Great news from our 2019 Health Services Research Grant recipient, Teal Benevides, PhD, MS, OTR/L, Augusta University!

Her groups first paper that came out of their grant work, Publicly Insured Utilization & Costs of Care Among Adults on the Autism Spectrum, was just name one of the Top 20 Advances in Autism Biomedical and Services Research, as selected by members of the US. Department of Health and Human Services, NIH, Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC):

Racial and ethnic disparities in benefits eligibility and spending among adults on the autism spectrum: A cohort study using the Medicare Medicaid Linked Enrollees Analytic Data Source. Benevides TW, Carretta HJ, Rust G, Shea L. PLoS One. 2021 May 25;16(5). [PMID: 34032811]. Disparities in dual eligibility for Medicaid and Medicare benefits across race and ethnicity in autistic adults contribute to disparities in access to services. Read more

I am very grateful for AOTF and your support of OT researchers! Thank you for believing in this work. 

AOTF 2023 Health Services, Implementation and Intervention Research Grants will open this summer.  

Calling for Volunteers!  The AOTF Scholarship Selection Committee has openings for Reviewers (especially Clinicians!) to read, review, and score applications submitted for AOTF Scholarships. The bulk of active committee work typically takes place between November - February annually.  Interested?  Contact Careen Carlton at CCarlton@aotf.org by Sept. 1, 2022.

We recently learned of the passing of Honorary Lifetime Member of the American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF), Nancy Vesper (Snyder) Lieftinck.

Following completion of her undergraduate degree in occupational therapy at Ohio State University (OSU), Nancy Vesper Lieftinck immediately began her first job as a staff occupational therapist in 1954 at the Department of Physical Medicine, treating persons with polio. Reflecting on her career, she indicated that her most significant accomplishments occurred as chairperson of ACOTE, in which she developed a streamlined system for program evaluation during her 9 years of service on the council. As an acknowledged leader in occupational therapy, she served the American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF) generously, completing two terms as president of AOTF from 1969 to 1976 and 1985 to 1989. Under her direction, the AOTF Board of Directors established the AOTF state scholarship program and hired the Foundation's first full-time executive director. In 2003, she was honored with the distinct designation of Honorary Life Membership by the board of directors of the AOTF and was also recognized with the Leadership Commendation Award in 2012 for her many contributions and distinguished service. In addition, Nancy was inducted into the Roster of Fellows of AOTA in 1975 and received the Retired Educator’s Award in 2003. The Fred Sammons Volunteer Recognition Award was presented to her in 2020 by the AOTF, and she is listed in Who’s Who in Rehabilitation. 

To send condolences, you may visit Nancy Lieftinck Obituary - Columbus, OH (dignitymemorial.com)

Alyson Stover is an associate professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, at the University of Pittsburgh. Stover obtained her juris doctorate in law with a post-graduate certificate in health law from the University of Pittsburgh. Her areas of practice expertise include pediatrics, trauma-informed occupational therapy, and holistic approaches to substance use disorder, and she is AOTA Board Certified in Pediatrics.

She owns a private outpatient pediatric practice north of Pittsburgh and co-founded a non-profit organization that uses occupation to address community, societal, and population needs. Stover's interests include using occupational therapy as a powerful driving force for larger healthcare change, advancing occupational therapy’s national and global relevance, and occupational therapy’s role as a leader in policy development and implementation. Stover is also interested in access to care for underserved and underrepresented populations.  Stover serves as President of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) through June 2025.