The forum is aimed at improving connections and continuity of practice of OT's across the globe, providing a location where OT's can share and request information.
BrownMackieCollege would like to announce our new Occupational Therapy Assistant Program!
We are located at 13430 N. Black Canyon Highway, Phoenix, AZ85029
The college is looking for OT’s and COTA’s to accept students for Field Work Sites beginning November, 2010.
We would also welcome people who would like to sit on our Advisory Board, which meets 2 times a year. The first meeting is February 10th, 6:30 p.m. at the College.
Florence Clark, PhD, OTR/L, AOTA President-Elect opened up the ArizOTA 2009 Fall Conference on Friday, September 11, 2009 with her presentation: “Evidence or Confidence-Based Practice.”With her humor and energy, Dr. Clark challenged our practitioners to be “leaders of change.” We were blessed to have many excellent speakers, the weather was wonderful and the food was great!Thanks again for the support of the conference committee members, attendees, speakers, and board members.
The 2009 Arizona Legislature adjourned its regular session on July 1, and sent its budget package to Governor Brewer. She promptly vetoed most of the budget bills, and applied line-item vetoes to a significant part of the general appropriations bill. She then called the Legislature into special session beginning July 6.
The special session ran for almost two months, with the Legislature sending Governor Brewer another budget package (very close to identical to the first one) in late August, and then adjourning at the end of August. Governor Brewer was allowed until September 5 to act on the budget package, and she signed some of it and vetoed some. The overall effect of all of this activity is that the state budget is still about $1 billion in the red, and the Governor could not get the Legislature to refer to the ballot her request for a temporary increase in the state sales tax.
For occupational therapy practitioners, the current situation, although untenable for the long term, is at least better than it could have been. The Governor’s vetoes have protected much of the budgets for K-12 education, DES and DHS for the time being. The industrial injury system should continue to function without significant change. And federal stimulus funds are being used to shore up gaps in AHCCCS, education and health care. The one negative impact is that on October 1 AHCCCS will implement an across-the-board 5% reduction.
For bills enacted in the regular session, the effective date is generally September 30, 2009. The Legislature enacted far fewer bills than normal, and there were only a couple of bills with significance for health care. The emergency room burden of proof bill (clear and convincing evidence) was finally passed and signed after several years of effort. Two bills were enacted allowing individuals and small businesses to purchase health insurance policies that are exempt from the standard mandatory coverage requirements. And the Legislature referred to the 2010 ballot a constitutional measure that protects health care choice, although with different language than the initiative that failed in 2008.
My name is Lisa Heisler. As well as serving as VP for Practice for the Wisconsin Occupational Therapy Association, I work as an OTR in WI in private practice. I have recently been placed as the moderator for the Yahoo group: OTnPP. This is a group for OT’s who are in private practice. The benefits of joining is to provide an opportunity to network, seek information from peers, to share frustrations, gain insights from others and enable a means to connect with other OT’s in private practice across the country. Those who join this group do not need to be members of their state association nor AOTA in order to participate. Joining this group is free of charge, but therapists do need to sign up by going to the following link.
I am responsible for ensuring that ArizOTA serves to enhance professionalism and provide support to occupational therapy practitioners in Arizona. During my term, ArizOTA will aim to provide:
Networking and Professional Support through Special Interest Sections (SIS)
The Mentor Connection providing a Members Only section on the ArizOTA website for occupational therapy practitioners and students to identify possible mentors in their practice area.
Legislative Updates directly affecting occupational therapy practice in ArizOTA.
Monthly ArizOTA Updates by e-mail.
As you know, all of these items on the ArizOTA agenda would not be successful without the commitment of your ArizOTA board members and committees. However to guarantee optimal success in ArizOTA’s endeavors, we need you! Get involved with ArizOTA! I look forward to meeting you and working with you at future ArizOTA events.
Nina Castillo, MS, OTR/L
“Becoming a member of your state association and of AOTA is a place to start. Our profession needs the collective strength and knowledge of members so that when we speak to payers or funding agencies or policymakers, we speak with a powerful, committed voice. Getting involved…can be as simple as performing an in-service in your facility to increase awareness of occupational therapy, providing fieldwork opportunities for students in your community, or talking with colleagues who may not know about the vision to make them aware and encourage them to spread the word.”
–Penelope Moyers, EdD, OTR/L, BCMH, FAOTA
Brachtesende, A. (2007). The Centennial Vision Moving Ahead to 2017. OT Practice, 12(12), 23-25.
