About the Author

NAME: Virginia E. Koenig

eRA COMMONS USERNAME: Koenig, V. E. OTD, MSA, OTR/L

POSITION TITLE: Touro University OT Academic Fieldwork Coordinator and Associate Professor, Manhattan, NY

EDUCATION/TRAINING:

1. Personal Statement

I have been the Occupational Therapy Academic Fieldwork Coordinator and Associate Professor at Touro University, NY, NY.  I am a long-term care specialist and prior to my employment at Touro University, I worked in an OT supervisory capacity in Medicare/Medicaid skilled nursing facilities in the metro-New York area.  My passion is to perform research and research utilization that can be used to expand and enhance Touro’s OT academic program, and fieldwork opportunities that address underserved populations within the United States.  To date, I have established fieldwork opportunities at the Nassau County Juvenile Detention Center in Westbury, NY, which services at-risk, incarcerated youth, and Big Sandy Healthcare, which serves rural communities in the Appalachian Mountains of Eastern Kentucky.  My interests include new student fieldwork program development and health literacy education for health care professionals, aspiring health care professional students, and other stakeholders in order to facilitate occupational justice across the lifespan.  My previous research on health literacy has been recognized by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), a division of the United States Department of Health and Human Services as an impact case study, as well as other prestigious academic and professional institutions.  I wish to continue my health literacy research with Touro OT students to develop a health literacy workshop for all professional programs within Touro’s School of Health Sciences.  I believe that my extensive knowledge and experience with health literacy and health literacy program development for health care professionals and OT students qualify me to expand my health literacy research.  Furthermore, I work hard to ensure my research is published as evidenced by my active participation in Touro scholarship activities and contributions to Touro Faculty Publications.  As a healthcare professional and akin to AHRQ’s philosophy, it is my inherent goal to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of healthcare for all populations.  I respectfully and sincerely request a grant to support this endeavor.

2.  Positions and Employment

2004-2014: OTR/L Department Supervisor/Long-term Care Specialist:  Grace Plaza, Great Neck, NY

2013-Present:  OT Academic Fieldwork Coordinator and Assistant Professor, Touro University, BS/MSOT Program, NY, NY

2015-Present:  Program Developer/Clinical Instructor:  Touro University, Level II OT Psychosocial Fieldwork Program, Nassau County Juvenile Detention Center, Westbury, NY

2022-Present:  OT Academic Fieldwork Coordinator and Associate Professor, Touro University, BS/MSOT Program, NY, NY

2022-Present:  Associate Professor, Touro University, Post-Professional OTD Program, New York, NY

3.  Other Experience

2013-2020:  Founder/Coordinator:  Touro College Intergenerational Service-Learning Programs:  JASA:  The Nazi Victim Program; The New Jewish Home:  Scribe Program

2013-Present:  Member, Touro College OT/ School of Health Sciences Continuing Education for Fieldwork Supervisors Committee

2013-Present:  Member, The Metropolitan Occupational Therapy Council-NY/NJ (MOTEC)

2014-Present:  Facilitator, Touro College, School of Health Sciences, Interprofessional Education Symposium:  Understanding the Interprofessional Healthcare Team

2015: Co-Presenter, