July / August / September • Issue 3 • 2019
Driver’s Rehabilitation and the Role of OT, Continued from Page 4
are seen in clinic for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s
worth asking the client how they got to their outpatient
therapy appointment and talking about overall driving
safety and the inherent risks involved. We are best utilized
to assess patients that the generalist OT isn’t quite sure how
they’d perform behind the wheel. Furthermore, coming up
with an eventual driver retirement plan with patients will
make the process easier, even if they don’t need to retire
from driving right now.
About the Author
Ashley Buksa is a second-year MSOT student at Lewis
University in Romeoville, IL. Originally from Alsip, IL,
Ashley attended the University of Iowa for her undergraduate
degree in Health and Human Physiology Health Promotion
with a certificate in Disability Studies. Ashley also serves on
the ILOTA Student Committee.
Brandon Lesch and the rest of the Marianjoy Center of Excellence
for Driver Rehabilitation team can be reached at 630-909-6084
or [email protected].
Morgan Stasell, OTS
Many Hands Make Light Work: Growing ILOTA with
Jacob Garrison, OTR/L
Jacob Garrison currently serves as the Director of
Membership on ILOTA’s Board of Directors. In addition to
these responsibilities, Jacob is also an occupational therapist
(OT) at Symphony of Orchard Valley in Aurora, IL. Read
on to find out more about his role, the benefits of ILOTA
membership, the importance of ILOTA membership, as well
as learn a few tips on how to encourage other Illinois OT
practitioners to join ILOTA.
What does your role as the Director of Membership entail?
My job duties primarily entail developing membership
and making membership a valuable resource to both current
members and potential new members, such as students or
practicing clinicians who are not yet a part of ILOTA. My
role focuses in on how we can make ILOTA applicable to all
IL OT practitioners, whether they are practicing, retired, or
upcoming.
The entire board of directors works together collaboratively,
just like we do with our clients receiving OT services. We try
to help each other out as much as possible and bounce ideas
off of each other. Everything is developed as a whole. We
decide as a team what is the best
way to develop membership; there
are constantly new innovative ideas
being brought to the table.
How has this role changed as
ILOTA has evolved?
In the past, this role was more
‘numbers-driven’. The board was
really focused on increasing our
membership numbers. Now, we are
more focused on discovering new ways to engage our current
members to retain their membership, encourage them to stay
involved, and increase future membership.
How does ILOTA plan to increase and engage its
membership base?
Engagement from members can vary from board
membership to membership on a subcommittee. There are
many things to get involved with, as well as many benefits to
being a member of ILOTA, such as
Continued on Page 6
Page