03 Apr Have you met Harney District Hospital’s occupational therapist?
Pictured above: Occupational Therapist Valeria Bullock demonstrating how to use a leg lifter. This is one of the many assistive devices that she uses to help her clients regain mobility.
Did you know that April is Occupational Therapy Month? This is a great opportunity to highlight the outstanding contributions of Valeria Bullock — the occupational therapist at Harney District Hospital’s Physical & Sports Therapy Clinic — toward the health and wellbeing of our community.
What is occupational therapy?
Occupational therapy uses everyday activities (also known as “occupations”) to help people develop, recover, improve, and maintain the skills they need for daily living and working. Occupational therapists use a collaborative process to help their clients participate in all aspects of life, no matter their level of ability. Their work can have a profound, even life-changing, impact on the people they serve!
Valeria works with people of all ages — from infants to older adults and everyone in between. (Her oldest client was 101!) She helps children reach developmental milestones and older adults maintain their strength and independence. She also helps older adults with fall prevention.
“Occupational therapy can lessen the burden of care for a client, while increasing their quality of life,” Valeria said. “I want my clients to have a good quality of life!”
Much of Valeria’s work focuses on rehabilitating (re-teaching) people who have sustained partial or full function loss how to resume daily activities such as washing, dressing, getting in and out of bed, feeding themselves, and using the restroom. She also reteaches higher-level skills like shopping, balancing a checkbook, and taking medications.
“They knew how to do it at one point, but they lost those skills,” Valeria explained. “I teach them how to regain their function.”
There are a variety of reasons why someone may benefit from working with an occupational therapist. Some of Valeria’s clients have had a stroke, while others are recovering from knee- or hip-replacement surgeries. Valeria also helps clients who’ve been hospitalized due to illness (like the flu) rebuild their endurance.
“A study showed that you need three days of therapy for every day that you’re in the hospital because your body becomes deconditioned and weak,” she explained.
Valeria uses a mix of assistive devices/equipment (walkers, crutches, knee scooters, etc.), compensatory skills, and strengthening programs to help her clients resume the activities they want and need to do in order to fully participate in their lives.
Meet Valeria
Valeria’s interest in occupational therapy started when she was in the military. After graduating from high school in Philadelphia, Pa., she joined the Army and started working as a physical therapy assistant. She worked with veterans who had amputations and became interested in the innovative tools and skills they use to complete everyday tasks. Her interest was especially piqued when she saw a lady use a bungee-cord device to complete a puzzle.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Arcadia University in Glenside, Pa., Valeria attended a graduate symposium where she was seated next to Jessie Pervall, the admissions director at Thomas Jefferson University. Some may call this a chance meeting, but Valeria thinks it was divine intervention.
“Jessie was like my guardian angel,” Valeria said. “We started chatting, and I realized that I wanted to enroll in the graduate program for occupational therapy. It was tough getting through school, but she was always a support for me.”
Valeria earned her master’s degree in occupational therapy from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pa. and went on to have a rewarding career as an occupational therapist.
Before joining Harney District Hospital’s (HDH’s) Physical Therapy Department in May 2024, Valeria worked with clients in a nursing home in North Carolina. She said she dearly misses her former clients, but she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to pursue her dream job at HDH.
“This is a good hospital,” she said. “Some days, I can’t believe I get paid to do this! I wake up for my clients every day. It’s not about me. It’s about them. I’m always thinking, ‘What can I offer them to make their lives better?’”
She added that her coworkers are equally passionate about the work they do.
Valeria fell in love with Harney County when she came for a site visit in February 2024. She was especially drawn to the people, the landscape, and the slower pace of life. She’s also become quite fond of the local wildlife.
“I’m home now,” she said. “I can look out my window and see the deer. The ‘girls’ come and visit me in the morning, and the ‘boys’ eat dinner with me in the evening.”
When she isn’t working or admiring the view, Valeria can be found hiking, writing haiku poetry, and caring for her beloved cats: Theo, Onyx, and Peppa.
Talk to your primary care provider
If you think you might benefit from occupational therapy, talk to your primary care provider. Your provider can determine whether occupational therapy is right for you and refer you to services.
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