AOTA Immediate Past President's Blog

Hi all, I can't wait to see all the occupational therapy practitioners and students I have met not only over the past year, but those I have known for many years and those I met while being President. This will be my last Conference as your President...

Healthcare Reform I want to share with you my thoughts on the historic health care reform legislation recently signed into law by the President, and update you on the impact of this measure on occupational therapy and those who can benefit from...

Hi Everyone, I want to share my thoughts about the Membership Participation Ad Hoc Proposal in relation to changing from proportional representation to an approach where members represent themselves. Let’s consider how professional associations...

Hi all, I am writing to clearly express my reasons for believing in the recommendations of the Membership Participation Ad Hoc Committee's proposal for reorganization of our governance structure. If you do not think we need to change our AOTA...

H i all, I just wanted to let you know that I have submitted an addendum to my report to the RA in regards to the reorganization proposal. This addendum came about because of two very informative calls with the members of the Ethics Commission. Based...

Hi all, I hope you have read the proposal in the President's report to the RA for reorganization and that you have followed the lively discussion under forums, Ad Hoc Participation. I want to make sure everyone understands the process this proposal...

Hi all, Have you every been overwhelmed with all the research out there and trying to keep up with the latest guidelines and evidence? Have you been frustrated because you can't find the evidence you need to support what you do? Do you wish you...

Hi all, The AOTA Board members met this weekend via phone and "live meeting." We accomplished a great deal of work this past day and a half. The February Board meeting is typically devoted to strategic planning, which the Vice-President,...

Hi all, I hope all of you are reading about the proposal for reorganizing the governance structure of AOTA. I want to talk about why now, what is the urgency for change? As I come to the close of my Presidency, I have been reflecting about what has...

Well, I have not blogged in a while. Hope you didn't think I was taking a break from my role as AOTA President. I did have foot surgery and have been confined to a wheelchair. I was off work and thought I would be quietly working at home. Instead...

During my presidency, sadly, there have been many disasters I have written to you about. Some have been global. Some have been very personal, like floods affecting my hometown, or Hurricane Katrina devastating our own educational programs. Now we...

Well, when you set goals publicly, it is important to review them and to ask for feedback. Here are my goals from Jan 2009 with my comments about achievement: 1. Personally invite three persons per month to become AOTA members. I more than met this...

Hi all, The past two days, because of technology, I was able to visit two Universities. At the University of Oklahoma I conversed via videoconferencing with the student occupational therapy association. This was a rescheduled visit as I was supposed...

Wow! I have to add my report about the student conclave held in Baltimore this past weekend. I was so proud to be there just to soak up the energy of our OT and OTA students. Actually it was an ending to a great week. Before I left for the Conclave, we...

Well, I am back from another trip, this time to the Michigan Occupational Therapy Association's fall conference. Attendance was great and there were many vendors. It was nice to see Fred Sammons exhibiting again, only now he was showing his Ambucs...

State conferences are a great time to meet practitioners, students, and faculty. This time I had to pack it all in within a very short time period. I flew in to Baltimore and was picked up by the Maryland State Association President, Majorie Vogely. We...

Hi all, I just returned, as have other Board members already documented on OT Connections, from the AOTA Board meeting. This is the first time for over a year we have met face-to-face. We have had our meetings over the phone, which have been...

Hi all, I just returned from a very dynamic state conference in California where about 890 occupational therapy practitioners and students attended. On Friday, there was a legislative briefing on state issues in a committee meeting room in the...

Hi all, I am very active in working on our issues of healthcare reform. I was invited by Senator Tom Coburn of OK and Senator Barrasso of WY, both of whom are physicians, to participate in a healthcare reform telephone town hall meeting with healthcare...

It's been awhile since I posted a blog. So much is going on. I just returned from the Program Director's meeting in Baltimore held this past weekend on October 9th and 10th. It was a fabulous meeting as all the leaders of both OT and OTA academic...

Here I am on the road again! I am speaking at the South Dakota Occupational Therapy Association. It was a little challenging getting here as I had my typical travel experience. I arrived in Minneapolis from Birmingham at 10:30 am on Friday as scheduled...

What is OTOP? Well, we are the Occupational Therapy Organizational Partners. As the AOTA President, I have the pleasure in meeting with our most important partners in the occupational therapy community, that is the American Occupational Therapy Foundation...

Well I was off doing my favorite past time as AOTA President this past weekend. I was able to go to Connecticut and visit students at Quinnipiac University and then speak at the Connecticut OT Association Mid-year meeting. Both events were, in my opinion...

I want you to know that our officers are hard at work for you and for AOTA. We talk monthly to discuss issues that need to be brought before the full board. We are not a decision making group, however. We also talk about what we are each doing in our...

I went to the healthcare town hall meeting last night, Monday August 17, conducted by my Congressman, Spencer Bachus (R). I knew I would probably need to get there early, but I didn't realize how early. The location for the event was off of a major...