Clinical faculty featured in AOTA’s free COVID-19 webinar
August 20, 2020

USC Chan clinical faculty members Jamie Wilcox MA ’13, OTD ’14 and John Margetis ’11, MA ’12, OTD ’13 shared insights and expertise gained from working with COVID-positive patients at Keck Hospital of USC during an Aug. 19 webinar hosted by the American Occupational Therapy Association.

“When you can’t breathe, you really can’t talk, you can’t speak, you can’t relax, you can’t sleep, you can’t focus, you can’t move and you can’t function,” said Wilcox, an assistant clinical professor who works primarily with patients who have advanced lung disease in acute, critical care and inpatient rehabilitation settings.

“Our job is to show [patients] where their deficits are . . . and teaching them how to build that insight and self-monitor is a huge role for occupational therapists,” said Margetis, an associate clinical professor who primarily works in neurologic and critical care rehabilitation.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold, occupational therapy best practices and protocols have also continued evolving.

In the webinar, Wilcox and Margetis, along with practitioners from University of Chicago Medicine and Harvard Medical School-affiliate Hebrew SeniorLife, highlighted issues related to COVID-19 occupational therapy services, including client factors, treatment activities and goals, and patient trajectories across the care continuum to hospital discharge and beyond.

“Occupational Therapy for COVID-19: Treatment and Recovery Trajectories — Clinical Updates” is available online now free at the AOTA Store.

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