Background:

Occupational therapy is one of the health professions, the purpose of which is to help a person advance in the areas of functioning relevant to him, within the limitations of his injury, and thus help improve his personal well-being and quality of life.

The treatment approach is comprehensive and sees the patient, his wants and needs at the center. Each treatment plan is individually tailored to the person, while at the same time there is group activity tailored to the patient’s needs.

The occupational therapy service provides treatment in all Bet Hadar wards as well as to ambulatory patients who come from the community.

The activity service operates in all Bet Hadar’s wards and provides tailored activities subject to the professional guidance of an occupational therapist.  Tailoring specific activities to a person is designed to improve his sense of capability, maintain and improve upper body range of motion and cognition, contribute to communication, relieve loneliness, provide meaningful leisure and more.

Our Team:

The occupational therapy team consists of 12 occupational therapists, licensed by the Ministry of Health, with a bachelor’s or master’s degree in occupational therapy.

The staff advocates learning and goes to seminars and conferences on an ongoing basis in order to maintain a high level of professionalism.

The occupational therapy assistant team includes 8 certified OT assistants.

Occupational Therapy Clinic:

Our Occupational Therapy Clinic is equipped with a wide range of motor, cognitive, sensory and functional treatment and practice resources, according to the most advanced approaches accepted today in Israel and around the world.

In addition, the clinic has a simulation of a treatment apartment that contains a bathroom and toilet, a washing machine, a closet and a therapeutic kitchen used for instruction and practice in daily functioning.

The treatments are performed in the occupational therapy clinic or in the patients’ rooms in order to promote the person’s functioning in his natural environment.

The service includes:

• A comprehensive functional assessment and identification of the physical and cognitive components that cause a decrease or inability in functional performance. Based on the findings, a treatment plan is developed to improve participation in basic daily functions, such as: eating, dressing, toileting and bathing, and in addition, more advanced functions, such as: household management, money administration, use of the telephone and other technological devices, significant leisure, returning to work or driving.
• Cognitive rehabilitation: evaluation and treatment of thought processes, attention, memory, perception, planning, judgment and problem solving and other cognitive areas that are essential for a person’s functioning in his environment.
• Neurological rehabilitation: evaluation and treatment of sensorimotor, cognitive, and functional components following neurological damage.
• Upper limb rehabilitation: after damage to movement and function components in the upper limbs following a fracture, surgery or chronic disease. Treatment includes practicing functional movement components, building splints to improve or preserve ranges of motion, caring for scars.
• Evaluation and treatment of the components necessary for driving in preparation for returning to driving after various injuries.
• Evaluation and treatment of visual function disorders following acquired neurological impairment.
• Functional evaluations and advancement of abilities prior to returning to work.
• Evaluation of the living or working environment and providing recommendations for adapting the environment so that it will enable the utilization of functional abilities while maintaining safety and preventing falls.
• Adaptation of assistive accessories for daily functioning and appropriate guidance: accessories to wear, safe bathing, adapted kitchen, work environment.

Continuing Education:

The Occupational Therapy Service is a training center for occupational therapy students from all academic institutions throughout the country.  In addition, our center provides periodic training to the treatment staff at Bet Hadar in the various areas of functioning and occupation in order to professionalize and provide optimal service to patients and their families.

The occupational therapy institute is located on the minus one floor.