Our Future Is Not Guaranteed Lesson

Course Description

We advocate for our patients every day. We advocate for adaptive equipment, increased frequency of services, school supports, home health services, and access to care. We need to do the same for our profession. We are at a point where reimbursement continues to decline while the need for occupational therapy services continues to grow. At some point, those two realities will collide. If we want occupational therapy to remain relevant, accessible, and valued, we need to have a seat at the table when decisions are being made. This session will explore why occupational therapists need to be involved in advocacy, how they can get involved, and what each of us can do to help secure the future of our profession.

Objectives

Speaker

Candice Mullendore, MS, OTR/L

Candice Mullendore, MS, OTR/L, is an occupational therapist, private practice owner, consultant, and nationally recognized advocate with more than 25 years of experience. As President of Pediatric Therapy Center, she has grown one of Nebraska’s largest pediatric multidisciplinary therapy practices while helping lead major reimbursement and policy reforms, including Medicaid authorization improvements, timely notification of policy changes, the elimination of MPPR, and an increase in non-hospital provider fees in Nebraska Medicaid. Candice serves as Vice President of Policy & Advocacy for the Nebraska Occupational Therapy Association, represents AOTA as the alternate advisor on the Health Care Professionals Advisory Committee (HCPAC) to the American Medical Association (AMA) Relative Value Update Committee (RUC), and speaks nationally on private practice leadership, reimbursement, advocacy, and business strategy. She is also the co-founder of Therapy Practice Advisory Group (TPAG), where she provides consulting and continuing education to help therapy practices strengthen operations, navigate reimbursement and regulatory challenges, and build thriving, sustainable businesses.

To learn more about Therapy Practice Advisory Group’s consulting and continuing education services, visit https://www.thetpag.com/ or contact us at info@thetpag.com.