May 2011
Amy Seaman, OTR/L
Summer is just around the corner, despite the large amounts of moisture which continues to fall in
Montana!
Thank you to all the new and familiar faces for your attendance at the 2011 MOTA conference at Fairmont
Hotsprings in April. We had an overwhelming positive report from our members. We are already hearing about topics/speakers for planning next year’s conference! I want to give a big thank you to all the board members and MOTA members for a great time!
TH
Pixie Lewis-Burda, COTA/L
Checking : $16,410
Savings : $5891.
Money Market : $11,235.
CD : $16,733.

Nancy Clark
The AOTA Representative Assembly met this year in Philadelphia April 12-14. There were two motions that were heavily debated. The least of the two was to have the "Social Justice" terminology removed from the newly written
Code of Ethics. This was heavily debated last year also and was defeated. It was put forth again, debated and defeated.
Probably the most controversial motion was regarding the reorganization of the RA. It was defeated last year after a heavy, emotional debate. Out of it came a new motion to form an ad hoc committee to study the issue. The ad hoc committee then put forth a motion to develop a professional counsel. It would be comprised of 20 members including
5 district representatives. Montana would be in a district with 12 other states and OTs in foreign countries. Each of these district representatives would be elected members through a national election.
Many of you expressed your deep concerns, that echoed my own personal concerns, about the quality of representation rural states would have if this were to pass. I was involved with the debate once the motion reached the floor and strongly spoke out against the motion. The discussion lasted almost four hours! In the end it was defeated, again. It was amazing to watch and experience the process. There were many "powerful" and influential people in favor of the motion.
You can read in detail about the RA business in the recent April 25, 2011 issue of Advance for Occupational Therapy
Practitioners. If you do not receive this publication, you can view it on line at www.advanceweb.com/OT .
This year I had the privilege of assisting on of our own therapist put forth two motions regarding Complex Rehab
Technology. Tamara Kittelson-Aldred of Missoula teamed up with a colleague from Florida to write these motions.
For the 4th year, I was asked to serve as Task Group Leader (two other years I was assistant task group leader) and both of these motions were assigned to my task group. Tamara and Cyndi did a great job writing the motions so there was little to debate after a minor change in wording that did not change the intent of the motion. This often happens in task group before it is brought to the floor for voting.
This could very well be my last RA report to the Montana AOTA members as my second term has come to an end. It was a great experience that I truly enjoyed. It has helped me to become a more out spoken, confident person. I was addicted from the first meeting I attended in 2004 with Laurie as alternate rep in Minneapolis. I have made several friends and professional contacts that will be great for networking. Thank you for the opportunity to serve. If you would like to experience this great opportunity, it is not too late. Contact Laurel Radley at AOTA and she can assist you with the process. If you have questions for me regarding serving as the Montana representative, please don't hesitate to contact me at any time. If no one volunteers for this position, I can continue to serve as the alternate representative, if I so choose.
Thanks again for the incredible opportunity. It is one that I will never forget.
Nancy Clark, MBA OT/L

Members Present: Amy Seaman, Pixie Lewis-Burda, Angie Bober, Kari Bird, Tami Anderegg, Nancy Clark
Meeting called to order at 12:49 pm
Officer Reports:
President- Amy reports she is not going to the AOTA meeting this year however Nancy will be attending the RA meetings.
Treasurer- Pixie reported the following account balances
Checking- $26,030.00
Savings-$5,891.00
Money Market- $11,235.00
CD-$16,731.91
The non-profit status was obtained this past summer and Pixie wanted to thank Amy and Jean for all of their hard work to make this happen.

Secretary-
We continue to have a consistent number of members requesting continuing education videos. One recent member has brought to our attention that NBCOT will not allow videos to be utilized for credits that are more than 3 years old.
Nancy stated she will discuss this with NBCOT members when she is at conference and will report back to the board.
Angie will also be checking into the possibility of having videos be available online rather than sending out DVD’s.
Members at Large-Kari and Tami had nothing to report.
RA- Nancy as stated previously will be attending the RA meetings at the AOTA conference, the meetings start on April
21 st .
She encouraged all members to view the motions on line and to contact her with any questions, concerns, feedback.
One motion that will be presented is to propose to dissolve the RA and to create a professional council.
Tamara Aldred Kittelson of Missoula is the co-author of two motions before the RA (Motion 5: development of a specialized knowledge and skills development on complex seating and wheelchair mobility and Motion 6: Educate OT’s and policy makers regarding appropriate access to and funding complex rehabilitation technology and related OT services for individuals with disabilities).
AOTA has developed COOL (Coordinated Online Opportunities for Leadership)-she encouraged members to fill out the online survey if they are interested.
OT Connections which has been in place for two years, is a great place to network with other therapists across the nation.
AOTA also has documents available regarding the new Medicare regulations for therapy payment in home health.
She encouraged all MOTA members to strongly consider becoming AOTA members.
Unfinished Business:
Amy distributed the proposed 2011 budget and asked for any questions or comments from the members regarding the budget with no members having questions. Nancy motioned to approve the budget with Linda Adams seconding the motion. None opposed. Budget approved.
Nicole Gross finished her term as Vice President this past winter, there is currently a member (Erica Norland ) that is interested in the position.
RA position is also now open, if interested contact Amy. There is also a possibility of a member at large position that will open in the near future.
New Business:
Amy opened up discussion for members to decide on donation of money from proceeds of heads/tails game at social hour, stating that last year went to AOTPAC. Linda Adams motioned for money to again go to AOTPAC with another member seconding motion, none opposed, motion passed.
A member did have question regarding scholarship money, Amy stated there were no applications this past January.
Amy proposed to members suggestions for conference locations, members stated they were in favor of keeping at
Fairmont. Will look at March 31 or April 7 th for next year. She encouraged attendees to fill out feedback forms for course topics.
Meeting adjourned at 1:17 pm
Minutes respectfully submitted by:
Angela Bober, OTR/L

