2013, a year in review. In OT we have 2 new faculty members, Sharon McCloskey and Lola Halperin. The Health Sciences program is pleased to welcome Dr. Raja Staggers-Hakim. Student events. Faculty achievements

Occupational Therapy Department,

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 2013 A Year in  Review  Both the Occupational Therapy and the Health Sciences department con-tinue to grow. In OT we have 2 new faculty members, Sharon McCloskey and Lola Halperin.    Sharon has been a practicing occupa-tional therapist since 1985, and her areas of expertise include pediatric and school-based practice; leadership and management; health policy and law; and advocacy. In addition to her OT qualifications, she has an MBA and many years of experience in pro-gram development as the director and manager of a large rehabilitation company, providing OT and PT ser-vices. Sharon is actively involved in ConnO-TA.  She is currently Chair of the Gov-ernment Affairs Committee, and is ac-tively con-tributing at a State level to discussions on educa-tion policy, in relation to the practice of occupational therapy in public schools.  Lola’s specialty is mental health and sensory processing in relation to mental health conditions. Lola has studied and practiced internationally and she speaks four languages. She is currently working towards her EdD at Columbia University. Her research is examining the relationships be-tween symptom severity, sensory, motor, and process skills in adults with schizophrenia.  Lola has pre-sented on Sensory Pro-cessing in mental health and on client centered care in mental health OT.     The Health Sciences program is pleased to welcome Dr. Raja Staggers-Hakim. Professor Staggers-Hakim holds a Doc-tor of Philosophy in Sociology from How-ard University. She received her Master of Public Health in Communi-ty Health Education from New York Uni-versity and her Bachelor of Sci-ence in Psycholo-gy from Howard Universi-ty.  Her re-search interest include; racial and ethnic health disparities, discrimination and health outcomes, social determinant of health and women of color.  New Faces 1 Student Events 2-3 Faculty Achievements 4-5 OT Pride 6       Inside this issue: Growth and New Faces January 2014 Occupational Therapy and Health Sciences  College of Health Professions Occupational therapy stu-dents joined an interprofes-sional group from Sacred Heart, to provide wheelchairs to individuals in need in the country of Guatemala.  Student’s in other groups pro-vided service to Bridgeport elementary schools by running active play groups during re-cess to help combat child-hood obesity in inner city schools.  These students collected data on current play preferences of first grade children.  Other sec-ond year occupational thera-py students provided assis-tance to the first year stu-dents studying anatomy and neuroanatomy, while they also learned about teaching as a future career path.  Students raised money for a future interprofessional so-cial skills program for teens with autism spectrum disor-der, by showing the film the United States of Autism.  The event was well attended and the students raised hundreds of dollars to sup-port the development of the program.  Health Science Club Student Events and Plans  President- Michelle Abano VP- Mariaelena DiStefano  Secretary- Katie Mulyk  Treasurer- Kelsey Palumberi   Fall 2013 a meeting was dedicated to Health Science club members going over schedules and giving feedback on classes so other club members could learn about classes they hadn't taken yet. Pre-professional classes were also dis-cussed.  The club is planning for a  CCO carnival this spring (like a club fair) to get more students involved in the health science club.    The health science club will link with the Pre-OT club and start a Relay for life team!  Lastly, the club is planning a resume workshop and will have someone from gradu-ate admissions discuss the health profession graduate programs.  Students from SOTA rave been busy with many social and service events.  They ran the Run or Dye race in grueling heat this summer.  They have held a student barbeque to help the first years students acclimate to the program, and have done lots of fundraising for charity and for their trip to our national conference.  They have played kickball  for Amanda Smith's "Making Strides against Breast Cancer" team , helped out at the Ronald McDonald house making meals for those staying there, and have sent Xmas gifts overseas for Operation Christmas Child.  