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Occupational Therapy
Gaylord Specialty Healthcare
While at Gaylord Specialty Healthcare, I have had the opportunity to apply my years of diverse clinical experience and training, in the fields of physical disability and rehabilitation, to several clinical research opportunities. Most relevantly, I was the primary investigator of the study titled “Inducing Body Weight Supported Postural Perturbations during Gait and Balance Exercises to Improve Balance after Stroke: A Pilot Study”. With the mentorship of Peter Grevelding, I led this pilot study, developing the primary research question and research protocol. Furthermore, I worked with the other co-investigators to develop an implementation strategy to integrate the study activities to participant’s normal care, making it as pragmatic as possible for the other investigators. This study ultimately utilized a new piece of technology to improve patient care and outcomes. Coordination with co-investigators, administrative tasks, and ongoing collaboration with the CEO of the body weight support device company are all essential functions of a successful research project which I have experience leading. In addition to my research activities, I have worked closely with upper management to engage the broader clinical staff in clinical research. This work has given me the opportunity to mentor clinical staff members to promote their own evidenced based practice, introduce novel assistive technologies, and develop their own hypothesis driven research projects. This led, in part, to the formation of a research foundation now named “The Milne Institute for Healthcare Innovation”. As one of the six Milne Institute Operations Group members, we work to meet the goals of the organization to bridge the gap between clinical practice and research. As a co-Investigator of the proposed “Clinical study of a novel, body-weight supported, balance-perturbation module during the rehabilitation of gait and balance impairments secondary to stroke: A multisite randomized control trial”, I will provide clinical and technical experience in using the ZeroG equipment, training staff in its use, and recruiting participants that will ensure the success of the study. Ongoing research includes co-investigator on a study titled "Evaluation of Bioness Integrated Therapy System (BITS) Touch Screen Technology to Improve Field Awareness" and " Efficacy of the Barrett Upper Extremity Robotic Trainer (BURT®) for improving upper extremity strength and function during inpatient rehabilitation following stroke.