Rehab hospital in spotlight

Throughout October and November, UF Health Shands Rehab Hospital staff members presented on a number of topics at state and national conferences.

Kerry Lenius, CCC-SLP, a speech language pathologist, spoke at the American Speech Language and Hearing Association’s national conference in Orlando about her successes with the hospital’s Aphasia Book Club.

Becky Piazza, OTR/L., clinical coordinator, spoke during two seminars at the Florida Occupational Therapy Association’s annual conference in Ft. Myers. She addressed occupational therapy for patients after stroke and collaborative learning environments for student education.

Lindsey Dahns, M.O.T., OTR/L., an occupational therapist, also spoke at the FOTA conference about service-learning as a vehicle for professional development.

Jenny Amsinger, P.T., Mike Chiarelli, P.T., and Piazza shared research findings about clinical education in a rehab setting at the American Physical Therapy Association Educational Leadership Conference in Kansas City, Missouri.

Lana Watson, M.H.S., O.T.R./L., interim director of rehab services, said our staff members have great opportunities to share UF Health’s best practices nationwide when speaking at events like these.

“Any time we can put UF Health Shands Rehab Hospital in the national spotlight, we will,” Watson said. “Our affiliation with an academic medical health center, coupled with the skill and experience of our staff, gives us an advantage over many of the other rehabilitation hospitals in Florida and in the U.S.”