019 by Jennifer Summers
• Spasticity Management: An Occupational Therapist’s Guide to Taming the Beast by Emily Morgan
• Sex and Intimacy: What Is Our Role? By Lyndsie Fuller
• Coming Soon: Doctoral Capstone Projects and Residency – What Is It? By Nancy Vandewiele
• Compression Garment Options for Upper Extremity Edema by Kim Heffner
• Regulation & Behavior: Strategies for Working with Challenging Children by Jessica Ravineala
• Neuro Moxie: Empowering Through Connection by Kylie Atkinson
• Wheelchair and Seating Evaluation by Beverlee Kerby

Welcome Robin Pegg!

Welcome and thank you to Robin Pegg for taking on the role of the newsletter coordinator!

Thank You, Donna Case!

A warm thank you to Donna Case for her years of service to the MiOTA Executive Committee and Association Assembly (most recently as our newsletter coordinator), your time and effort are truly appreciated!

Regional Chapters Meetings:

Lansing Area’s Next Meeting:

Tuesday, November 12th, 2019 from 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Scott Biskup, MS, OTRL will present on Trauma-Informed Care at:

Disability Network
901 East Mount Hope Avenue
Lansing, MI 48910

All other regional chapter meetings are currently TBD

License Renewal & CEUs

The Michigan department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) OT/OTA General Rules require 20 hours of continuing education for the licensure renewal. Attending local chapter meetings is a great way to earn one free continuing education hour and network with other local practitioners. Chapter information can be found on the MiOTA website under the Communications tab on the home page. For the most up to date details about your regional chapter’s next meeting, please visit the MiOTA Communication page. MiOTA members are welcome to attend ANY MiOTA chapter meeting, regardless of their home geographic area.

MiOTA Membership

Guests are always welcome to see what MiOTA is about at the local level. However, after one “free visit,” we ask that you join MiOTA in order to continue attending chapter meetings, as this is one of the privileges of membership.

Groups & Chapters

Please visit the MiOTA website Communications page for more information regarding Special Interest Groups, Special Focus Groups, and Regional Chapters. If you are interested in establishing a new Special Interest Group, Focus Group, or Regional Chapter please contact the MiOTA office.

The 2019 Conference presented as a huge success!

The current financial report as of October 31, 2019 is as follows:

Income: Budget: $90,876.00

(Actual): $107.469.00

Expenses: Budget: $88,400.00

(Actual): $78.336.29

Thank you for supporting MIOTA!

Cindy Klinger, MIOTA Financial Director

Report by Donna Case MiOTA delegate

SEAC’s Annual Priority is: to increase the percentage of students with IEPs who earn a Michigan diploma. To accomplish this priority SEAC will:

1. Start early in identifying students at risk regarding their likelihood of being able to earn a Michigan diploma, and intervene early to keep diploma options open.

2. Provide professional learning opportunities regarding effective strategies likely to increase the likelihood of more students with IEPs developing the skills necessary to be able to earn a diploma

3. Systems change: Explore diploma options that might allow additional students with IEPs to graduate with diplomas, and explore the implications of each option for students and other key stakeholders.

If you are a school-based Occupational Therapy Practitioner or have a child with an IEP, you should check out the Family Matters documents that the Michigan Department of Education – Office of Special Education sponsors at https://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,4615,7-140-6598_88187_81739-425428--,00.html. Documents are available for download in English, Spanish and Arabic and are made to be shared with families, etc.

If you are interested in visiting and attending a SEAC meeting, check out the information at the following website https://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,4615,7-140-6598_88192---,00.html.

Advocacy Actions will detail a few highlights from the Advocacy Committee’s last few months. It’s been busy!

Lobby Day

Stay tuned for exciting news on Lansing Lobby Day 2020! We are currently looking at meeting locations and dates.

Member Survey Results

We asked, you responded! Thank you to all who participated in our member survey last summer. Your responses provided us with meaningful feedback about our member concerns. Members indicated their top 5 areas of concerns are: Areas of Practice, Daily Practice Issues, Scope of Practice, Mental Health/Psychosocial Support Practice, and Patient Driven Payment Model. Be on the look out for future follow-ups in these areas.

Caring 4 Students Program (1917-SBS)

MiOTA submitted comments to Kevin Bauer and the Bureau of Medicaid Policy, Operations, and Actuarial Services on the Caring 4 Students Program, a coverage/reimbursement program for general education students in the Intermediate School Districts, Detroit Public Schools Community District, and the Michigan School for the Deaf. MiOTA requested that Occupational Therapy be included as a covered service and Occupational Therapy be included as qualified providers in the bill.

