Research Advisory Board Opportunity

Elizabeth K. Schmidt, Ph.D., OTR/L, a Postdoctoral Fellow at Boston University is recruiting Advisory Board Members with developmental disabilities for a Comprehensive Sexual Health Education study. Members will help the team with making decisions about study procedures and help create sexual health lessons. The Advisory Board will be virtual. if you are interested in

Please fill out this survey link if you are interested in seeing if you may be a good fit for the Advisory Board. 

COVID-19 Research Study Opportunity

We would like your input and voice regarding COVID-19.

A national survey for families of adults (ages 18+) with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities that has been created in response to rapidly changing circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Are you 18 or older?
  • Do you have an intellectual disability and/or a developmental disability?
  • Are you interested in sharing about how you have been doing during this time?

If you answered YES to these questions, we would like to invite you to participate in the study by taking a short survey online now (and at two other times in the future). Your survey answers MATTER and they will help us learn how to help you during these tough times.

Click on the link below to answer questions about your home life, work life and health.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE SURVEY

If you have any questions about this research study, please email Margaret Rosencrans at Margaret.Rosencrans@osumc.edu

 

Internship Feature: OSU Student Health Services Physical Therapy Department

When TOPS approached Pam Bork (Senior Physical Therapist for OSU Student Health Services) about creating an internship for students in the TOPS Program, she welcomed us with open arms and was eager to make it work. She met us with a smile on her face, gave us a tour of the facility and office spaces, and we collaborated to come up with various tasks students can work on to build their employment skills in her department.

Depending on a student’s interest, some of the things they can learn in the Physical Therapy department include:

  • Office Support – greeting incoming patients, answering the phone, making copies, checking the mail and writing appointment reminder cards
  • Healthcare and Physical Therapy – cleaning and resetting gym equipment and patient rooms, stocking and ordering therapy supplies, sit in on therapy appointments to learn about different types of therapy and assist
  • Research – do online research regarding things like health and wellness, different types of injuries, why people need physical therapy, and physical therapy exercises that help patients get better
Student (Connor) in black and white polo shirt sitting on a green exercise ball. Connor is sitting next to Pam, his internship supervisor, and learning about different types of therapy.

TOPS student, Connor Silverman, learning about therapy exercises from his internship supervisor, Pam Bork.

If there is something a student wants to learn more about, Pam is happy to help them towards that goal. She takes the time to get to know each student and understand how they learn best to help them be successful and as independent as possible – one of our students, Connor, loved that Pam talked with him about Ohio State football and that she had a checklist of tasks for him to utilize each shift. Thank you to Pam and her team for creating such an inclusive and supportive environment for TOPS students.

Employer Spotlight: Patient Transportation Embraces All

Photo of Shelly Martin, Ben Walter and John Roese behind a patient transportation cart holding a red "Inclusiveness" sign

Shelly Martin (Assistant Director of Patient Transportation), Ben Walter (General Services Assistant) and John Roese (Supervisor of Hospital Transport Services); Image Source

An “Inclusive” Look Behind the Scenes

When you ask 23-year-old Ben Walter how he’s doing, you get a cheerful, “Good, very busy!”

Each day, Ben rounds up dozens of wheelchairs, motorized stretchers and gurneys from all parts of The James – and makes sure they’re clean and ready to roll.

Ben is the one and only general services assistant in the Patient Transportation Department at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. He earned this newly created job title after working hard in the TOPS Program at the Nisonger Center, which offers unique study and employment opportunities for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“Ben takes great pride in his work,” says his supervisor, John Roese, Patient Transportation. “He’s full of energy. He loves to talk with people and connect with others.”

Actually, John is a relationship-builder too ─ in the way he partners with Ben and supervises his team.

“John changes the atmosphere in a positive way ─ with his spirituality, adaptability and empathy. He’s an amazing listener, says Shelly Martin, assistant director of Patient Transportation. “We knew he would be adept at helping Ben succeed in this new position.”

Shelly and John embrace the core value of inclusiveness as they manage Ben and the rest of the Patient Transportation team.

“We are committed to inclusion and efforts to support everyone,” Shelly says.

Within the Patient Transportation Department, team members of different ages, abilities, genders and cultural backgrounds work toward the same goal: safe, timely transportation of patients.

Diverse team performs vital work 

The Patient Transportation Department is vital for the smooth operation of the hospital and for providing a pleasant customer service experience.

“It’s very important work that we do,” Shelly says. “Our team members transport patients throughout the entire health system, everywhere except outpatient facilities and OSU East. We know how to get from points A to B efficiently.”

Meanwhile, John supervises the Patient Transportation storekeepers ─ Ben, plus five others. They collect abandoned wheelchairs and equipment, easily walking 10 miles a day through hospital tunnels, crossovers and parking garages. They make sure everything is sanitized, powered up and functioning properly ─ essential work that could easily be taken for granted.

“Our storekeepers do their part to make sure there are no delays in patient care,” John explains. “Sometimes their work goes unnoticed. You just expect wheelchairs and stretchers to magically appear and be there, but you don’t see the behind-the-scenes people who make it happen.”

Naturally, wheelchairs and gurneys are hot commodities around here. So each morning, Ben assesses the equipment supply in the storage room and helps line up wheelchairs at the entrance for people arriving at The James.

