It takes nerve to start your own company – and when you start a nonprofit, more than a little heart.
Occupational therapist Carolyn Brown is the founder and executive director of StrokeOT, a nonprofit which began as a pilot program during her capstone research as a doctoral student in 2020.
Since then, it’s blossomed into a major resource that helps stroke survivors around the world access invaluable virtual health, exercise and lifestyle support.
In today’s episode, Carolyn tells us more about StrokeOT, the gaps StrokeOT fills for underserved patients and why a nonprofit for stroke survivors is so critical in today’s healthcare climate.
“What I was finding through years of working in outpatient was there was a huge gap in services for stroke survivors that were number one, prematurely discharged because A), their deductibles were too high, or B) that whole philosophy that still seems to be ingrained in so many clinicians’ heads are that there's this plateau in progress after your first year and you're not gonna continue. And I've never believed in that. There's so much research that shows likewise.
So what I did for my capstone thesis was to create a free program for underserved stroke survivors after they've been discharged from therapy. So I did an outcome measure based on the success of the program. It proved to be very successful. And from that became the sort of the groundings of stroke OT.” – Carolyn
Carolyn also shares about the tremendous value of community-based rehab programs, why emotional buy-in is such a profoundly important part of the healing process, how OTs and caregivers can keep their patients and loved ones thinking positively, and which rehab gear to grab and which to ditch.
In This Episode
(02:49) Carolyn’s background as an OT, and her journey from COTA to PhD
(07:12) The genesis of StrokeOT
(10:33) The future of community-based rehab programs
(12:40) The “magic recipe”
(15:17) The bright spots and challenges facing the neuro rehab industry today
(19:37) The right – and wrong – therapy equipment to buy
(25:13) How Carolyn keeps her patients optimistic
(31:56) How to find the right OT
(32:53) Carolyn’s predictions for the future of stroke rehab
Our Guest
Carolyn Brown (OTD, OTR/L, CLT) is the founder and executive director of StrokeOT, a nonprofit that helps stroke survivors access virtual health, exercise and lifestyle support.
With over 27 years working with stroke survivors, Carolyn specializes in neuro-developmental treatment, the Lifestyle Redesign® model, constraint-induced movement therapy, and Saebo orthotics.
In addition to her work at StrokeOT, she has also served as a clinical instructor at Quinnipiac University for the past 5 years.
Resources & Links
Henry Hoffman on LinkedIn
Pete Durand on LinkedIn
Saebo
On YouTube
On Instagram
On LinkedIn
Saebo’s Stroke Caregiver Support Group
Saebo’s Stroke Survivor Support Group
Carolyn Brown
StrokeOT