AOTA Passes Motions for Complex Rehab Technology
Getting back to the grass roots of occupational therapy
By Tamara Kittelson-Aldred, MS, OTR/L, ATP and Cindi Petito, OTR/L, ATP, CAPS
April 14, 2011 was an exciting day for us and many occupational therapists around the nation that specialize in complex rehabilitation technology (CRT). On this day, the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)
Representative Assembly passed two motions related to CRT that will benefit current and future occupational therapists and the clients we serve who depend upon this technology for their health and wellbeing.
We became involved in this effort through the Clinician Task Force, a group of occupational and physical therapists, whose work involves providing wheelchair seating and mobility services to individuals with disabilities. In 2010, a small work group was formed with the goal of increasing public awareness and educating our professional associations about the Proposal to Create a Separate Benefit Category for CRT.
Complex Rehab Technology includes those products and related services that are medically necessary and devices which require evaluation, configuration, fitting, adjustment or programming. These products and services are designed to meet the specific medical, physical, and functional needs of individuals with a primary diagnosis resulting from a congenital disorder, progressive or degenerative neuromuscular disease, or from certain types of injury or trauma. The Proposal to Create a Separate Benefit Category for CRT purpose is to improve and protect access to
CRT products and services for individuals with significant disabilities and medical conditions. The proposed changes include five objectives:
1.) Develop clearer and more consistent coverage policies that appropriately address the unique needs of individuals with complex disabilities.
2.) Establish stronger and more enforceable Supplier Standards to promote appropriate clinical outcomes and consumer protection.
3.) Obtain formal recognition of the product ‐ related services and costs involved to allow for appropriate funding.
4.) Provide future payment stability to ensure continued access to medically necessary products and services and an environment that encourages product innovation and technological solutions.
5.) Produce an improved coverage and payment system that can serve as a model for
Medicaid and other payers to follow.
Many therapists who specialize in this area of practice are heavily involved with organizations such as RESNA.
However, one focus of the Clinician Task Force work group includes fostering more support within our own professional associations. With our private practices located in Florida and Montana, we represent grass roots OTs who are passionate about working in this specialty area. Because we live at opposite ends of the country, we have yet to meet in person. However through this project we have perfected the art of collaborating long distance.
AOTA has a mechanism that allows members to originate motions, which are debated and voted on by the
Representative Assembly (AOTA Congress) each spring. We were provided with templates and instructions that required extensive work over a period of several weeks. Once written, the motions were reviewed by a committee and feedback was provided. Armed with that feedback, as well as the advice and assistance of Representative
Assembly members and AOTA staff, we re-wrote our drafts to create two motions for final submission. Then came the educational effort to garner support across the country so that each state’s AOTA representative would hear from constituents about this issue and support our cause (we hoped). Our own Montana representative, Nancy Clark, led
Task Group 4, where our motions were debated in late March. In the end, the motions were passed by a unanimous vote and with very little amendment.
The final motions:

Motion 5: Charge the AOTA Commission on Practice to develop a
document with a report (including content outline) to the 2012 Representative
Assembly spring meeting.
The purpose of this document is to describe the knowledge and skills that are necessary for occupational therapy practitioners to provide ethical and competent services related to Complex Seating and Wheeled
Mobility. It will provide information about (1) occupational therapy practitioners’ role in complex seating and wheeled mobility (2) outline professional development and supervision guidelines, and (3) describe entry-level and advancedlevel knowledge and skills.
Motion 6: Ask the AOTA President to direct the Executive Director to have the Public Affairs Division develop a
to help guide the Association’s advocacy efforts, with report back to the fall 2011 Representative Assembly online meeting.
The Fact Sheet is a document that AOTA's Public Affairs officials will use to educate occupational therapy practitioners and public policy makers regarding appropriate access to and funding of complex rehabilitation technology (CRT) and related occupational therapy services for individuals with disabilities.
This summer, we will begin working with AOTA to develop these two official documents. Our vision includes expanding the education, knowledge, and skills of occupational therapy practitioners, and bridging the gap that has existed between OT wheeled mobility and seating specialists and other occupational therapy providers. This vision will provide a better service delivery model in complex rehab technology and related OT services. We look forward to continuing collaborative efforts between the Clinician Task Force workgroup and AOTA in the future.
Tamara Kittelson-Aldred, MS, OTR/L, ATP specializes in complex seating and wheeled mobility and other technologies for children and youth with disabilities, through Access Therapy Services, LLC in Missoula, Montana. Tamara can be contacted at tamaralka@gmail.com or 406.370.3689.
Cindi Petito, OTR/L, ATP, CAPS, is the owner of Seating Solutions outpatient private practice in Orange Park, Florida,
She has more than 10 years experience in the area of complex seating and wheeled mobility, and assistive technologies. She can be contacted by e-mail at Cindi@SeatingSolutionsInc.com or (904) 315-7070.