Aurora Independence

10/01/2024

Calling all OTPs of Pennsylvania: OT COMPACT Advocacy needed.

Pennsylvania Occupational Therapy Association has been working hard at the state level to get the OT Compact law passed (PA House Bill 2381.)

It has passed the PA House with a BIG thank you to Tarik S. Khan for voting yes, and the other 176 members who did so.

What we need now, is for OTPs in Pennsylvania to get loud, be active, and reach out to your Senators. If they don't hear from you, they don't always dedicate time to our causes, or vote in our best interests.

Find your senator here: https://lnkd.in/eNANFwSF

Check out the comments for a sample letter. I generalized one that Emily S. Gavin, MS, OTR/L, CDP shared with me if you don't know where to start.

09/23/2024

Share with your networks!

09/15/2024

This month is Falls Prevention Month, and this week we share real-life Low Cost- High Impact solutions that helped 16 clients in the Germantown area feel safer within their homes.

This opportunity was made possible thanks to a Microgrant from AARP.

We taught a three-part workshop, visited each client individually, and helped empower and guide these seniors to use the Home Fit guide from AARP paired with the knowledge of fall prevention, to determine solutions that would help them in their own homes.

Now we will spend the rest of the year installing said items.

This blog shares the MOST requested items and we would LOVE to hear what else you add to your lists.

Enhancing Home Safety: Practical, Low-Cost Solutions for Fall Prevention

08/16/2024

This month's episode with the founder of (Aurora Independence) founder, Dawn Heiderscheidt, OTR/L is LIVE!

Tune in on your favorite platform to learn about aging in place and when to start planning for it!

06/30/2024

CAPS certification has opened the door for me to learn more about the construction terms, trends, and marketing considerations I have needed to help grow my Home Mods Budiness.

Is it easy? NOPE.
Is it a quick overnight thing? NOPE.

But the first step is gaining the competency.

Join April AG and Alternative Healthcare Careers as they host their next CAPS class Aug 14,15,16th

Get your CAPS designation and become an expert at home modifications by taking CAPS I, CAPS II and CAPS III.

05/20/2024

This weekend Mark Hunt and I supported the fundraising efforts of Help Hope Live and the Hope Travels 5k!

Always a pleasure to see Sonny Mullen and supporting an amazing organization!

If you don’t already know Help Hope Live, check them out. This organization helps people raise money and funds for the things that help them thrive, but isn’t always covered by traditional means. And it’s staffed by some pretty awesome people!

04/29/2024

Join me tomorrow at the Geriatric Virtual Summit as I chat Supporting Safety for those living with Dementia.

This is for therapists, and has topics ranging from compliance to treatment. There is live version, virtual, and great if you need some CEUs

Would love to see you there!

If you want to sign up you can use this link : dawn@auroraindependence.com&loginCode=$ni6lJkq" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://szi0sio203bxmrc7jxxw.app.clientclub.net/?email=dawn@auroraindependence.com&loginCode=$ni6lJkq

03/18/2024

Come meet me at Conference!

I’ll be presenting a poster with Jeanne Coviello and other Temple Collegues on “Addressing City Dwelling Older Adults Needs through Faculty Supported FW,”

Saturday, Mar 23 · 9–11 AM

Learn a little about how Temple Students work with Community Dwelling Adults to support Aging in Place.

Maybe I'll share how this partnership helped expand my Home Mods Business, and how collaboratoon and suppprt and belief from my Alma Mater helped it hapen!

See you there? Come visit!

01/04/2024

POTA District II sponsored Continuing Education Event: Occupational Therapy and Gender Affirming Care will provide an hour of virtual education and Q&A with Dr. Jennifer White, CScD, MOT, OTR/L and Tana Pierro, OTS and doctoral candidate on Jan. 31, 2024. This past spring, Tana was named on the Bright Young People of 2023 by Allie’s for Health and Wellbeing (formerly the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force). This session will cover gender affirming practices to challenge and support inclusivity of occupational therapy practice for current and future practitioners. POTA will be offering 1 hour of continuing education for participating in this event. A 20-dollar Amazon Gift Card raffle will be provided at the end of the event. The fee for the event is $10 for POTA members and $40 for non-members and $5 for student members and $20 for student non-members.

Register for the event here today: https://pota.site-ym.com/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1818381

11/21/2023

POTA's mental health task force is kindly asking anyone interested to fill out this survey from AOTA's Mental Health Special Interest Section in favor of an AOTA board certification in mental health.

Currently, PA is currently unable to be reimbursed for outpatient mental health. The state requires other professions to have an exam and certification to show competence in the field of mental health. Having a certification after passing an exam could open the doors to more reimbursement options, which would be increasing access to quality OT services to folks who are currently unable to receive OT services.

Clinically, this board certification would be important to support OTPs in staying true to their profession and offering unique and valuable contributions to the field of mental health.

Legislatively, the BCMH could be very important for states where OTPs cannot be currently reimbursed for mental health services. There is currently no other national certification in mental health for specifically OTPs. Many other professions offer a clinical exam in mental health (e.g. nursing and social work in Pennsylvania). An exam associated with the BCMH would be needed to fully help states in their legislative advocacy efforts.

Survey link:
https://forms.aota.org/forms/mhsis_board_survey?fbclid=IwAR36EWz79wGuFdz-JtwhpS65_k48c3vaV-M8PV_0Ufyw3uA3TDdGP4ImnrA

08/07/2023

As I travel more for work, I get to see a lot of bathrooms, hotel rooms, and public spaces.

And while I appreciated the announcement that “the bathrooms in the back are wheelchair accessible” as an accessibility specialist, there are some wins, and def some losses.

What do you all like or dislike about this airplane bathroom??

I’ll start:
♥️ I really do love the contrasting colored grab bars.
Maybe it’s branding, maybe it’s for visual cueing/orientation, either way, it’s starting to work!

04/18/2023

Healthcare workers should be leading the world.
Seriously. We see the direct impact disparities in the systems have on people’s health and longevity.
Which is why I am so excited to have a PA house rep who is a NURSE, and still practicing.
I was grateful to meet ( ) , and not pictured Rep. Roni Green this past weekend at Rep. Khan’s open house.
It was nice to see what the office has to offer, see other Reps supporting each other, and getting a better idea of how the state capital works.
It important to remember that is accessible to us, if we work on being engaged. They are open, and willing to hear us.
Looking forward to engaging with staffers about the challenges our clients face in accessible housing, how we need to create a state wide plan to prepare for our aging seniors, and ideas has to help along the way!