Occupational Therapy team helps patients deal with everyday life skills

It might be a toddler who needs help relearning how to play and learn, or an adult who needs to relearn basic activities of daily living. Whether resulting from an accident, illness or a serious medical condition, Loma Linda University Health’s Occupational Therapy team members work together with their patients to learn or improve their ability to accomplish vital life skills.

Directed by Melissa Backstrom, Director of Rehab Services, the Occupational Therapy team’s 36 members serve 215 – 230 patients daily. They deal with a variety of diagnoses due to Loma Linda University Medical Center’s status as a Level I trauma center and Comprehensive Stroke Center. Adult patients in specialty units including Transplant, Oncology, Cardiology/Cardiothoracic surgery, Neurology/Neuro-surgery, General & Trauma surgery often require OT assistance. Other members of the OT team cover the Children’s Hospital.

Most people don’t give a second thought about their daily activities, until they have trouble doing them. It’s at those moments that Occupational Therapy team members serve to meet their patients’ physical and mental health and achieve their maximum level of independent living.

The American Occupational Therapy Association has adopted  “Occupational Therapy: Advancing Health, Well-Being, and Quality of Life” as its promotional theme for 2024. The work of Loma Linda University Health’s occupational therapists translate the ACTA theme into action with every patient they serve.