Awards Ceremony Program

4:15-5:45Wine and Cheese Social

5:00pmWelcome and Acknowledgements

Susan Goszewski, MSM, OTR

President, ConnOTA

5:00-5:30 pmAwards Presentation

Susan Goszewski, ConnOTA President

Judith Sheehan, ConnOTA Vice President

Award of Merit

Sal Bondoc, OTD, OTR, BCPR, CHT, FAOTA

FW Educator of the Year

Janice McLeod, OTR

Emerging Leader Award

Erin Wells, MS OTR

Award of Service

Elaine Adams, OTR

5:30Closing Remarks

Susan Goszewski, OTR, MSM

Award of Merit: Sal Bondoc

Sal received a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy in 1995 from the University of the Philippines -Manila and his Doctor of OT from Creighton University in 2004. His doctoral research focus on the FIM as a Predictor of Community Integration in Patients with Stroke, Neuro Occupation in OT Education and the History of Occupational Therapy in the Philippines He is a certified hand therapist and AOTA Board Certified in Physical Rehabilitation.

His clinical experience covers many areas of OT, including hand therapy, acute, subacute care, SNF, assisted living, outpatient services, outpatientpediatric and school-based systems, many of those in supervisory roles. He currently works per diem at Griffin Hospital where addition to his clinical duties, he provides consultation in the Cancer Survivorship program, leads the Parkinson's Disease Support and Fitness groups

As a current Associate Professor at Quinnipiac University, he carries a full teaching schedule and has been active in service to the University community through his work on the Senate Research Policy, Communications, Aims and Objective Committee, Ad Hoc Committee on Community Relations, Teaching and Learning Technology, and Excellence in Education Seminar Series Committees. He has been a University commencement Marshal, as participated in the Curriculum Planning Committee, is a faculty advisor, Representative to the AOTA Assembly of Student Delegates and assisted AOTA with the Code of Ethics Implementation. He has been a finalist for Quinnipiac University's Excellence in Teaching Award.

He was appointed to the AOTA Roster of Fellows in 2012 and has received Awards of Service from AOTA as the PDSIS Chair, AMSIS Quarterly Editor, as an Author/Co-Author of 4 AOTA Fact Sheets. He is the Administrator for AOTA Evidence Exchange, the Adhoc Committee on AOTA Statement of Cognition, a Board Member for the American Society of Hand Therapists, Willard and Spackman's Occupational Therapy, a Chair of the AOTA Physical Disabilities Special Interest Section, ACOTE, Quarterly Editor and member of the AOTA Administration and Management Special Interest Section, as well as a conference proposal reviewer for AOTA.

Internationally, he is a Committee Member for the International Commission on Healthcare Professions' OT Professional Standards Committee, and Editorial Consultant for the Philippine Journal of Allied Health and Rehabilitation and the founding member of the Philippine Journal of Occupational Therapy.

He has received numerous grants study: Student Self-regulated learning in health science students, Introductory Interprofessional Collaboration Module in OT and PT Neurorehabilitation courses, Development of lab demonstration videos, The effect of forced used therapy and splinting on upper extremity function of persons with chronic stroke, The Effect of Wii Fit on balance and functional mobility, and for a pilot study for fall prevention in the community dwelling elderly

He has extensively published in Periodicals, Book Chapters and Electronic Media and Publications in Press. He is a sought after presenter in an extensive area of subjects across the country and at AOTA conferences.

He has been a member of ConnOTA's board of directors as a Member at Large and recently as the Professional Development Board Member. He received the NYSOTA Merit Award in 2006.

Sal's professional accomplishments are extensive, but Sal is most appreciatively known for his engaging and enthusiastic manner, his commitment to expanding the knowledge and thoughts of his fellow professionals and for truly endeavoring to assist in the furthering each individual's or organization's mission and search for excellence.