They also invited faculty to speak to the group about their career paths. Student Capstone Projects Provide Service, Programs, and SOTA events Page 2 Occupational Therapy and Health Sciences “Capstone projects are in integral part of the occupational therapy curriculum” BETSY DANIELS & RUPERT   had.  Each of our 45 students volunteered in pairs to provide play activities for the children for a total of 4 hours in the se-mester, thus giving the mothers much needed respite, while al-lowing the students to learn about the needs of children with ASD and the difficulties fami-The entire graduating class of 2014 was able to participate in a service learning assignment last spring.  Two  mothers, each with a young child with autism spec-trum disorder, provided an in-terview discussing family diffi-culties and stressors, and the service needs that the family lies face.  The students had readings, and assignments about family centered care in ASD.  The two families were quite pleased with the student volun-teers and both hope to partici-pate again next year. Animal Assisted Therapy  Service Learning—Respite Care for Families of Children with ASD In our 4th induction ceremony for the Gamma Nu Chapter of Pi Theta Epsilon, 13 students were inducted into the honor society.  Their first activity was to vote for their new board.  Their first service event was the Walk for Autism held in Wallingford, CT.   Representatives from both SOTA and Pi Theta attended the Stu-dent Conclave this fall and met the new AOTA president Pi theta 2013 Occupational Therapy and Health Sciences  Page 3 MARCH 18, 2013 Last spring, our OT students participated in a spe-cial event with the students from the HS301 Spir-ituality in Health Care class to learn about animal assisted therapy from Betsy Daniels, a local CO-TA.  This event was coordinated by Janet Betts, MARS, the occupational therapy student services coordinator and an instructor in the Health Sci-ences program.  The Occupational Therapy Department is proud to an-nounce that one of our facul-ty members learned this fall that she will be receiving the national occupational therapy award of “fellow.”  A fellow award from AOTA is “to rec-ognize occupational therapists who with their knowledge and expertise have made a signifi-cant contribution to the con-tinuing education and profes-sional development of mem-bers of the Association.” Le-nore Frost’s award is for    Excellence in  education through practice and service  been working on an assessment tool to examine the sensory en-vironment of classrooms and a manual to help teachers to modi-fy their classrooms to assist students with Autism Spectrum Disorders.  The assessment tool is called the Classroom Sensory Environment Assessment or C-SEA. You can view the current version of the C-SEA, download Lenore Frost has continued her line of research in safe patient handling  in 2013 resulting in a publication entitled Safe Patient Handling Equipment in Therapy Practice: Implications for Reha-bilitation, in the American Jour-nal of Occupational Therapy   Heather Kuhaneck and Jacqui Kelleher from Education have a copy to try it out, and watch its progress and development at  https://sites.google.com/site/cseafree/   Faculty Achievements Faculty Research course  development for a course that was de-signed to strengthen academic abilities of under-graduate students and to meet the prerequisite required for admission to professional graduate programs in health science. Ultimately, the stu-dent will have the necessary skills to create a cap-stone research paper, publish in a health journal, determine their health care career and haven an understanding of all health care disciplines and their interactions.  Clotile Dudley Smith presented at the ASAHP Annual Con-ference in Orlando, Florida on Oct 25, 2013. The poster presentation was ti-tled "Seminar In Health Care". The poster presented Health Sciences Faculty Presentations Page 4 Occupational Therapy and Health Sciences FAOTA!!!!!!!!! Mary-Ellen Johnson present-ed posters at both the state and national OT association annual conferences along with students and alum.  Two of her posters for ConnOTA were Helping our Heroes– the Firefighters  and The Role of Occupational Therapists in Health and Wellness on Col-lege & University Campuses. Lenore Frost presented three sessions at AOTA last spring; Extensor Tendon Injuries: Evidence-based Rehabilitation Protocols, A Paradigm Shift: Educators Teach Evidence-based Safe Patient Handling as Best Practice and Evi-dence-based Safe Patient Handling and Movement for Therapists and Students. Heather Miller Kuhaneck and OT students/alum presented 2 posters at ConnOTA; Ma-ternal Self-Efficacy in Moth-ers of Children with Autism and Pediatricians’’ Attitudes Regarding Occupational Ther-apy Services.  