A Breath of Fresh Air

How long have you worked at Shepherd Center, and what is your role?

I've been at Shepherd for just over three years, and I’m a recreational therapist in the Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program. My job is to help people get back into what they like to do for fun and other aspects of their lives, along with their PT (physical therapist), OT (occupational therapist), and speech-language pathologist.

A lot of the goals that I'm trying to help people reach feel really unrealistic to patients because they are still dealing with medical issues and think, ‘There's no way I'm going to be able to do some of these things.’ But it's my job to show them that they can do the things they used to do in their leisure life, or if they can't do it exactly the same way, they can get back to it in an adaptive way.

Another battle is stigma issues. A lot of people don't really want to be seen in a wheelchair just yet or even have that experience where they're not able to get into a chair at a restaurant. It's just something hard to think through. So, we have to push it a little bit and explain why getting out into the community is beneficial. I always encourage patients to try things while they’re here with staff because it's definitely a lot harder when you're by yourself.

What made you want to work at Shepherd?

I went to a conference for recreational therapy that was hosted at Shepherd Center. After that conference, I was like, ‘I need to get a job at Shepherd,’ because the things that the program does are amazing and honestly above a lot of what other facilities are doing.

What do you like most about your job?

One of my favorite parts of my job is the outings that we do here at Shepherd. One of my jobs is community reintegration, showing people that they can get out and about and still go out and do things even if they’re using a wheelchair, a walker, a cane — whatever the adaptive equipment might be. We work with people right after their traumatic injury, and a lot of people haven't even been outside since they've been injured, so I get to take people outside for the first time, which is also one of my favorite parts. People are really thankful when I take them outside, and I tell them, ‘Don't be thankful for this; this is what I'm here for, and we can do this whenever you want.’ It's just great to help people get outside and into fresh air.

How do you introduce recreational therapy to patients?

The first time I meet somebody, I take them on a tour of the hospital and just chitchat with them and get to know them, get to know their interests. And the garden is one of the stops of my tour. I tell them, ‘There's a Chick-fil-A up the street, there's a coffee shop, there's a grocery store, a CVS, the next time we’re together, if you want to get out, let's get out and do something.’ Then I explain that we do evening and weekend outings here as recreational therapists, too. I explain to them how those work, and I really encourage people to get out and about and to take advantage of what we have to offer here.

Describe a great day at work.

We do an outing to the Georgia Aquarium, and the patients get in the tank with the whale sharks. I got to do that with one of my patients, and I was paired with a PT from my team as well. It was nice to do that because you grow a special bond with the people you work with every day, especially in this field. We talk a lot about just life, and we're with the same patients every day. So, it was nice to have that experience with not only somebody I was close with as a coworker but also a patient who I knew pretty well. He was super sick when I first met him, and at this point, he was in the Day Program, and he had come a really long way. Seeing him swimming in a massive fish tank was just a cool experience.

How do you think your role impacts patients and families?

I feel like, as a recreational therapist, my role impacts patients and families a lot because I show them that they can get back to doing things that they used to do
for fun, whether it be sports, gardening, showing them different ways they can paint,
our aquatics program — a lot of people don't realize all the programs we have to offer. Watching family members see their loved ones do those things again, how thankful they are, and how excited their faces are when they see them participating in things is a great part of my job.

Education

• Slippery Rock University, Bachelor of Science, Recreational Therapy

Fun Facts

• At 6’5”, Jacob is the tallest person in his family.
• He has one sister, and they are eleven months apart, so they grew up doing everything together.
• Jacob loves sports and participates in adult volleyball and bowling leagues.
• He grew up on the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania and loves to get out on the water, boating, tubing, and jet skiing. 

Interview by Ruth Underwood