How Occupational Therapy Helps Older Adults Keep Up with the PACE of Aging
As people age, it can become harder to move around. Older adults often face challenges with weakness, balance issues, arthritis or recovery from an injury or illness.
Occupational therapy (OT) can help! At CenterLight Healthcare’s Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), occupational therapists help older adults stay active, safe, and self-sufficient so they can go about their daily lives with confidence.
What is Occupational Therapy?
OT helps people with everyday activities like getting dressed, eating and moving around. Simply put, occupational therapists help people learn new ways of doing things to make their life easier and help them stay independent.
Occupational therapy can help participants:
- Improve balance
- Prevent falls
- Make their homes safer
- Build better hand coordination
- Complete tasks by using special tools
A Success Story
Our occupational therapists find ways to improve the lives of our participants. One man in our program has tremors (shaking hands) and had trouble feeding himself without spilling the food.
This left him upset and discouraged. Occupational Therapist Sara DiFatta recognized that he still had good hand strength and movement, so she gave him a special weighted spoon that helped control the tremors. With this new tool, he was able to feed himself without any spills. This is just one example of how therapists can educate participants on the proper use of equipment and offer strategies to increase independence.
Why Occupational Therapy?
As an occupational therapist, I get to build relationships with the participants I treat, allowing me to better understand their needs and provide more effective care. Seeing their progress and watching their outlook improve is incredibly rewarding.
Working with the CenterLight PACE Care Team
Our participants know that they have a designated care team available to offer hands-on support to help them live safely and independently at home. Our physical and occupational therapists are part of that Interdisciplinary Team (IDT). This group of dedicated professionals work together to make sure each participant gets the right care at the right time.
Open Gym CenterLight’s PACE Centers in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, Long Island, and Westchester include an open gym available for participants. They can schedule transportation to and from the PACE center, where they may enjoy therapeutic recreation activities, nutritious meals, see their medical provider, and exercise — under one roof! It’s all part of Keeping Up with the PACE of Aging!
This blog post is written by Brendan Geraghty, Director of Rehabilitation at CenterLight Healthcare PACE.
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