Student/alum presenters included  Amber Hawks, Julia Jones, Melissa Syverson, Kate Wisnieski,  Caitlin Clark, Tiffany DeVito, Stefanie Seeley, Emily Stack, Yvonne Dobbelmann, Kristen T. Deely, Meghan L. Fera, Jennifer L. Morello, Nicole S. Yarsawich, Lisa Torre, Caren Tucker, Leigh Dogmanits, Oxana Baranova, Katie Torpey, and Allyson Colucco. At AOTA, Heather presented with one of our adjuncts, Kim Flynn and an alumni, Sarah Yeaton on research behind new program development.  Along with colleague Jodi Siv-iski, this group completed a needs assessment with gen-eral education teachers and developed a program  called Stories for Acceptance.  The program uses carefully se-lected children’s books about disability, along with thera-pist created activities, to promote understanding and full inclusion of students with disabilities in regular educa-tion classrooms.  Kim has re-ceived a SEPTA grant to pur-chase three sets of children’s books to provide the program to 3 Fairfield elementary schools this spring with Heather. AOTA and ConnOTA presentations Page 5 Occupational Therapy and Health Sciences OT faculty are dedicated to developing professional behaviors in our students, through modeling our engagement in professional activities. Supporting ConnOTA SHU OT faculty are and have been highly involved with ConnOTA.  In our faculty we have for-mer ConnOTA presidents, vice-presidents, secretaries, treasurers, conference chairs, and SIS chairs. The Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE), in collaboration with the Con-necticut Occupational Therapy Association (ConnOTA) and the Connecticut Physical Therapy As-sociation (CPTA),  recently began a project to revise the Guidelines for Occupational Therapy in Educational Settings; and the Guidelines for Physical Therapy in Educational Settings.  Sharon M McCloskey, as Chair of Government Affairs for ConnOTA, became the Chair of the workgroup addressing revisions for occupational therapists. During last school year, 2012-2013, Sharon was asked to place the Revision of Guidelines project ‘on hold’; to instead work with a multidisciplinary group to develop guidance documents for administrators and Student and Edu-cator Support Specialists (SESS), as part of the Connecticut SEED educator evaluation system for OT’s and PT’s in CT schools.   5151 Park Avenue Fairfield, CT 06825  Occupational Therapy 203-365-4771 or 203-365-7682  Health Sciences 203-416-3942    Pride stands for principled, responsive, innovative, dynamic, and excellent.  For our program this means,   PRINCIPLED We expect and ensure ethical behavior. We make decisions with integrity. We are respectful of others. RESPONSIVE We are caring, attentive, and present in interactions with oth-ers. We value and engage in service to meet needs. We identify learning needs and share our knowledge and ex-pertise. INNOVATIVE We promote creativity, originality, and innovation. We use innovative strategies and new technologies to promote learning. DYNAMIC We are actively engaged in learning and teaching. We accept and support change. We take initiative. We seek and consider diversity of opinion.  We gather and use feedback to promote positive growth and change in ourselves and others. EXCELLENT We excel in our areas of practice. We seek to exceed standards of competence. We engage in evidence based practice and life-long learning. We support and encourage curiosity. We are globally focused. We are committed to our professional organizations. SHU OT PRIDE Health Science Programs at Sacred Heart University Sacred Heart Hosts the CT Occupational Therapy Association Fall Conference On September 28, over 100 local occupational therapists and student occupational therapists attended the fall ConnOTA conference hosted on the main campus of Sacred Heart University.  The theme was Brain Injury- Keys to Recovery, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration.  The con-ference  keynote speaker, Steven Benvenisti, is a lawyer from NJ who is a survivor of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) sustained in an accident many years ago while a student.  His story was inspiring for all.  Other topics included concussion and mental health issues following TBI. 

Occupational Therapy and Health Sciences News, January 2014

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Occupational Therapy and Health Sciences News, January 2014

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