Live Webinar

Emergency Preparedness in OT: Assessment and Intervention for Community-Dwelling Adults

 Are you a Just for OT subscriber or already registered for this course, but still seeing the enroll prompt? Click here to sign in.
This course is included in the Just for OT Subscribers.
Subscribers will be automatically enrolled in this webinar
Live WEbinar

Emergency Preparedness in OT: Assessment and Intervention for Community-Dwelling Adults

Thursday, May 28, 2026
7 pm (CT) | 8 pm (ET)
2 Contact Hour

Educational level: Introductory

Category 1: Occupational Therapy Service Delivery
Category 3: Foundational Knowledge

If you need assistance or accommodations, please contact us at Info@AspireOT.us
Drag to resize
Encore Presentation

This course is now being offered for individual purchase

This webinar will be held on Zoom.

The 2011 National Preparedness Directive instructs all citizens to participate in strengthening the resilience of the United States against threats such as acts of terrorism, cyber-attacks, pandemics, and catastrophic natural disasters. Emergency and disaster preparedness is an IADL, and occupational therapy practitioners play a vital, multifaceted role.

In this course, you will learn more about the National Preparedness Directive and Goal and how it affects each one of us. You will gain knowledge about the barriers we face in helping our clients become better prepared. You will also be introduced to an emerging tool for occupational therapy practitioners that will assist you in assessing your adult clients’ barriers, and access and functional needs to create an individualized emergency preparedness plan.


Target Audience: Occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, occupational therapy students
This occupational therapy continuing education course uses the following instructional methods: visual aides (ie slides), discussion board, guided note taking, and learning, and practice opportunities.
Content disclosure: This course does not exclusively focus on any specific product or service.

Presented by:
Tracy Michele Nornhold, M.Ed., Ed.D., OTR/L, EMT (ret), EMC
Drag to resize
Upon completion of this course, learners will be able to:
  • Identify and discuss the national emergency preparedness goal and the four phases of emergency management as it relates to occupational therapy practitioners and their clients.
  • Discuss the barriers to emergency preparedness and how they affect occupational therapy clients..
  • Explain how the PEO framework and CMIST framework can be applied for access and functional needs, and to the OTPF-4 for an occupational therapy assessment of emergency preparedness.
  •  List the steps for developing a comprehensive emergency plan that addresses the clients personal, environmental and occupational (access and functional needs) contexts.

What OTs and OTAs are saying about these courses

"The instructor was very knowledgeable and presented the information in a way that was interesting and clear. It helped me realize where I am lacking in emergency preparedness on a personal level as well as the role I can play in helping others as an OT. "

OT Course Participant 

"As an OT practitioner who works with the senior population...I believe this emergency preparedness information is vital for our clients and families but is rarely discussed! We do not have to look far to see that our communities are experiencing more frequent emergencies, whether natural, technological, or human caused, and we must be better prepared to help our vulnerable members! I highly recommend this course to OT practitioners and plan to investigate ways that I can become more involved in this area personally and professionally.

Lisa A. Taylor, OTR/L,  Course Participant

"I would recommend this course to other fellow OTs/OTAs due to the important knowledge offered on emergency preparedness."

R.R., OT Course Participant
Instructor bioS
a smiling woman with short red hair, light skin, with a blue shirt with red floral and white pattern.
Tracy Michele Nornhold, M.Ed., Ed.D., OTR/L, EMT (ret), EMC,
Aspire OT Instructor

Tracy Michele Nornhold, M.Ed., Ed.D., OTR/L, EMT (ret), EMC, earned a Bachelor of Science in occupational therapy in 1988 from College Misericordia (now Misericordia University) in Dallas, Pennsylvania. She obtained a master’s degree in health education, with a concentration in community health education, from Pennsylvania State University in 1997 and completed a Doctor of Education in health sciences education from the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in 2021.

Tracy has experience in multiple clinical and academic settings, including inpatient mental health, inpatient rehabilitation, acute care, skilled nursing facilities, and home health. Her teaching roles have included guest lecturer, adjunct faculty, and full-time faculty positions in various occupational therapy programs.

Since high school, Tracy has participated in the emergency services. She completed her first Advanced First Aid class at the age of 14 and joined her local volunteer fire department at 16. In 1989, she finished the emergency medical technician course, receiving her OTR and EMT certifications on the same day. She worked and volunteered as an EMT for 30 years and served as an EMT instructor within her local community. In 2005, after a tornado affected her hometown, Tracy became involved in emergency management, advancing from staff member to planning chief. She currently serves as the emergency management coordinator for a regional emergency management agency covering four municipalities in South Central Pennsylvania.

Tracy is designing the Occupational Therapy Tool for Emergency Preparedness (OTTEP) to address clients’ emergency preparedness needs concerning their access and functional requirements. Her background as an OT practitioner and emergency manager guided her understanding of the specific risks and challenges facing individuals with access and functional needs during emergencies or disasters.


