Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy at St. Peter’s Health helps you maximize your ability to conduct daily activities as independently and safely as possible.

An occupational therapist develops your treatment with you to meet your individual needs—whether your challenges are due to a stroke, job–related injury, orthopedic surgery, aging or developmental delays.

Learn more about our Pediatric Rehabilitation services, including occupational, physical and speech therapy.

St. Peter’s Approach to Occupational Therapy

At St. Peter’s Health occupational therapy, we have occupational therapists trained to work specifically with adults or with children. We offer occupational therapy in the hospital (inpatient) as well as in our outpatient clinic.

Your occupational therapy at St. Peter’s Health typically involves one-on-one treatment. Our therapists build a relationship with you or your child so they can better tailor your therapy to your specific goals and needs.

Quality Occupational Therapy at St. Peter’s

• Pediatric therapy: Our team includes multiple occupational therapists who work with children. Our pediatric therapy patients have their own waiting room and treatment area with toys and specialized equipment to make the therapy process more fun.  Our therapists help children from infancy through adolescence to:
  • Increase their fine motor skills, including handwriting skills, pre-writing skills, grasping, manipulation and scissor skills
  • Address oral-motor and sensory feeding issues
  • Increase their self-help and activities of daily living (ADL) skills, including dressing, toileting and grooming and hygiene tasks
  • Provide sensory integration therapy
  • Develop their play skills and adaptive behaviors
• Occupational therapy in the hospital: Our occupational therapists have in-depth knowledge of both medical and surgical conditions and are able to evaluate and tailor treatments accordingly.
• Assessments for a safe return to home: For patients in the hospital, our therapists meet with you before discharge to identify and address limitations in daily activities and any barriers to engaging in those activities, as well as promoting a safe return home. Assessments are designed to provide you and your medical team with:
  • Discharge recommendations
  • Recommendations for adaptive and durable medical equipment, as well as other modifications for your safety
  • Instructions to promote safety and independence in the home and/or community setting
• Ergonomic assessments: Our occupational therapy team provides work-place assessments to prevent repetitive stress injury or to help you recover and prevent future injury. We then provide recommendations for how to modify your work station setup and/or your positioning to promote ergonomic health. During our assessments, we evaluate:
  • Your work station
  • Equipment and setup you are using
  • Your body mechanics while doing your specific job
• Certified hand therapy: Our occupational therapy team includes a certified hand therapist. Certified hand therapists have expertise in treating issues affecting your hand and upper extremities. These issues include carpal tunnel and post-fracture and surgery rehabilitation to promote independence with daily activities.
• Driving evaluations: We offer driving evaluations to assess strength, vision and cognition needed for safe driving.

Occupational Therapy Programs and Services

• Adaptations and Compensatory Training (i.e., learning new ways to handle daily tasks)
• Arthritis Management
• Hand Therapy and Splinting
• Upper Extremity Rehabilitation
• Rehabilitation after Stroke, Brain Injury or other Neurological Injuries
• Pediatric Therapy
• Psychosocial and Life Skills Training
• Fine Motor Skills (e.g., Handwriting)
• Self-Care Re-training (e.g., Bathing and Dressing)
• Wheelchair Assessment
• Ergonomic Assessment (Work Site Evaluations)
• Driving Evaluations