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As head of the Care and Services team, occupational therapist Dr. Lisa Carson helps residents live their ideal life at home. Learn about Dr. Carson’s background and why she loves occupational therapy.
Truehold’s mission is to help residents enjoy a healthy and happy life at home. Financial demands (like debt or retirement) and physical challenges (from maintaining the lawn to medical needs) can get in the way of that ideal lifestyle. The sale-leaseback transaction unlocks wealth to support customers’ financial goals. To address physical challenges, Truehold customers have access to our Care and Services Team, led by Dr. Lisa Carson.
Dr. Carson is a doctorate level occupational therapist, so she’s an expert in helping people live the life they desire. By working closely with their clients, occupational therapists find solutions to clients’ complex problems. Dr. Carson will be sharing her professional advice on how to live healthily at home through upcoming Truehold blog posts. To prepare for her blog series, we wanted to learn more about her background, occupational therapy, and her role at Truehold.
A: I have worked for over 13 years with people living with disabilities or limitations that prevent them from participating in life the way they want or need to. I started working in a research lab studying community accessibility for people with mobility impairments. Then I went on to get my doctorate in occupational therapy (OT) from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. For my dissertation, I studied successful and productive aging and created an evidence-based practice model to guide occupational therapists in how to best assist their clients with achieving successful aging.
As a licensed practitioner, I worked with individuals and families who were trying to live their lives in the community despite challenges with their health or environment. I’ve mentored and taught OT students and participated in many clinical research studies as an OT. After about 6 years of practicing as an OT, I decided to become a certified Geriatric Care Manager so that I could work even closer with individuals and their families to help them be successful in all areas of their lives.
Occupational therapy is a healthcare profession that focuses on helping people improve their ability to do the things they need and want to do each day. It involves assessment and intervention to develop, recover or maintain meaningful activities. Occupations are activities that occupy your time. So an OT might work with people on basic occupations such as bathing or dressing, or they might work on more complex occupations like paying bills or preparing a meal. We look at person factors (e.g. someone’s vision or cognitive abilities) and environmental factors (e.g. how accessible is their home or workplace). Then we help people overcome whatever challenges they are facing. We work closely with other health professionals such as physicians, physical therapists, social workers, and more.
A: I have worked with all age groups but mostly adults and older adults with neurodegenerative conditions like dementia, parkinson disease, ALS, etc. I have also worked with healthy aging populations to address health promotion.
A: The problem solving. When an individual or family is facing a complex, scary or upsetting challenge, I enjoy learning about the situation so I can gain a deep understanding, then I break the challenge down and come up with creative solutions that dramatically improve or change someone’s life.
A: People often don’t realize how broad it is. Our scope of practice is very large. I’ve done so many initial evaluations where the client ends up saying “I didn’t realize we could work on that!” OTs can work on just about any daily activity that you can think of. From basic things like showering to more complex tasks like grocery shopping, participating in job duties or learning how to expand your social network.
I direct the Care & Service team, which is the team that oversees our resident experience. I help advocate for our residents and make sure they are having a positive experience as a renter with Truehold. I use my past clinical experience and feedback from our current residents to weigh in on larger company goals and projects, particularly around helping our residents age in place. I write articles for our blog, send newsletters, and check in with residents regularly to see how they are doing.
Truehold has a mission to help people live easier at home and that is very similar to the work I did as an OT. We help people overcome challenges in order to achieve their goals. If someone’s goal is to live in their home longer, Truehold helps them achieve that goal by solving for their financial needs as well as other needs that they might have in order to live safely and independently at home.
A: Aging in place can mean different things, but to me it is about remaining in the broader, diverse community and staying independent (with supports as needed) as long as possible. It could mean staying in your home, or you could downsize into a condo, but it always means that you are living in an environment where you can continue to function at the most independent level possible. While you may still receive help and services, you remain in the broader community vs. an institutionalized community.
I love spending time with my family. I’m also very crafty. I like doing any sort of craft project from sewing to making invitations or scrapbooks, and I even had a jewelry making business at one point!
Truehold Residents have access to Dr. Lisa Carson’s support finding creative solutions to problems that affect their life at home. Adult children of older residents especially benefit from Dr. Carson’s assistance arranging home services to help their parent stay independent in the home they love.
If you want to learn more about how Truehold’s sale-leaseback and Care and Services Team could make living at home easier for you or a loved one, fill out the form below.
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