Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Allis.
Hi Melissa, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I exceled in math and science in high school and was steered towards engineering in college. I really had no idea what careers were out there and I thought I would like the creativity and teamwork aspect of engineering. I graduated with a mechanical engineering degree and worked in the engineering field for 2 years. I realized quickly that engineering did not fill my desire for creativity or teamwork as I envisioned. I also really wanted to feel like I was helping people and craved personal interaction. I decided on a career change, but was not sure which career? I knew I liked medical science and psychology. Unsure of where to start, I did what any young adult would do and talked to my mom about it. My mom worked as a school psychologist at the time and thought occupational therapy would be a good match for me. I researched occupational therapy and thought it was the perfect fit. However, I wanted to know for sure. My mom orchestrated a shadowing session with the school-based occupational therapist at her school. I was elated to find that occupational therapy did, in fact, combine all of the aspects I was looking for in a new career; medical science, psychology, and personal interaction.
I got busy taking prerequisites while working and then applied to graduate school to obtain my masters of science in occupational therapy. I have since worked as an occupation therapist in a variety of settings such as a skilled nursing facility, hospitals, home health care, and now my own business. Owning my own business has been my favorite occupational therapy job so far!
I decided to start my own business after I worked in home health care. There was so much more that I wanted to do for my patients in home health care that I could not do because there were insurance and time constraints. So, out of frustration, I decided to create my own business model. My goal was to provide community members with occupational therapy services at home that would be comprehensive and unconstrained. In order to accommodate the realistic needs of people returning home from the hospital, those who live with chronic diseases, and seniors aging at home, I needed to have a hybrid approach to my business. This means that I accept patients covered under Medicare part B for services that are eligible and collect private pay for services that are not eligible. My superpower is that I am a knowledgeable, caring health professional that won’t rush you and, in fact, will help guide you toward helpful equipment, ideas, and resources.
While working on my business model, I took a course through the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). It was a 3-day course that educates you about all of the things you’d ever want to know about aging in place. I remembered being interested in this topic during graduate school, We learned how unique home modifications can promote independence and safety. The NAHB course equipped me with the knowledge that I needed to become a competent, certified aging in place specialist, a specialty that I feel strongly compliments the teachings of occupational therapy very well.
So now, I would say that I am an occupational therapist that provides services in the home and specializes in aging in place.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s never a smooth road, is it? My struggles included a complete career change, going back to school as an adult, reducing work in order to raise a family, figuring out how to start a business with absolutely no business background, and navigating Medicare as a payment source for my services.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
My business is a private occupational therapy practice that specializes in aging in place. I am the owner and the only employee right now, so you can always reach me and talk to an actual person. I specialize in helping community members transition home after a hospital stay, acute injury, chronic disease progression, or otherwise healthy individuals looking to adapt their home so they can live in it as long as possible. I am unique in that I provide a ton of resources to help my clients reach their goals. I also follow-up with my clients often to make sure they are on the right track and to see if I can help further in any way. Making changes is hard, especially in your home that you have lived in for a very long time. So, I carefully plan to make a few changes in small increments to see how the changes are tolerated. I can also help families plan for new construction or a move to a different home if they are looking to take aging in place or other disabilities into account. There are no other occupational therapists in the surrounding Harrisburg area that do what I do. My closest peers that provide aging in place consulting are in Lancaster, PA (45 mins away). I am hoping that more occupational therapists will be inspired to join the aging in place specialty. I am most proud of my website. I designed it myself, with no previous website design experience and really like the look and feel of it. You can obtain a lot of information about whether aging in place is right for you, what services I offer, contact me, and schedule directly on my website, safeoptimalspaces.com.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
My approach to better the lives of people that live in my community is centered around honesty, professionalism, and humor. We are all aging and will all have to have odd conversations with health professionals at some point, so I do believe that humor makes those conversations a little less awkward. Healthcare should be helpful, not frustrating.
Pricing:
- Pricing is listed on my website, safeoptimalspaces.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://safeoptimalspaces.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/safeoptimalspaces/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561075782501
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-allis-79b073367/