Next, he meticulously checks the floors for left-behind equipment, which will be needed throughout the day for transporting patients to surgeries, X-rays and other procedures.

“To help Ben keep track of what he’s doing, his coaches created a special list on a dry erase card,” explains John. “After he collects equipment from one floor, he checks it off, and then hits the next floor, working his way down.”

“It’s a lot of walking,” Ben says with a laugh.

Being differently abled doesn’t stop people from working in Patient Transportation.

“Everyone deserves a chance. We’ll work a strategy to make people successful ─ through accommodations or resources,” John says. “Ben and I talk throughout the day. I make sure his needs are met, and we work hard to get the job done. We’re glad he’s here.”

Break down barriers ─ why not? 

By tackling his job each day, Ben breaks down barriers and brings awareness to others that differently abled people can perform many types of roles.

“Ben shows great courage in just being here,” Shelly says. “At first, people may not understand, but he takes us through the learning process of how we can accept and appreciate people of all intellectual and physical abilities.”

Whenever reasonably possible, Shelly does her best to be inclusive and support her team members dealing with other life issues, too.

“For example, we try to make accommodations for people who have visual challenges due to age. We try to accommodate women after childbirth who face nursing challenges and single parents who need to adjust their schedules to care for children,” Shelly explains. “We even incorporate shoes into our uniform budget so our staff (who walk 7-10 miles a day) can afford shoes.”

When someone has a challenging request or situation, Shelly, John and the rest of the leadership team first ask themselves, “Why not?”

“Let’s figure out how we can do this,” Shelly explains. “And if there’s a good reason we can’t, that’s fine. But before we say no, we always ask, ‘Why not?’”

Being inclusive pays big dividends for everyone.

“When we treat people with respect and fairness, they have that sense of belonging and can be an equal team member,” Shelly says. “They come to work with joy and passion for their work.”

Grateful for the opportunity

As for Ben, he’s thrilled to work in health care. His mother was a physical therapist, and this job helps him proudly follow in her footsteps.

After a long shift of checking floors and gathering up wheelchairs and transportation equipment, Ben feels like he’s making a contribution.

“I feel good because I’m helping people. I help my co-workers because they don’t have to find the gurneys and clean them,” explains Ben.

And by providing wheelchairs, Ben helps our patients, too.

“I make the patients’ days a little easier,” he says. “Patients are dealing with a lot of stress, and sometimes life and death stuff. I know how they feel. And this is how I can help them.”

Quick Facts About Patient Transportation 

  • We have approximately 70 transport staff members (and we’re training more).
  • Our team performs approximately 700 patient transports daily.
  • We have approximately 400 wheelchairs (and can always use more).
  • It’s not unusual for team members to walk 7-10 miles a day, transporting patients and collecting equipment.
  • We’ve tracked down our wheelchairs in parking garages, downtown alleys, at Goodwill and even as far away as West Virginia.

This article is part of a series describing how Ohio State faculty and staff are leading the way by embodying the Buckeye Spirit in everything they do through shared values of empathy, ownership, inclusiveness, determination, innovation and sincerity. 

Article Source: “Patient Transportation Embraces All.” HealthBeat HUB, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, 10 June 2020, advocate.socialchorus.com/ohiostate/ohiostate/sc4#contents/22286919.

Survey Request

Dear student,

You are invited to participate in a research study to understand your motivation and participation in physical activity. The study is being done by Dr. Deborah Shapiro and Mason Sur at Georgia State University.  You do not have to be actively involved in sport or physical activity to complete this survey.   The survey will take 10 minutes or less of your time. By participating in the survey, you will have a chance to win a $20 Amazon e-gift card. A total of 10 winners will be selected after the completion of the study.

You must be 18 years or older to participate in the study and the raffle. Please click the link to the consent form and the survey.

Survey link:  https://gsu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6hDlXFnQK9HDUpv

If you have any question about the survey, please contact to Mason Sur at (815) 761-2399 or msur1@student.gsu.edu

 

Regards,

Mason Sur

Doctoral student

Physical Education and Teacher Education Program

Department of Kinesiology and Health

Georgia State University

Sport Arena #122

Email: msur1@student.gsu.edu

Apps for Skill Building

Many students think of summer as a time to take an opportunity to relax from classes and employment responsibilities, but that doesn’t have to be the case. While summer break can be a time of getting extra Vitamin D and rest, it is also important that we continue to engage in activities that will strengthen our independent living, healthy lifestyle, and lifelong-learning skills.

One thing that I know we have learned throughout the COVID-19 pandemic is the power of technology. We have been able to engage with one another socially, career-wise, and academically through Zoom and other outlets with the single click of a mouse or opening of a phone application. The opportunities that are available for skill development, especially on smart phones, are endless, and I would really like to see students taking the time this summer to explore some applications that might help them to be more independent, responsible young adults.

Here is a link to a compilation of apps that can help develop and maintain positive independent living skills throughout the summer. The apps are categorized by “Occupational Performance,” and include, but are not limited to Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), Safety and Emergency Maintenance, Leisure, etc. They also include the compatibility of the app and the price, if applicable. There are several wonderful applications on the list that hopefully, will be able to address target needs.

If there are any questions that you might have regarding specific applications or specific areas of need, please reach out to the TOPS staff. As professionals in the disability field, we are constantly being made aware of new technological advances and tools to help support our students.

Take care and hAPPy summer!