TAMC offers a variety of treatment options, right in your own backyard.

What is occupational therapy / physical therapy?

"Occupation" in this context does not refer to a person's employment. Rather it means being occupied in meaningful day to day living activities including work, leisure and play. The profession of Occupational Therapy is concerned with human lives that have been disrupted by physical injury or accident, birth defects, aging, stroke, emotional or developmental problems, arthritis, spinal cord injury, or anything else that disrupts a person's ability to function independently.

Physical therapy is the treatment and prevention of illness and injury by physical means such as the use of exercise, light, cold, heat, water, sound, and electrical stimulation.

A very simplified explanation is that physical therapy restores the use of muscles while occupational therapy translates the ability to move - no matter how limited - into activities that are personally fulfilling. The goals of PT and OT often overlap, such as increasing range of motion and strength, but the OT focuses on the person's ability to function in whatever environment or situation they are in.

What does a physical therapist do?

A physical therapist evaluates the patient to determine a patient's strengths, weaknesses, and limitations. The therapist then establishes a treatment plan and goals based on a patient's needs. After this is done the therapist's job is to conduct treatments to restore movement and relieve pain. The therapist instructs and demonstrates a family individualized physical therapy program. The patient is monitored to determine his/her response to treatment program. The physical therapist communicates with physicians and other health team members via reports and conferences on the patient's progress, when appropriate.

What does an occupational therapist do?

There is no simple answer to this question. Each patient's case is special. Full recovery may or may not be possible. If the impairment is severe, the OT helps the patient to compensate by developing skills and/or using adaptive equipment which make activity possible such as splints, dressing/groom aids, eating devices, communication devices, etc. In every case, the occupational therapist encourages patients to make the maximum effort and build upon the strengths they have. An occupational therapist is particularly concerned about day to day living activities including bathing, dressing, brushing teeth, combing hair, shaving, eating, and household chores. The OT helps the patient learn to do this as independently as possible by prescribing adaptive devices such as bathroom safety equipment, dressing aids, and energy conservation techniques. For the impaired person who is somewhat confused, Occupational Therapy focuses on reality orientation.

Physical Therapy / Occupational Therapy Services

A.R. Gould Memorial Hospital (Presque Isle) provides physical therapy and occupational therapy for acute, rehab, and nursing home patients. Pre-op training and ultraviolet treatments are also available.

Aroostook Health Center (Mars Hill) provides physical therapy and occupational therapy for long term care patients and skilled nursing floor patients.

Community General Hospital (Fort Fairfield) provides occupational therapy for psych inpatients.

County Physical Therapy, LLC (Presque Isle) provides occupational and physical therapy for outpatients.