the aquatic therapist

Read eSPLASH, the Aquatic Therapy Industry hotsheet

 
Nearly 5000 aquatic therapists get it every week. So why not you?

Here are just a few of the topics you missed...

12 Oct 2009: Billing for groups, WaterWay Babies, Multiple sclerosis and More!

21 Sept 2009: Medicare Denials, Swine Flu, TKR Proof, Adapted Showers and More!

14 Sept 2009: s/p TKR, Free CME, Grants for Pools, Pets vs. People and More!

7 Sept 2009: MRSA transmission, Neonatal hydro, HIV lawsuits and More!

17 Aug 2009: Vomit, Pool Yuck, Baby Asthma and More!

3 Aug 2009: Lower Back Pain, Blind Aquatic Therapy, Preschooler Pool Sessions and More!

Click here to read all the archives... or to sign up to get the hotsheet emailed directly to you every Monday.

Looking for an aquatic therapy employee? Check out our Aquatic Therapy Job Board

Aquatic therapists are a special breed. We're hard to find in any market... add the recent deficit of skilled, licensed therapists and we become somewhat of an endangered species.

So, where can you find your perfect aquatic therapy employee?

On the Aquaticnet Job Board.

For $100/month, your posting will be seen by hundreds of therapists who have one thing in common: water.

LINK to post your job.

LINK to view available jobs.

For example, check out this posting that appear for the first time today.
******************************************************
Non-traditional Physical Therapist or Occupational Therapist

Elements of Wellness (Moscow, Idaho)

Posted:

June 3, 2009

Address:

872 Troy Road, Suite 170

Moscow, ID 83843

Type:

Full-time, Part-time, Permanent

Description:

Welcome,

Elements of Wellness is a non-traditional outpatient therapy clinic located in Moscow, ID. We are currently looking for another Occupational Therapist or Physical Therapist to join our wellness team.

Preferred Experience/Certification:
- Aquatic Bodywork: Aquatic Integration, Watsu, etc.
- CranioSacral Therapy
- Current Practitioner License

Please email our office at elementsofwellness@mac.com for more information.

Our office website (currently under construction): http://web.mac.com/elementsofwellness

For information about Moscow, ID: http://www.moscow.id.us

For information about Aquatic Integration: http://www.aquaticintegration.com

For information about CranioSacral Therapy: http://www.upledger.com

Occupation: OT or PT Aquatic Therapist/CranioSacral Therapist

Type: Half-Time, Full-Time, Permanent

Send Resumes to: elementsofwellness@mac.com

Elements of Wellness
Aquatic & Manual Therapy, Inc.
872 Troy Road, Suite 170
Moscow, ID 83843
208-892-8888
208-882-8890 fax
elementsofwellness@mac.com

Salary:Based on experience
Apply by Email:elementsofwellness@mac.com

Aquatic exercise statistics - how popular is non-swimming aquatic exercise?

Building an aquatic practice? Designing and patenting an exercise device for the pool? Or just writing that horrid research paper for PT school?

Well, you need up-to-date statistics. Here are a few arrows for your quiver:

Non-swimming aquatic exercise grew in popularity in the United States by almost 8% between 1998-2007. This is in stark contrast to other popular exercise options, including fitness swimming (which dropped 4.4%), aerobic dance (-17.3%), and fitness cycling (-23.2%)

In 2004, approximately 5.8 million people in the US participated in aquatic exercise. By 2007, this number had increased to over 7.2 million.

Aquatic exercise continues to appeal most to females in their middle or senior years, although that is mutating with the developing athletic programming focus. The average age of the quintessential aquatic exerciser is almost 47 years old.

When casual aquatic exercise participants are removed from the sample, the average age of the “frequent participant” (those who reported exercising in water over 100 days/year) ascends to 57+ years. Nearly 75% of aquatic exercisers are female.

Excerpted from Salzman, A. "Aquatic Aftercare and Wellness". In Becker, B, Cole A (eds). Comprehensive Aquatic Therapy. 3rd edition. Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins. Pending publication 2009. Statistics compiled in part from 2008 Superstudy of Sports Participation (Aquatic Exercise Slice).

Open Meme Friday #1: Tell us how you generate referrals (comment at end of posting)

Aquatic Therapy Referrals. Tell us. How are you getting the word out to your community?

