Occupational Therapy

andrear@herald-mail.com HAGERSTOWN - Certified occupational therapy assistant Nancy Horst counts on her faith, compassion and skill to help patients recovering at home from injuries, surgery and strokes. The Maryland/National Capital Homecare Association recently honored Horst as the Community Health Professional of the Year for her work with Home Health Care of Washington County Hospital. "I truly believe God puts you in the right place at the right time to help people," said Horst, 55, of Maugansville.

As Nicole Glaze of Waynesboro, Pa., fiddled with her cap and gown before Saturday's spring commencement at Penn State Mont Alto, she remembered the obstacles she faced to achieve her dream. “I've worked really hard to get here. I got pregnant when I was 16,” said Glaze, now 20. So many teens give up on their dreams when that happens, she said. But she vowed to herself not to let anything stop her from an education. “To be able to graduate from college is a big thing for me,” she said.

chambersburg@herald-mail.com MONT ALTO, Pa. - More than 1,100 students returned from summer vacation, jobs or internships Tuesday to begin the 100th year of classes at Penn State Mont Alto. Enrollment at the college is up 7 percent this year from last, according to Public Information Coordinator Holly Cieri. The 1,130 students make up the centennial class for the school, which opened in 1903 as the Pennsylvania State Forestry Academy. Appointed in January 2002, David C. Gnage is entering his first full year as the 14th executive officer of the campus, which has been part of the Penn State University system since 1929.

waynesboro@herald-mail.com WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Local residents needing physical and occupational therapy will no longer have to travel to Hagerstown or Chambersburg, Pa., for their treatments now that a state-of-the art facility has opened at Waynesboro Hospital. The new Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine center opened behind the hospital in what used to be a physical therapy facility run by Easter Seals for more than 40 years. When fully up and running, the hospital's new center will handle up to 100 patient visits a week, said Melanie Wennick, assistant director of physical medicine for Summit Health, owner of Waynesboro and Chambersburg hospitals.

SHARPSBURG - Sharpsburg Town Councilwoman Denise Troxell, who had a double lung transplant in May, began her first day of rehabilitation on Tuesday, according to her brother. Troxell was moved out of the intensive care unit at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center on June 28, Lee Rollins said from his sister's hospital room on Tuesday night. "She's in great spirits. She's right on schedule," said Rollins. Troxell isn't expected to return home for at least a month. Rollins said his sister appreciated all the cards, thoughts and prayers from residents back home.

Avalon Manor Health Care Center will host a Professional Open House on Thursday, Nov. 11, from 3 to 6 p.m. Physicians and health care professionals are invited to see first hand the special programs and services available at Avalon Manor. The latest technology in health care, such as computer software that monitors resident care, state-of-the-art specialty beds and mattresses and osteoporosis screening equipment, will be on display. Tours of the facility, door prizes and refreshments will be provided.

Occupational therapy program MONT ALTO, Pa. - Penn State Mont Alto's Occupational Therapy program will celebrate its 15th anniversary with a day-long program of occupational therapy workshops that are open to the public. The celebration will be held Saturday, Nov. 10. The workshops will address topics of interest to both new and experienced occupational therapists including proposed changes to the practice framework, developing clinical reasoning and developing a professional portfolio.

MONT ALTO, Pa. -Six faculty members have been promoted or have joined Penn State Mont Alto. Ronald George has been promoted to English instructor and will teach courses in basic writing, and rhetoric and composition.George has been an adjunct employee at the Mont Alto campus since 1999 and has been involved in a summer project for student success. He has a bachelor of arts degree in English from Clarion University and a master of arts degree in English from Purdue University.

By LISA GRAYBEAL Staff Writer, Waynesboro MONT ALTO, Pa. - Penn State Mont Alto plans to offer four-year college degrees in two selected programs within the next two academic years. Penn State officials announced Wednesday that state Secretary of Education Eugene Hickock approved the university's comprehensive plan to redesign its commonwealth campuses, including Mont Alto. The approved plan officially designates 14 of Penn State's 17 commonwealth campuses as branches authorized to offer bachelor's degrees.

Easter Seals will be closing its offices in Franklin County, Pa., leaving patients in search of new places to obtain hearing aids, physical therapy, speech services and occupational therapy. Easter Seals announced in a news release Wednesday it intends to close its locations in Waynesboro and Chambersburg, Pa. Those closures are expected to occur before April 30. Last year, the Waynesboro office at 626 N. Grant St. served 438 patients and the Chambersburg office at 55 Hamilton Road served 544 patients, according to Lynne Wenrick, manager of rehabilitation services for the two offices.