DISCLOSURES

Financial: Tracy is compensated as an Aspire OT instructor. 
Non Financial:  Tracy does not have any non-financial disclosures.
Write your awesome label here.

Purchase a subscription for only $69  to attend this webinar as well as have 12 months access to our self-paced courses, live webinars, discussion panels and forums!

Course Outline

 0 - 5 minutes

 6-20 minutes 

21-35- minutes


36-55 minutes

56-85 minutes


86-110 minutes

111-115 minutes

115-120 minutes

 Introduction and Objectives 

What Is Emergency Management and Disaster Preparedness?

Understanding the Language of Access and Functional Needs: The CMIST Framework

The Role of Occupational Therapy 

Assessing the Adults’ Emergency Preparedness Needs Using the OTTEP 

Application of the OTTEP to a Case Study

Conclusion 

Questions
Completion Requirements
Drag to resize
In order to receive the certificate of completion, participants must meet ALL of the following criteria:
  • Payment of the course in full
  • Attend webinar in its entirety
  • Complete Attestation of Attendance
  • Pass the course exam with a score of 70% or greater
  • Complete the Post Course Evaluation
Please note that no credit or certificate will be issued unless all criteria is met.  Partial credit will not be issued.  
cancellation policy
Live Courses and Webinars
Learner cancellations: In the event that the learner requests to cancel or is unable to attend a course, a refund for the total paid for the course will be granted if Aspire OT is notified via email at info@aspireot.us within 10 business days prior to date of the scheduled course, minus a non-refundable registration fee of 25% of registration price.  If the learner provides notification of cancellation less then 10 business days prior to the scheduled course, the learner will be offered the opportunity to attend the same webinar on an alternate date or enrollment in the recorded on-demand version of that webinar, instead of a refund.  

No refunds will be issued after a course has been attended for more than 30 minutes.  Partial credit will not be issued.  

Provider cancellations: In the event of inclement weather or other event resulting in the inability for a live course to be provided within the scheduled time, learners will be offered an alternate date or a full refund for registration paid.
On-Demand web Courses 
Web courses will remain available to learners for 1 year. No refunds will be available for web courses that have been attended or viewed for greater than 30 minutes. In the event of a refund, the learner will be unenrolled in the course immediately upon issuance of a refund. No refunds will be issued for any course in which a certificate has been issued.  
Logo AOTA Approved Provider
Aspire OT is an AOTA Approved Provider of professional development.
PD activity approval ID# 14702
This Distance Learning-Interactive course is offered at 0.2 CEUs (Introductory level, OT Service Delivery & Foundational Knowledge) 
The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA.
This course is

Registered with CE Broker

Aspire OT reports directly to CE Broker for those states that require it: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Michigan, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee.

  • CE Broker Tracking Number: 20-1343718
  • Individuals must complete the required steps to set up their Aspire OT account. You can view those steps here. 
  • Course completions are reported within 48 hours.
  • Refer to our FAQ for more information.

This Course Will Be Reported as The Following to CE Broker:

Alabama State Board of Occupational Therapy
Occupational Therapist
     Patient Related :
     2 Contact hour
Occupational Therapy Assistant
     Patient Related :
     2 Contact hour
Arizona Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners
Occupational Therapist
     Related to the Clinical Practice of OT:
      2 Contact hour
Occupational Therapy Assistant
     Related to the Clinical Practice of OT:
     2 Contact hour
Florida Board of Occupational Therapy  
Occupational Therapist
     General :
     2 Contact hour
Occupational Therapy Assistant
     General :
     2 Contact hour
Georgia State Board of Occupational Therapy
Occupational Therapist
     Related to Direct Hands-On Patient Care:
     2 Contact hour
Occupational Therapy Assistant
     Related to Direct Hands-On Patient Care :
     2 Contact hour
Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners - Occupational Therapy
Occupational Therapist
     Related to the Clinical Practice of Occupational Therapy
     2 Contact hour
Occupational Therapy Assistant
     Related to the Clinical Practice of Occupational Therapy
     2 Contact hour
Michigan Board of Occupational Therapy
Occupational Therapist
     General :
     2 Contact hour
Occupational Therapy Assistant
     General :
     2 Contact hour
Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision
Occupational Therapy Assistant
     General :
     2 Contact hour
Occupational Therapist
     General:
    2 Contact hour
South Carolina Board of Occupational Therapy
Occupational Therapist
     Direct client/patient services in occupational therapy:
     2 Contact hour
Occupational Therapy Assistant
        Direct client/patient services in occupational therapy: :
     2  Contact hour
Tennessee Board of Occupational Therapy
Occupational Therapist
     Continuing education directly related to the delivery of occupational therapy services :
    2 Contact hour
Occupational Therapy Assistant
     Continuing education directly related to the delivery of occupational therapy services :
     2 Contact hour

Course Author

image of logo: purple triangle with 3 point orange star in middle, left tip coming out of triangle, words below Aspire OT
This course is being offered by Aspire OT.