Not just to the public, but also to the doctors in town.

Are they up to speed on the benefits of aquatherapy? Are they evangelistic about AT or humbug on it? Do they even know you exist?!?

We get calls all the time from physicians who are fervent believers in the curative power of water but have been unable to refer patients because they did not know a therapist or facility was nearby (until we told them they were there under their nose).

Whether your patient load is bulimic or you have a thriving relationship with the neighborhood pain clinic, now is the time to share your horror-stories, your discoveries, your knowledge and your best-practices. So have at it.

Click "Comments" at the bottom of this posting and tell us what you think! You do NOT need to be a Typepad member to post. Just put your name and comment away...

Introducing Open Meme Fridays

What is a meme? A meme is a concept, thought or idea that is meditated and improved upon as it is spread, usually via the web. Do aquatic therapists have memes? We can't help but think that you do.

To that end, every weekend, we at Aquatic Resources Network will be handing over our blog to all you hydro-geeks out there who have got it all figured out.

You know who you are. You who have made your pools effervescent, your patients giddy and your practices prosperous.

Every Friday, we will stir the pot by introducing a new topic, concern or problem. Then, once we have planted the seed, we will get out of the way and let you (along with our 19,999 other visitors) publish your insights and expertise with the rest of the aquatic sociosphere by letting you comment on the post all weekend.

So, how do you get heard on our blog? Click the word "Comments" at the bottom of the posting. NOTE: You do not need to be a Typepad member to post a comment. Just enter your name and then your comments.

This weekend our meme will be on:

REFERRALS. How are you getting the word out to your community?

So, this Friday take a moment to log back onto www.aquatictherapist.com and click "Comments" to tell us what works for you!

ATRI (Aquatic Therapy & Rehab Institute) Celebrates Winners in 2008

 

Marty Biondi, PT, CSCS, ATRIC, has been named the recipient of the 2008 Aquatic Therapy Professional Award. The award was presented at the 16th Aquatic Therapy Symposium, July 3rd in Fort Myers, FL by the Aquatic Therapy & Rehab Institute (ATRI).

Tsunami Spirit Awards were presented to Melissa Lewis, MPT, ATRIC, NCCARD, Mick Nelson, BS, MS, and Sue Nelson, BS, ATRIC.

Aquatic Therapy Dolphin Awards were presented to SFC Vincent Fanning, US Army Retired, and Bess Maxwell, PhD, PT.

The Aquatic Therapy Professional Award recognizes outstanding professionalism and contributions to the aquatic therapy industry.

Previous Aquatic Therapy Professional Award winners include:
Gwen Garrett, MA, OTR/L; Lynette Jamison, MOT, OTR/L; Peggy Schoedinger, PT; Igor Burdenko, PhD; Alison Osinski, PhD; Andrea Salzman, MS, PT; Johan Lambeck, PT; Bruce Becker, MD, Paula Briggs, MS, ExPhys, ATRIC; Ann Wieser, MS, PhD, ATRIC; Dori Maxon, PT, PCS, MEd, ATRIC; Mary Essert, BA, ATRIC; Luis Vargas, PhD, PT, ATRIC; and Mary Wykle, PhD, ATRIC

To read more...

Describing what you do in the therapy pool: Aquatic specialty techniques

 

(Illustrations by Nick Orabovic; ©2008, Aquatics International)

Constantly searching for a quick and dirty way to describe exactly what you do in the therapy pool? Payers, doctors and patients may not have heard of terms like "Ai Chi" or "Watsu®" -- so how do you explain them in an easy-to-understand and completely accessible way?

Well, once again, the Aquatic Resources Network has done it for you.

Check-out the 2008 series we published in Aquatics International.

In each monthly column of WaterFitness, Andrea Salzman describes (and Nick Orabovic illustrates) the most popular aquatic specialty techniques.

Click the links to access each short, informative article:

• Aquatic PRE
• Aquatic PNF
• Aquatic spinal stabilization
• Ai Chi
• Bad Ragaz Ring Method
• Cardiorespiratory conditioning
• Watsu

Medal winning swimmers give gold, silver and bronze to therapy patients

Excerpted from The Villages Daily Sun news release.