Michigan Board of Occupational Therapists Rule Proposal ORR 2018-034 LR

Recently, MiOTA collaborate with AOTA to provide public comment on the Board’s proposed revision to rule R 338.1229 regarding assessment delegation and the recension of prohibited conduct within the Board’s rules. As an organization, we support continued team work between OTs and OTAs, but the proposed rule revision R338.1229 left unclear delineation of the supervision of client assessment/evaluation between the OT and OTA. Additionally, the changes were not consistent with Medicare’s benefit policies, potentially leading to denials.

MiOTA was represented in Lansing by Sara Clark and Nancy Milligan on October 4, 2019 during the public comment period to discuss our concerns. Membership Director Cathleen Johnson and MHSA lobbyist Bret Marr attended the Board of Occupational Therapists Rules Committee Work Group Agenda on October 28, 2019 to further support and comment on our stance. The Board ultimately accepted our suggestions and feedback, adjusting the proposed rule to clarify the evaluation/assessment role of OTs and OTAs and prohibited conduct. This will be agreed upon in the Board’s upcoming meeting on November 12th.

AOTA/NBCOT Interstate Registration Pact

On September 23, 2019 AOTA announced it is working with NBCOT to create an interstate licensure compact for OTs. MiOTA leadership had the opportunity to discuss this partnership with AOTA President Wendy Hildenbrand at our annual conference in October. The compact is still in it’s early development stages, so stay posted for updates.

Patient Driven Payment Model

As Medicare has rolled out the Patient Driven Payment Model, many practitioners are feeling their daily work impacted. The Advocacy Committee has been following developments at the national and state level. Educational links are provided on the MiOTA Advocacy homepage. Please share your experiences with MiOTA if your clients’ care has been affected by these changes.

AOTA is currently collecting comments for our National Congress on the implementation and impacts of PDPM on client care. Make your voice heard! Please go to the following website and share your experiences: http://cqrcengage.com/aota/app/onestep-write-a-letter?0&engagementId=503073.

Comments/Questions/Volunteers

If you are experiencing any issues in the field, please contact MiOTA and let us know your concerns.

If you want to be a part of our Advocacy team, we are always looking for new volunteers!

Keep Calm and Lobby On!

Jeannie Kunz, MOT, OTRL, BCP

AOTA Board Certified in Pediatrics

MiOTA Advocacy Director

The most recent meeting of the Tri-Alliance committee was held on October 16, 2019.

1. Legal Issues Impacting Professional Practice in Michigan

MPTA: Supervision of PTA by PT is being explored

MiOTA: AOTA is working on addressing the encroachment of Brain Balance services on OT

MSHA: Michigan is working on having SLP (assistants) licensure. There is exploration of 3 points of entry for education.

2. Legislative Updates

MPTA:

• HB 4108 – PTs/PTAs as mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse / neglect

• Passed the full House on 6/19/19 with 107 YES votes, 2 NO votes, 1 not voting

• Representatives of the following entities testified in SUPPORT of the bill:

• Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (4/10/19)

• Michigan Physical Therapy Association (5/21/19)

• The following entities indicated support for the bill:

• Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Health (4/10/19)

• Michigan Catholic Conference (5/21/19)

• No opposition on record

• Moved to Senate Committee on Families, Seniors and Veterans on 6/20/19

• SB 22 – PT Licensure Compact

• Introduced on 1/15/19 and referred to Senate Committee on Health Policy and Human Services. No further action since then.

MiOTA: AOTA and NBCOT are working together on development of compact licensure.

3. Reimbursement / Payment Updates

MPTA:

• MPTA Payment Committee met with BCBSM on 7/30/19

• MPTA openly discussed key issues in regard to eviCore prior authorization for neurological conditions, orthopedic conditions, complex cases.

• The eviCore neurological pathway was implemented 6/1/19 with a few errors per eviCore.

• MPTA continues to pursue alternatives to current UM program by advocating for value-based payment structures and /or a change from prior authorization to outlier models.

• BCBSM were approached by Secure Care utilization management vendor. Secure Care was founded by chiropractors in Nebraska. MPTA Payment Committee discussed on private call and informed BCBSM that MPTA is not interested in Secure Care.

• https://www.securecarecorp.com/

• Barb Herzog, PT and MPTA member is the new Payment Specialist effective August 2019.

• This position answers questions from MPTA member on payment issues within Michigan.

• Works with MPTA Payment Director / BOD will evaluate position going forward.

• MPTA will continue to forward questions about federal payment issues (e.g. Medicare, TRICARE, VA, etc.) to APTA Payment staff.

• To protect MPTA budget, this position will have an overall average of 10 hours per week, maximum of 500 hours per year paid every 2 weeks upon submission of timecard.