As Nicole Glaze of Waynesboro, Pa., fiddled with her cap and gown before Saturday's spring commencement at Penn State Mont Alto, she remembered the obstacles she faced to achieve her dream. “I've worked really hard to get here. I got pregnant when I was 16,” said Glaze, now 20. So many teens give up on their dreams when that happens, she said. But she vowed to herself not to let anything stop her from an education. “To be able to graduate from college is a big thing for me,” she said.

Easter Seals will be closing its offices in Franklin County, Pa., leaving patients in search of new places to obtain hearing aids, physical therapy, speech services and occupational therapy. Easter Seals announced in a news release Wednesday it intends to close its locations in Waynesboro and Chambersburg, Pa. Those closures are expected to occur before April 30. Last year, the Waynesboro office at 626 N. Grant St. served 438 patients and the Chambersburg office at 55 Hamilton Road served 544 patients, according to Lynne Wenrick, manager of rehabilitation services for the two offices.

By week's end, 25 teenagers participating in Penn State Mont Alto's MedCamp will have taken part in a mock surgery and held a human heart in their hands. The seventh annual MedCamp kicked off Monday with classroom lessons for teens interested in medical careers. They started with physics, occupational therapy, nursing and disease control. “It's teaching me a lot. It's giving me a good, all-around overview of the medical field,” said Hunter White, a 16-year-old from Boiling Springs, Pa. MedCamp coordinator Renee Borromeo said the camp costs each student about $250.

Penn State Mont Alto students dug in the dirt Wednesday as part of a service project designed to plant the seeds of intergenerational relationships. The college's students and staff started meeting with Quincy Village residents a year ago to talk about creating raised gardens at the retirement village. On Wednesday afternoon, forestry and physical therapy students put those plans into action to create a 22-inch high planting bed and 31-inch high planting bed. The lower one is designed for wheelchair-bound gardeners and the higher one for people with trouble kneeling or stooping for traditional planting.

Richard George McGowan Sr., 90, of Fahrney Keedy Home and Village and formerly of Smithsburg, Md., passed away Wednesday, April 4, 2012, at Fahrney Keedy Home. Born Feb. 21, 1922, in Waukegan, Ill., he was the son of the late Robert Melvin and Rose Bell (Avery) McGowan. He served in the U.S. Merchant Marine from March 1944 to April 1947. It was while he was in the Merchant Marine that he contracted polio. After several years in the Marine Hospital in Baltimore, Md., and with physical and occupational therapy, he was discharged and able to return to work - first as an aircraft mechanic at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., and then as an electronic technician at NASA Goodard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. He retired from NASA in 1979 and moved to Smithsburg.

No one knows for sure what happened Jan. 17. Jeremy Barkdoll of Boonsboro said he remembers telling his 13-year-old son, Jakob, to go get the mail. He looked away for a few seconds and when he turned around, the boy was lying on the ground, his four-wheeler beside him. “I turned around for maybe five seconds when I heard a friend scream,” Jeremy Barkdoll said. Jakob was seizing from the impact of flipping his four-wheeler, and Jeremy Barkdoll said he later learned it was a result of his son sustaining severe head trauma.

Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau The Hagerstown-Washington County 2009 Visitor Guide is being distributed by the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau. More than 120,000 copies are available to visitors, CVB members, AAA offices, visitor welcome centers, travel bureaus, tour organizations and convention groups, malls, museums and tourism offices throughout the mid-Atlantic. The guide contains maps of Hagerstown and Washington County, directories of resorts, hotels, and campgrounds, restaurant listings, histories of the towns, museums and details about annual special events.

HAGERSTOWN Christmas is already looking bright for Joshua Johnson Jr.'s family. The 19-month-old boy's brain did not develop fully after he was diagnosed with static encephalopathy, but the boy has been making remarkable progress after receiving physical therapy at Washington County Hospital. Johnson was one of the stars of the show Sunday evening during the annual Tree of Lights ceremony at the hospital, which raises funds for hospital services. Like last year, this year's Tree of Lights is raising money for pediatric rehab services like the ones Johnson has been receiving.

MONT ALTO, Pa. -Six faculty members have been promoted or have joined Penn State Mont Alto. Ronald George has been promoted to English instructor and will teach courses in basic writing, and rhetoric and composition.George has been an adjunct employee at the Mont Alto campus since 1999 and has been involved in a summer project for student success. He has a bachelor of arts degree in English from Clarion University and a master of arts degree in English from Purdue University.

Occupational therapy program MONT ALTO, Pa. - Penn State Mont Alto's Occupational Therapy program will celebrate its 15th anniversary with a day-long program of occupational therapy workshops that are open to the public. The celebration will be held Saturday, Nov. 10. The workshops will address topics of interest to both new and experienced occupational therapists including proposed changes to the practice framework, developing clinical reasoning and developing a professional portfolio.