SLH Offers Occupational Therapy in 5 Locations

Potsdam – The team of experienced and highly trained Occupational Therapists with St. Lawrence Health offers services in five locations to best meet the needs of their patients.

April is Occupational Therapy (OT) Month, and simply put, therapists and therapy assistants are experts in assisting their patients perform the tasks and occupations they need and want to do every day.

"Occupational Therapy focuses on a return to daily functional activities. This could mean in the home, at work, or at school, with a focus on what is intrinsically motivating to the patient," noted SLH Rehabilitation Department Manager Laurie May White, PTA.

"Patients utilize OT to regain upper extremity function, improve cognitive functioning, manage visual impairments, and improve self-care abilities such as bathing, dressing, cooking, or managing other activities of daily living. Deficits in these areas can stem from medical conditions such as a stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury, or concussion," she continued.

Patients may also utilize OT to assist in recovery from chronic conditions such as arthritis or fibromyalgia, and repetitive conditions, injuries, or surgeries to the hand/wrist or forearm.

During an OT session, patients will be asked to conduct certain tasks, use modified everyday items, and/or perform particular exercises. They may further be instructed to do additional forms of therapy at home. Each session and "homework" assignment are personally tailored for each patient specific to their condition.

"We are very proud of our team," Ms. White noted. "We have highly skilled Occupational Therapists and an excellent OT Assistant who provide a broad continuum of care from hand therapy to low vision therapy, to concussion and stroke rehabilitation."

St. Lawrence Health offers outpatient OT services at Helen Snell Cheel Medical Campus in Potsdam, Gouverneur Hospital, and Massena Hospital, along with Hand Therapy at St. Lawrence Health Medical Campus in Canton. Inpatient OT services are provided at Canton-Potsdam Hospital, as well as Gouverneur and Massena hospitals.

SLH also offers physical rehabilitation through Aquatic, Physical, and Speech therapies. A provider referral is required for all physical rehab services. For more information, visit https://www.stlawrencehealthsystem.org/services/physical-rehabilitation.