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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
Certified Hand Therapists at Houston Healthcare
Help Patients Regain Mobility
Buttoning a shirt, holding
a toothbrush or grasping a
doorknob are daily tasks
that most people easily per
form with their arms, hands
and fingers. But what hap
pens when an arm, hand or
finger is injured, amputated
or immobilized by disease?
These everyday tasks can
become extremely difficult
and sometimes impossible to
perform. Certified hand
therapists on staff at
Houston Healthcare can
help a person regain the
maximum use of his or her
arm, hand or fingers
through hand therapy, a spe
cialized form of occupational
therapy.
According to Marcia
Miller, an Occupational
Therapist and one of the two
Certified Hand Therapists
at Houston Healthcare’s
Pavilion Rehab, the most
common injuries she sees
are fractures and disloca
tions of the shoulder, elbow
and wrist, finger sprains,
and carpal tunnel syndrome
injuries. “We see a lot of
overuse injuries and sports
injuries,” says Miller. “We
also treat post surgical
patients who have had pins
or plates put in a fractured
finger or wrist. A lot of times
we have to do wound care
for post surgical patients as
well as those patients with
open wounds from burns or
industrial accidents. We
treat and heal the wounds
first before we start the
rehabilitation process. Our
patients range in age from
pediatric to geriatric.”
Most often certified hand
therapists work with
patients who have open
wounds, scars, burns,
injured tendons or nerves,
Critical Conditions: Preparing for EncEoELife Care
Rapid advancements in medicine
and technology have helped
improve tremendously the quality
of our lives. Yet, they pose a curi
ous question to our society: how
are we to deal with health care at
the end of life?
Many people face agonizing deci
sions regarding medical care for
loved ones at the end of life. Each
of us has known or heard of some
one whose life was prolonged
beyond its natural end. For some,
it was their choice to be kept alive
as long as possible. For others, it
was against their wishes.
Unfortunately, it is at a time
when people should have the most
control over their lives that they
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H.OUSTON HEALTHCARE • Occupational Health & Wellness Center
• Houston Lake Rehab
Houston Medical Center • 1601 Watson Boulevard • Warner Robins, Georgia 31093 • 478-922-4281
Perry Hospital • 1120 Momingside Drive • Fferry, Georgia 31069 • 478-987-3600
www.hhc.org
fractures, or even amputat
ed fingers, hands or arms
caused by an accident or
other traumatic event. Hand
therapists also treat
patients who are disabled
from repetitive injuries such
as tennis elbow or carpal
tunnel syndrome. Other
patients suffer from arthrit
ic, neurological or congeni
tal conditions resulting in
reduced mobility or func
tionality.
Through their advanced
training, a certified hand
therapist can evaluate and
identify any problem rela
tive to the arm or hand and
effectively treat and rehabil
itate the patient. “When a
patient first comes in, we
evaluate them and prioritize
what kind of treatment they
will need,” says Miller. “If
there is swelling in the area,
then we know that has to be
taken care of first before we
start the movement and
strengthening phases of
their treatment.”
According to Miller, one of
the major goals of occupa
tional therapy is to help the
patient return to their nor
mal daily activities and rou
tines as much as possible.
“As soon as we can, we try to
get the patient back to per
forming functional activities
that relate back to a daily
living task like holding a
hair brush,” says Miller.
“For example, we use a peg
board to work on coordina
tion so the patient can learn
to tie their shoes again.
Sometimes we have the
patient actually practice
putting on a shirt so we can
accurately assess their
range of motion and tech
nique.”
“I don’t think many peo-
have the least. The vast majority
of people have not made their deci
sions about end-of-life care known
through a living will or durable
healthcare power of attorney docu
ment. Often it is left up to loved
ones, physicians and other care
givers who are unaware of a dying
person’s wishes to make end-of-life
decisions for them. Final health
care decisions cannot be honored if
they are not known.
“Most people are uncomfortable
talking about death,” said Janet
Hamlin, patient representative at
Perry Hospital. “We don’t want to
discuss it, so we don’t do anything
about making these important
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Marcia Miller (left), Occupational Therapist and Certified Hand Therapist, treats a patient.
pie realize that there’s a spe
cific discipline for treatment
of hand injuries,” says
Miller. “There is a lot to a
finger or hand injury, some
times more than meets the
eye. It is just a very interest
ing line of work because it
changes every day. Our job is
not only to teach the patient
exercises, but also to moti
vate the patient, encourage
decisions. Unfortunately, that’s
when our loved ones have to make
agonizing decisions for us.”
The Ethics Committees of Perry
Hospital and Houston Medical
Center, including physicians, nurs
es, other health care professionals
and community residents, began
looking at ways to help individuals
and their loved ones discuss and
plan for their final health care.
The committees launched Critical
Conditions, a comprehensive cam
paign to help educate people about
making final health care decisions
and discussing them with their
loved ones. The program provides
tools to help individuals document
them, and try to help them
understand why they need
to take control of their
injury. My job is a teacher
and a cheerleader. I teach
them what to do and I cheer
them on to get the full result
from their hand therapy.”
For patients requiring
physical therapy for hand or
arm injuries, seeking the
help of a certified hand ther
their advance directive.
“Physicians and other health
care practitioners are faced with
situations every day where we
walk a fine line between prolong
ing life and prolonging death,”
said Dr. Hamant B. Patel, an
08/GYN and Chairman of
Houston Medical Center’s Ethics
Committee. “Advancing medical
knowledge, treatments and tech
nologies offer us ever increasing
alternatives to fighting illnesses
and diseases that we were once
helpless against. But they have
also presented us with new dilem
mas and decisions. When a
patient’s wishes are known, it
apist has numerous bene
fits. Because of the accurate
evaluations, immediate care,
and individualized treat
ments, patients can enjoy a
shorter and faster rehabili
tation process. A faster
recovery also means the
patient can return to work
and a productive lifestyle
more quickly with less med
ical costs involved. Because
FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 2005 ♦
hand therapists are also
occupational and physical
therapists, they have more
enhanced skills and are bet
ter able to provide the most
comprehensive care to their
patients.
For more information on
hand therapy or Houston
Healthcare’s Rehabilitation
Services, call Pavilion Rehab
at 923-2937.
takes the burden of having to
make those end-of-life decisions off
of the family.”
Hamlin and other patient repre
sentatives at Perry Hospital and
Houston Medical Center meet
with patients and family members,
encouraging them to talk to their
loved ones and physician to
address this issue. “Making these
choices in advance is one of the
best gifts you can give your family.
And, the best time to deal with
these matters is now - before a cri
sis occurs,” she said.
For more information about
Critical Conditions, please call
EduCare at 923-9771.
7A