MSHA: Cognitive rehabilitation coding accepted; working on feeding documentation for reimbursement.

SLP working on aligning documentation requirements including plans of care with those of PT and OT.

4 Rules Updates

MPTA: Public Hearing on proposed PT Rules was 2/19/19. MPTA sent written recommendations.

• Board of Physical Therapy Meeting met on 4/9/19 – proposed PT Rules in promulgation process now. Next stop is JCAR – Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.

MiOTA: Proposed rules for supervision of OTA, continuing education, and disciplinary action are actively being revised

MSHA: SLP fellowship rule changes proposed to complete within 12 months.

5. Other Updates

Provider Questions

• MPTA does NOT answer questions from non-members

MCC (Michigan Cancer Consortium)

• MiOTA and MPTA have representatives on this committee

• SLP to be invited

Coalition Protecting Auto No Fault – CPAN

• Last news headline on website is from 5/14/19 and says: CPAN urges Governor Whitmer to protect consumers and veto HB 4397

• Take Action on CPAN says (paraphrased): Check back later; no active campaigns now

• CPAN Gala – Motor City Moves is a fund raiser set for 10/26/19 at the Automotive Hall of Fame which is next door to The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn.

• Jim Stark, MPTA Pain Special Interest Group (SIG), Jim Stark <starkcpc@gmail.com> is the lead, is interested in launching inter-professional efforts in the area of pain management. MiOTA is now collaborating with MPTA.

FUTURE MEETINGS:

• MPTA:

• Fall Conference November 1 – 2, 2019 Amway Grand in Grand Rapids.

• Student Conclave & Spring Conf. March 20 – 21, 2020 Ann Arbor Marriott Eagle Crest Resort

• MSHA: Annual Conference March 19 – 21, 2020 Motor City Hotel & Conference Center in Detroit

• MiOTA: Sept 24-26, 2020 Radisson Hotel in Kalamazoo

MiOTA has now officially joined the Michigan Cancer Consortium (MCC). One of the two representatives from MiOTA, Anne Chmielewski or Denise Justice, attend the annual conferences and quarterly meetings.

Denise Justice attended the quarterly meeting held in September discussed the progress in the following areas: Purpose to review progress on objectives relative to cancer for prevention, detection, treatment/diagnosis, survival/quality of life, and health equity. Discussion of the cancer burden and cost was reviewed; CAR T-Cell therapy that is occurring at Michigan Medicine was discussed; the progress on oral cancer and HPV virus was reviewed; and lastly American cancer society- cancer action network supported banning of flavored e-cigarettes.

Anne Chmielewski attended the MCCT annual conference was held October 24th at Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center in East Lansing. The theme of the conference was “Taking the Lead: Inclusion in Cancer Care”. The focus of the meeting was providing inclusive care and making health equity a priority. It gave attendees the opportunity to learn about inclusive care & programs in Michigan, focus work to reduce health disparities and engage in the future of MCC. The meeting began with Regina R. Washington, DrPH, Program Director at LGBT Healthlink. Dr. Washington works toward eliminating health disparities within the LGBTQ community. She facilitated the discussion with 3 panelists sharing their very powerful stories about the barriers they have experienced and how we can collaborate to change the narrative of care. Concurrent breakout sessions included Detroit Street Care, an organization at MSUCOM dedicated to providing medical care to those experiencing homelessness in Detroit. Liver Cancer: An Emerging Issue, giving an overview of the rise in liver cancer and discussing liver cancer data trends in MI, the role of viral hepatitis, along with risk and harm reduction strategies. The third session was Improving Survivor Quality of Life Through Referrals to Community Based Survivorship Services. This session provided knowledge of community based programs to assist survivors with ongoing physical and emotional needs. Organizations represented included Imerman Angels, providing personalized connections that enable one on one support for cancer fighters, survivors, previvors, and caregivers. Region 2 Area Agency on Aging spoke on Cancer: Thriving and Surviving workshop. This is a 6-week workshop that meets 1x/wk for 2 ½ hours that gives survivors a “Cancer PATH”, Personal Action Toward Health. The YMCA spoke on Livestrong at the YMCA. This is a 3-month program ideal for those that have finished treatment. They meet 75 mins 2x/wk and classes focus on weight training, cardiovascular, balance and flexibility. The goal is to help participants to find a new normal. Cooking Matters is an MSU based nutrition program where participants learn how to shop smarter, make healthier choices and cook delicious, affordable meals.

