News and Announcements
IMPORTANT UPDATES FROM OUR RECOGNITIONS CHAIR!
Please review the updated versions of the student scholarship application, awards criteria, and award nomination form. If you have not already made your submissions, please use these new forms when applying for the student scholarship and/or nominating one of your outstanding colleagues for recognition. The deadline has been extended; please email your submissions to our Recognitions Chair, Tracy O'Connor, at toconnor@usouthal.edu by August 30, 2010. All awards with the exception of the OTA student scholarship will be presented at Fall Conference in Orange Beach, September 10-12. The OTA student scholarship will be awarded at Spring Conference 2011.
STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP TO BE AWARDED AT FALL CONFERENCE 2010
Students, this is your chance to get money to assist in paying for your education!! ALL OT students are encouraged to apply. Download the application and email to Recognitions Chair, Tracy O'Connor, at toconnor@usouthal.edu no later than August 30, 2010. An OTA student scholarship will be awarded at the Spring Conference, so check back for that application to come!
ALOTA Fall Conference 2010 - It's Time to Register!
You've been waiting for it, and we have been busy preparing another excellent conference for you with an outstanding line-up of speakers on a variety of topics. Just click here to view what is in store for you, all while you enjoy the beautiful atmosphere of Orange Beach and help to support the local economy. The deadline to register is August 31, 2010. You may register by mailing in the above brochure or online by clicking here. Be sure to look for your member status on the drop down menu. If you would like to join ALOTA when you register for conference in order to receive the member rate, you may do so by clicking here. We look forward to seeing all of you!
Opportunity to SAVE on Continuing Education Webinar by FOTA
FOTA is offering ALOTA members the FOTA member rate for their Webinar: A Primer in Pharmacology for the Rehabilitative Professional to be held Thursday, July 15, 2010 from 7:30 PM Eastern - 9:30 PM Eastern. Attendees will be awarded 2.0 contact hours. If you are interested, click here to register.
2010 Marie Moore Lyles Symposium - POSTPONED Until Further Notice
The symposium, orginally scheduled for June 12, 2010 on the campus of Tuskegee University (East Central District), has been cancelled for the original date and no new date has been scheduled at this time. Please continue to check back for updates regarding the symposium.
AOTA Representative Assembly 2010 Spring Meeting Summary
The RA successfully completed their spring meeting, following a format of partial online task group preparation as well as face to face sessions in Orlando. They deliberated upon 26 items of business. Highlights include adoption of: a Phase I exploration of school system specialty certification; COE and COP examination of OTA student supervision in SNFs; advocacy for OTA FW within the SNF community; and amended Guidelines for Re-entry into the field of OT. Thirteen additional documents were approved through consent agenda. Though considered to be a worthy effort, the motion on honorary membership for retirees as written was found to be too complex and expensive to pursue at this time. Although the Participation Ad Hoc Recommendations were defeated, two related motions were adopted: to create an ad hoc committee to continue to explore opportunities for organizational change and to expand the role of the Recognitions and Nominating Committees to “go beyond” prior functions and recommend an implementation plan for doing so.
If you have questions or concerns, contact Beth Barstow, AL AOTA Delegate at bbarstow@uab.edu
Call For Papers - ALOTA Fall Conference
While spring conference has just wrapped up, it is time to unfold plans for fall conference! We had a wonderful time at the new Phoenix West facility last year, and will be holding this years conference there September 10-12. Get started early to make it great and submit a presentation according to the following guidelines. Deadline for submissions is May 31, 2010.
ALOTA Co-sponsors Golf Clinic
ALOTA, along with TherapySouth and BioTech, are sponsoring First Swing, an adaptive golf clinic for individuals with amputations and other physical disabilities. The two-day clinic will be held June 11-12 (Fri-Sat) and is open to any person with a disability, golf professional, or healthcare provider. 1.3 CEUs will be issued for healthcare provider participants. You do not have to have any golfing experience, just a desire to play and/or teach adaptive methods for golfing to clients. View the brochure for details and registration.
We Need YOU!
Looking for an excellent and rewarding volunteer opportunity? Great - we are looking for you too! We need volunteers for the following positions on the ALOTA board:
- Membership Chair
- Central District Chair
- Public Awareness
- Reimbursement Chair
- Government Affairs
- Conference Planning
- Awareness
- Membership
- Reimbursement
OT Fun Day at UAB!
On May 30, 2009, the UAB Student Occupational Therapy Association hosted its 1st Annual Occupational Therapy Fun Day. The event brought people of all ages out to experience the world of occupational therapy first hand. The time has come again for the community to gather in celebration of occupational therapy.
On April 17th, 2010 at 11:00 am, the festivities will commence. Fun day offers a wide variety of carnival games that showcase the many facets of occupational therapy. Each game relates to an area of occupation or functional skill. Games will include treasure hunt, fishing, pie-in-the face, moonwalk and more. There will also be concessions available for purchase. Come one! Come all! Come children, adolescents and adults! Help us to spread the word about this exciting, valuable field through our favorite occupations, leisure and play.
OT Fun Day April 17th, 2010 11:00 am -2:00 pm On ‘the green,’ (the corner of 10th Ave. S. and 15th St. S)
In the past few years, this organization has grown tremendously, and we have a wonderful group of leaders who are looking forward to offering more programs and more advocacy for occupational therapy practitioners in this state! If you are interested in serving on a committee, please email Valley Osborne-McCurry your information. Also, please pass the word on to other OT professionals whom you think may be interested!
Announcing New Partnership With Smart Solutions
ALOTA has partnered with Smart Solutions, an Adaptive Technology provider, to offer no-cost in-home evaluations for patients of ALOTA members. This is a great opportunity for any member whether they specialize in outpatient therapy, inpatient care, or home health.
ALOTA members will now be able to utilize Smart Solutions services as a resource providing your patients with an assessment of environmental controls options that may be applicable. Smart Solutions specializes in environmental controls and can provide patients solutions to control their home systems such as lighting, climate, security, cameras, and media systems.
For more information on Smart Solutions or to request a consultation, please contact Kevin Braswell with Smart Solutions at (205) 868-9311 or e-mail him at kbraswell@smarthomesolutions.com. Additional information is also available on the Smart Solutions website @ www.smarthomesolutions.com.
We have also added a link to the Smart Solutions website in the community resources section of our "links" page for future reference.
New Initiative with Restore Therapy Services
We are thrilled to announce a new membership initiative with Restore Therapy Services. Restore is now offering annual memberships in ALOTA to all of their occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants as a free employment benefit. This groundbreaking agreement was negotiated by ALOTA President Valley McCurry and Restore’s Executive Officers, and is a win-win arrangement for both organizations! Arrangements such as these have the potential to significantly boost our membership numbers, which will allow us to continue to expand our lobbying and advocacy efforts, and our low-cost continuing education offerings. Modeled after a recent initiative of AOTA, we are seeking new relationships with corporations as part of our strategic plan. Interested in seeing something like this happen at your place of employment? Click here to send us an email, and we will follow up from there.
Interested in Getting Involved with ALOTA?
All it takes is a willingness to get involved. We will show you the rest. We have opportunities that would likely be a good fit for you regardless of your area of interest. Click here to drop us a note.