Promote Our Profession During Hand Therapy Week 2017

Posted by Heidi Hermann Wright, DHS, MBA, OTR, CHT 05/23/2017

I imagine if we asked friends, physicians and patients, “What is a hand therapist?” the vast majority would not be able to differentiate us from an occupational therapist or a physical therapist. Hand Therapy Week was launched in 1993 in an effort to increase public awareness of our advanced specialty. This year's celebration (June 5-11, 2017) will be a great week to spread the word on social media and in our clinics about our advanced specialty and the functional gains we facilitate with each patient!

Please start planning now to promote Hand Therapy Week in your clinic and in your community. There are many excellent ideas listed under Practice Management on the ASHT website! A few we have tried in our clinic that have been successful are requesting a proclamation at the mayor’s office, holding an open house for patients and local community members, making “hand” cookies and flyers for referring physicians and posting on Facebook. Look for NEW and exciting hand therapy awareness videos during Hand Therapy Week, featuring hand patient testimonials and their respective CHTs talking about successful outcomes! 

Try one or all of these ideas and start spreading the word about our valuable profession of hand therapy! We can make a HUGE impact if we all work together!

SPONSORED BY