MCC continues to work toward improving cancer outcomes in MI and this meeting is evident of that. They will look in 2020 to begin to develop the next Cancer Plan for Michigan. I encourage you to visit the MCC website https://www.michigancancer.org/index.html for information on resources, research and articles regarding cancer in Michigan as well as their annual report https://www.michigancancer.org//PDFs/Publications_Products//MCCAnnualRpt/2018MCCAnnualReport.pdf. Look for a webinar in the near future to learn how to navigate the MCC website.

Questions and concerns can be directed to the MiOTA - MCC representative.

Anne Chmielewski OTR/L, CHT, CLT

Michigan Orthopaedic Rehabilitation

4401 W. 13 Mile Rd

Royal Oak, MI 48073

248-566-3525

anne@miorthorehab.com

10/15/19 Noon

Representation: MPTA and MiOTA

Present: Denise Justice, OT; Joe Latocki, OT; Jim Stark, PT

· Jim reported his interest in presenting at MIOTA next year on the topic of pain

· Jim reported he was misinformed by OT faculty at WMU that OT’s are not required to accrue CEU’s for licensure.

· Jim inquiring about how OT’s can get CEU credit when attending one of his lectures.

· Discussion about how to increase communication/collaboration among different disciplines treating chronic pain.

o Jim invited us to his facebook group that is for PT’s, but he is letting us join and would encourage us to answer/ask questions on it and provide feedback.

o Discussed creating a new facebook group that would be inclusive to all professions.

· Jim reported using “State of Pain in Michigan” document created in 2014 as basis for the development of the multidisciplinary consortium

· Jim invited others to attend the MPTA conference that will have a “Pain Summit” portion. Conference will be held March 21, 2020 in Ypsilanti, MI. Details continue to be in development.

Next meeting TBD.

Claudette Reid will now chair the committee of FRIENDS of OT in Michigan. This is a Political Action Committee that serves to address the interests of OT’s professionally relative to practice areas, patient care, and reimbursement.

Monies from fund raising are used to attend political events that are relative to OT. If you have interest in participating in events with the goal of advocating for the profession as a representative of MiOTA feel free to contact Claudette Reid at reid.clauds@gmail.com.

Contact Information:

Claudette Reid reid.clauds@gmail.com

Jennifer works as a school OT in the Ann Arbor area. This is her second career, having worked for almost 15 years as a designer. In her last design job, she worked as a product designer at Johnson & Johnson creating online health interventions for challenges such as migraines and heart disease. Her design background informs her approach to occupational therapy. She finds occupational therapy an exciting new chapter filled with opportunities for new challenges and exploring ideas.

As a student in the Eastern Michigan University’s (EMU) Occupational Therapy program, Jennifer programmed games and made interfaces for clients in her fieldwork to motivate them to work harder and focus longer. This experience drew her to teach technology and occupational therapy to others.

She started a workshop called Experimental Game Lab for Digital Divas, a biannual conference whose goal is engaging middle and high school female students in science careers. The workshop is a mixture of design, games, and occupational therapy while tinkering and exploring with electronics. She also taught therapeutic gaming as a guest lecturer for EMU's Occupational Therapy program. Future therapists learned to create interfaces with everyday materials, pairing it with a computer game for therapy. It’s a great tool to teach problem solving and creating a “just right challenge" for clients.

The year (2018) she graduated with a Master’s degree in OT, Jennifer co-authored an article titled “Making it Work: Examples of OT Within the Maker Movement” which was featured in OT Practice’s 2018 August issue. The cover shows a “Blow Switch” created for a client in her fieldwork. Jennifer has a blog called Motivator Labs (https://www.motivatorlabs.com) where she engages with other therapists about creating and designing for clients. She continues to teach and was presenter, this June, for The Arizona Technology Access Program Assistive Technology Evidence for Success Disability Conference.

She uses therapeutic gaming in her school practice. A student favorite to begin a therapy session is a game for sensory-motor skills and communication. One student is the “engine,” jumping to move the character, and the other is the “driver,” touching pads with both hands crossing midline to steer while exploring new lands each week.
https://www.motivatorlabs.com/post/make-a-jumping-midline-crossing-game

Outside of work Jennifer enjoys scuba diving with her husband and three kids, as well as jogging with her dog Luna. She teaches an after-school programming class with her sons as co-teachers. Both are avid programmers in elementary and middle school. They are planning an afterschool class that combines design and programming to create new interactions for a school sensory room.

Jennifer is currently a proud member of MiOTA. She volunteers as a moderator for online webinars. Membership with MiOTA is important to Jennifer because MiOTA supports her practice by keeping her informed, providing free continuing education via webinars from local therapists, and advocating for our practice.

If you would like to be highlighted or would like to nominate a MiOTA member, please email us at: website@miota.org