Exploring the Role of Occupational Therapy in Rehabilitation

In a new episode of Picking Our Brain with Shepherd Center, Erin Prentice, MHS, OTR/L and Melissa Kimball, MS, OTR/L, CBIS discuss the individualized therapy they provide on the continuum of care—from inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation to telehealth services.

Download the podcast as an audio file above, or access it at shepherd.org/podcasts.

“It’s about who the patients are, who they were before, who they have aspirations to become and getting them to do what they want to do, the activities that make life worth living for them,” Prentice says. Kimball adds: “It might not look like what they’d originally thought, but there’s still so much that they’re going to accomplish.”

Erin Prentice, MHS, OTR/L, earned her Masters of Health Science in Occupational Therapy from the Medical College of Georgia (Augusta University) in 2009. She has worked at the Shepherd Center for more than 11 years and has been able to treat patients throughout the continuum of care. Erin serves as a mentor to occupational therapists throughout the Shepherd Center, provides training to new staff, and has given many presentations on spinal cord injury interventions. In 2015, she received an advanced certification as a lymphedema therapist. She fulfills her passion for working with clients with traumatic spinal cord injuries and other neurological conditions by focusing on client centered care and addressing their barriers and deficits to help them achieve overall independence and improved quality of life.

Melissa Kimball, MS, OTR/L, CBIS, is an Occupational Therapist at Shepherd Pathways, the outpatient clinic for ABI Post Acute services at Shepherd Center. She received her Masters in Occupational Therapy from University of New Hampshire, has over 7 years of experience, and is a Certified Brain Injury Specialist. She has worked in a variety of settings including skilled nursing, acute rehab and schools, with the majority of experience in the post acute setting, primarily working with those who have experienced ABI, CVA & other neurological disorders. In this past year, she has helped to implement telehealth services to meet client's needs during the COVID-19 global pandemic.