Parkland occupational therapists help patients regain independence

When Aju Thomas first meets patients, he often has to make it clear that he’s not trying to find them a job or teach them new work skills.

As an occupational therapist at Parkland Memorial Hospital, Thomas is among those who work in collaboration with other healthcare specialties to help individuals recover from severe illness or injury so that they are not only well enough to leave the hospital, but also ready to resume as much of their previous independence and life as possible.

“It’s about helping people regain the ability to go about their daily lives, from brushing their teeth to cooking a meal, making the bed or going to the restroom,” Thomas said. “Whatever they need, we help them get there.”

Caleb Titus, 21, of Wichita Falls, credits Parkland occupational therapists with helping him begin to put his life back together after a severe spinal cord injury. Titus said he was driving on a remote road the night of Feb. 7 when he swerved to avoid an animal that darted in front of him. His car rolled over, crashed through a barbed wire fence and landed in a field. He lay there for seven hours before someone found him.

Brought to Parkland Memorial Hospital for treatment, he is now in a wheelchair and trying to walk again, but he knows that may not be possible.

“When this first happened, I thought I was going to have to spend the rest of my life in bed,” Titus said. “But I’ve made a lot of progress, more than they thought I would. We’ve been working hard to get me to do things like getting dressed and transferring into and out of bed. Today was the first day I was able to take a shower since I’ve been here.”

Titus said the progress he has made has helped him deal with what happened to him. He expects to eventually return to his job at a call center.

“When I get back home everything will be the same, but it will not be the same,” he said.

Joanna Brown, Manager of Parkland’s Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department (PM&R), said, “Everything we do is patient-centered. Many of our patients are with us for a long time, so it’s important for them to able to return to their normal lives when discharged.”

And, Brown stressed that when it comes to the rehabilitation of a patient, it can often involve all three therapy disciplines working together – speech, physical and occupational.

Thomas explained that speech therapy helps patients who have speech or communication disorders, as well as those who are dealing with head and neck cancers. He also discussed the difference between physical therapy and occupational therapy, explaining physical therapy focuses on being able to do specific movements, while occupational therapy concentrates on how to do tasks.

“Physical therapy is about learning how to get from point A to point B. Occupational therapy is about learning what to do once you get to point B,” Thomas said.

At Parkland, in addition to more traditional equipment such as exercise machines and weights, patients often learn how to do everyday tasks in specially designed Activities of Daily Living (ADL) facilities, which are “real life” mock ups of spaces found at home, such as a kitchen, bathroom, laundry or bedroom. They learn to use household equipment, cook, take a bath or shower, or put away their clothes.

Some of the equipment and supplies have been purchased thanks to the generosity of the Junior Charity League of Dallas. Since 1970, the organization has donated more than $2 million to help buy needed equipment and therapy items for Parkland’s PM&R department.

“These funds are helping us improve the lives of our patients,” said Jenni Burnes, Clinical Support Services administrator for PM&R at Parkland. In 2016, the department provided services for more than 120,000 patient visits in both inpatient and outpatient settings, while Occupational Therapy had 7,895 referrals of inpatient services and 5,473 for outpatient.

For Thomas, helping patients is the most satisfying aspect of his job. And he appreciates the benefits of working in a collaborative environment, he says, because if he doesn’t have a solution for a patient, “there are 20-plus other occupational therapists I can turn to help solve the problem.”

Thomas said he finds fulfillment in helping patients gain a measure of independence.

“Most of us take for granted that we’re able to wake up every morning and manage our daily tasks on our own,” he said. “But if you experience a severe illness or injury you may not be able to do that without some help. I became an occupational therapist to help patients gain that independence.”

For more information about services available at Parkland, visit www.parklandhospital.com. For information about donating to Parkland’s PM&R department, go to www.istandforparkland.org/donate