We are truly fortunate to have Sal as a resourcein our state and extremely proud and honored to award Sal the Award of Merit for 2013

Fieldwork Educator of the Year Award: Janice McLeod

Janice came to OT with background in Elementary and Special Education and after several years returned to school to further her career aspirations. She entered the field of OT in 1996. Since that time she has been an active fieldwork supervisor for many academic programs as part of her work at The Reservoir Care and RehabilitationCenter. She is especially known as extremely professional and as someone who makes a significant investment in assisting her students as they enter the world of OT. Appreciation is shown in how she has deftly handled difficult student situations and has been noted to handle these situations in a fair and respectful manner. She is a mentor of the highest caliber , demonstrating to the students how to work effectively and collaboratively with other professionals and is well respected as a clinician. The world of OT will miss her valuable skills upon her retirement this year and we wish her very best! We are excited to award Janice the 2013 Fieldwork Educator of the year award.

Emerging Leader Award: Erin Wells

Erin is a 2011 graduate of Quinnipiac University. Since her graduation, Erin has practiced in both private practice and school based settings. She is currently employed as an Occupational Therapist at Cooperative Educational Services. Erin hasdeveloped a strong interest in using appsto aid her pediatric clients in achieving their full potential She recently began a blog to share helpful applications with other practitioners, designed to make including technology in our therapeutic approach more seamless. She was recently appointed the ConnOTATechnology Special Interest Section Liaison. She will be co-presenting a technology SIS event this spring aimed to assist other practitioners in developing their app "database" and refining their ability to select apps based on specific clinical applications.Erin's commitment to share her knowledge and assume leadership roles and positions is an inspiration to other new graduates and our association is stronger because of leadership qualities Erin has demonstrated. We look for a long association with Erin over the coming years and are very proud to award Erin the 2013 Emerging Leader Award.

Award of Service: Elaine Adams

Elaine has been an occupational therapist for over 30 years. Her involvement with ConnOTA began as a student, where she sought input for a student project about the impact of Medicare regulations on OT practice. As a new graduate, she attendedConnOTA meetings where the license renewal continuing education requirements were debated and developed and her interest in government affairs grew. In 2001 she joinedConnOTA's Council on Government Affairs. Since then, she has been involved with numerous projects which have significantly influence

theregulatory and legislative activities of occupational therapists in our state. Specifically, she participated in a review of data and development of a survey analyzing utilization and reimbursement of OT services in Connecticut nursing homes, was a key player in the updating of the license renewal continuing education requirements with the Dept. of Public Health, formulated a table comparing CT and AOTA competency requirements, and was instrumental in ensuring information regarding the new regulations was distributed to all CT OTs. She has helped to actively monitor and respond to various governmental affairs issues over the last ten plus years, by writing letters, attending meetings or hearings and helping to mobilize others to provide a voice for OT. She has made it a personal mission to help OT practitioners understand an act on the need for professional advocacy. She served on the ConnOTA board from June 2010 to September 2011 where she developed a governmental issues review and action form to help asses and track needed action of the association, consulted with DPH on career re-entry resources and served on the Fall 2010 conference committee which focused on legislative and regulatory issues and advocacy. She has served as a job shadow host as part of ConnOTA's job shadow program. She served as a governor-appointed delegate to the 2005 White House Conference on Again. Her commitment to service has extended to AOTA where she is sought after to consult on various legislative, regulatory and reimbursement issues, and represented AOTA to the Policy Workgroup to CMS's Short Term Alternatives for Therapy Services project. She served for several years on the AOTA GSIS Listserv/Communications Advisory Council and also reviewed articles for OT Practice and the GSIS Quarterly newsletter. She also serves on an NBCOT Certification-Renewal-Continuing Competency project team. In 2011, AOTA awarded her the AOTA Health Advocate award. She recently represented ConnOTA with CPTA at the 2012 ACHCA-CAHCF Conference and Trade show and consulted with CPTA regarding a significant revision of the National Government Services Local Coverage Determination.

Elaine is truly special, an active and valuable member of ConnOTA We as therapy practitioners have benefitted from her tireless efforts to promote OT at the highest level in our state and we are truly indebted to her commitment, insight and experience in acting on our behalf. We certainly look to Elaine as a expert resource in the area of government affairs and are so very proud to award Elaine the 2013 Award of Service.

Connecticut Occupational Therapy Association

Spring Conference 2013

Awards Ceremony and Speakers’ Reception

Saturday March 02, 2013

Cromwell Crowne Plaza Hotel
100 Berlin Road, Cromwell, CT