Alabama Occupational Therapy Association

Applications are being accepted through June 15th forAOTA’s Leadership Development Program for Managers. This program is open to occupational therapy practitioners with more than 5 years of experience who are currently in management positions and wish to increase their leadership and management skills. Special consideration will be given to practitioners new to their Rehabilitation/School-Based Occupational Therapy Manager/Director position. Includes a 2.5 day training in September at the national office and all expenses are paid. Additional information is available at: http://www.aota.org/Practitioners/Resources/Leadership-Development-Program-for-Managers.aspx

There has been a huge push towards de-institutionalization in our state and nationwide, and this has been a good thing.  People living with mental health concerns do better with community based care, but what if that care goes away?  Those same people, in the same situation but without adequate care, could create a potential crisis.  Homelessness rates would likely skyrocket among those affected.   All of the progress with deinstitutionalization could actually be reversed.  The proposed cuts to the mental health services in our state could do just that. 

So what can you do about it? 

Call your legislators in Montgomery.  Click here and enter your address.  This will give you the contact information for your Alabama Legislator.   The general fund budget is through the House of Representatives already – so you should contact your senator.  A telephone call is *the* most effective way to let them know how much you care about the bill, and your opinion matters greatly to them!

Please keep it short, polite, and respectful. If you don’t know what to say, here is a suggestion:

“Senator (name), my name is (name) and I live in your district. I am an (occupational therapist, occupational therapy assistant, or occupational therapy student) and I wanted to let you know that I am opposed to the proposed budget cuts to the Department of Mental Health because it has the potential to reverse the gains made in community-based care for people who need mental health services.  Without those services, homelessness among those affected would increase, or worse, and it would likely mean the reopening of state hospitals that were closed for being too expensive anyway.  Thank you for your time, have a pleasant day.”

You don’t need to say a great deal more than that, unless they ask you questions, in which case you could refer to the points laid out in this posting.

Now is the time to act, and it is your action that matters.  Need help?  Let us know by clicking here; we will get back with you ASAP.

It’s that time of year again! It’s time to start thinking about our Annual Fall Conference at Orange Beach, AL.  Conference will be held September 14-16, 2012 at the Hampton Inn. If you are interested in presenting, this is an excellent location with historically high attendance.  Please download and submit the call for papers.

Make your reservations early to ensure the group rate!  Use this link to our personalized group page in order to make online reservations at the Hampton Inn, Orange Beach, AL.  Use the information below including group code and direct phone line for any questions/phone reservations.  Using the Hampton Inn 800 number will not ensure you receive the group rate.

Group Name:  Alabama Occupational Therapy Association

Group Code: ALO

Check-in:  14-SEP-2012

Check-out:  16-SEP-2012

Hotel Name:  Hampton Inn & Suites Orange Beach/Gulf Front

Hotel Address:  25518 Perdido Beach Blvd; Orange Beach, Alabama 36561

Phone Number:  251-923-4400

ALOTA South District Spring Conference has been cancelled.  Any questions regarding this event should be directed to Donna Wooster at donna.wooster@alota.org We appreciate your understanding.

From north, take I65S to exit 256A, bear right onto Oxmoor Road, Right onto Vulcan Road, Brown Mackie will be on the right.

 If coming from Greensprings Ave:   turn onto Valley Ave heading West and then take a left at the street light at the Wells Fargo onto Vulcan Road, Brown Mackie will be on your left.

Spring Conference is just around the corner!  Set for April 14, 2012 at the new Brown-Mackie College, this conference is shaping up to be another great one.

ONLINE REGISTRATION IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE FOR THIS EVENT.  YOU MAY REGISTER ON-SITE.

Spring Conference 2012 Agenda

Registration forms can be found on the last (4th) page of the spring newsletter.  A link to the newsletter is provided here:  Spring 2012 Newsletter (with conference registration)

VENDORS: You must fill out a vendor form and submit payment.  Thank you!

Penny Anthony, an occupational therapy assistant at Spain Rehabilitation, tells what it is like to be the patient after injury.  She is regaining her independence in the very place she was teaching others to regain their independence prior to the tornadoes of April 27.  Read the complete story here.

You may see Ross MacDonald wearing a shirt with “BrOT” on the front and “We are a rare breed” on the back.  But make sure you pronounce the acronym correctly.

“The girls in our class find it amusing to pronounce it ‘brot’ like bratwurst,” said MacDonald, a first year UAB Occupational Therapy student.

BrOT, Brothers (or Bro for short) in Occupational Therapy, is a national movement started by two students, Josh Springer and Houman Ziai, in Pennsylvania focusing on getting more males into the profession. MacDonald was reading OT Practice magazine when he learned about the movement in an ad featuring two male Occupational Therapy students with the caption, “Join the BrOT-initiative.” He approached another classmate and they agreed to buy the shirts.

Read the full story

The Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA) at UAB held their first 5k February 4, 2012 to raise on money to assist students in the program with scholarships, attendance of the annual national conference, and to help support community organizations.  Click here for the full article on UAB’s website.

Spring Conference is just around the corner.  It is scheduled for April 14, 2012 at Brown Mackie College, home of the new Occupational Therapy Assistant program.  Download the call for papers below and submit by March 1, 2012.

ALOTA Call for papers