Looking for a way to motivate your therapy patients? Read more below.

Villages Aquatic Swim Team has won numerous gold, silver and bronze Senior Games medals, and now the team is striving to pay it forward — passing their medals on to others with hopes that they will be inspired to never give up.

Some 90 medals have been donated to Lady Lake Specialty Care Center therapists to award to patients as they succeed in their rehabilitation therapy sessions. Several swimmers plan to donate more.

Ken Greb, 60, of the Village of Duval, sported a gold medal Friday that was given to him by his wife, Connie, a VAST team member, in honor of Ken’s successful rehabilitation from knee replacement surgery.

“He’s doing very well; he’s way ahead of schedule,” Connie said. The gold medal was the first she won as a VAST team member, and she was pleased to pass it on to her sweetheart of 36 years.

The idea of giving away the medals began when Ken shared with his wife the accomplishments of fellow therapy patients as they overcame obstacles. She passed on Ken’s observations to her VAST friends and colleagues.

“They surprised me at one of the practices,” Connie recalled. “Several of the team members gave me their medals and said they felt it would inspire the patients not to give up. It was awesome. The compassion of the team is just so moving.”

Read the story...

 

Finding out why your local Medicare office might deny aquatic therapy

Did you know Medicare will only pay for 12 sessions of aquatic therapy? Or that you must "try and fail" at land-based therapy before putting your patient into the pool? Or that you cannot see your patient on land and in the pool during the same treatment bout?

These -- and other untruths and misconceptions -- are running rampant in the industry. Why?

Even though Medicare is a federal program, CMS leaves many reimbursement decisions up to local contractors.

This means that although "aquatic therapy" (CPT code 97113) is considered a covered service under Medicare, your local contractor may restrict its use or deny coverage unless you meet certain standards. And some local contractors do have restrictions like those listed above.

This is frustrating as heck -- and many practitioners get caught with their pants down (financially speaking) when billing for aquatic therapy.

But, there is a single "go to" source to find out exactly what your local Medicare contractor has to say about "aquatic therapy" in its LCDs (Local Coverage Documents).

Here's how to find the LCDs for your Medicare contractor:

1. Do you already know the name of your local carrier or intermediary? Then skip this step. Otherwise, find out the name of your local Medicare A or B contractor here.

2. Once you know who your local contractor is (for Medicare Part A or B), you will want to read their LCDs about aquatic therapy. Log onto this page to start. A search page will pop up.

Step 1: Click "Local Coverage" and some drop-down presets will load. Change the Articles preset to "Key Articles Only".

Step 2: Enter your state or geographic area -- or, if you already know it, enter the name of your contractor (carrier or intermediary).  Then, select the box under "Pick one or more" which says CPT/HCPCS. Enter "97113" in the search box. Click "Search now".

Articles specific to your state or your local contractor will come up. Click on each article's hyperlink to open the article. Once the article is open, perform a search for the term "97113" inside the article and read what your contractor has to say about aquatic therapy.

The Tipping Point for an Aquatic Therapy Organization

Hey gang,

I had an excellent pow-wow with Laurie Batter of Batter-Up Productions today.

I met Laurie several years ago when she was pestering me on behalf of the National Swimming Pool Foundation (NSPF). I liked her persistence and decided to work with her.

So what was so excellent about our talk? We discussed what "cool things" would create a tipping point for the aquatic therapy industry. What would make them move en-masse towards an organization? What would inflame those soggy hearts?

When I started to list all the organizations I have joined in my lifetime, I realized how I have grown to expect almost nothing for my dues.

So, Laurie and I (wild women at heart), we decided to push the envelope.

Here are some of the things we decided our greedy little hearts would want if we were joining an aquatic therapy organization:

• A fun publication that was worth reading
• Free access to an online Aquatic Therapy Bibliography
• A present (a dry-wicking t-shirt, towel or mesh carry-bag)
• Free education
• Contact with an actual person at the organization (my email? asalzman@aquaticnet.com)
• Easy to order (deeply discounted) equipment
• Daily or weekly interaction with other members (social networking)

By Sept, we should be there. (The free gift and monthly webinars are coming!)

So, hot-stuff, what are you waiting for? Tip... and join the surge. We want to be your Aquatic Therapy Command Center.