Occupational Therapy
Occupational therapists help patients restore their ability to take care of themselves, function independently, and at their highest potential. We offer inpatient and outpatient services as well as therapy services in the home health setting and long term care facilities.
Occupation therapy offers the following services:
- Upper extremity strengthening and fine motor coordination exercises, including hand therapy
- Activities of Daily Living training (dressing, grooming, bathing)
- Homemaking skills
- Fit and train assistive technology
- Stroke rehabilitation
- Splint fabrication to decrease pain, prevent deformities, immobilize joints
- Community re-integration activities / analysis
- Home Safety Assessments to optimize the home setting for safety, assess when a change in environment/support is needed, and assist with prescribing and obtaining assistive equipment to maximize safety.
- Wheelchair positioning/assessment and pressure mapping assessment
- Vestibular/balance and dizziness evaluation and treatment
- Family education
- Work conditioning/job site analysis
- Pediatric fine motor/sensory treatments
- Low vision assessment and treatment and adaptions to improve independence at home
Our occupational therapists treat patients with:
- Hand/Arm Injuries: constructing splints, treating diagnoses such as carpal tunnel syndrome, deQuervain’s, tendon injuries, crush injuries, arthritis and nerve injuries. A hand therapist helps patients restore movement and strength to upper extremities that have been injured or affected by disease. A primary goal is to reduce pain and swelling in hands and arms.
- Cerebral Vascular Accident (CVA): training in basic activities of daily living (ADLs), one-handed techniques for dressing, visual perceptual skills; promotes restoration of fine motor skills and upper extremity strength. Therapists also fabricate resting hand splints to prevent contractures.
- Hip / Knee Replacements: training with assistive technology for independent dressing, safety and home environment while following hip and knee precautions.
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): teaches patients with respiratory problems and decreased breathing capacity to simplify work/home environment activities, to conserve energy and breathing techniques, and offers instruction in assistive technology to maintain independence.
- Arthritis: designs splints to help alleviate pain and prevent deformity, teach joint protection and adaptive techniques for maintaining independence.
- Work Injuries: training in body mechanics, ergonomics and environmental analysis to avoid repetitive trauma and other injuries.
- Pediatrics: provides pediatric evaluation and treatment for children of all ages with difficulty feeding/eating, having trouble with fine motor activities, sensory stimulation and attention.
- Low Vision: provide interventions to enable patients to use remaining vision more effectively and modify environment to facilitate independence.
Our Staff
The occupational therapy department includes a hand-therapist who specializes in hand therapy; a pediatric therapist with training in sensory integration techniques, handwriting, feeding training, coordination and neurological treatment of children; and a certified occupational therapy assistant with specialized training in geriatrics, wheelchair positioning, arthritis treatment, and home safety.
Contact the Occupational Therapy Department at (605) 696-8060.
System Providers:
Jamie Halvorson, OT
- Occupational Therapy
- Pediatric Occupational Therapy
- Sports Medicine
- Brookings Hospital
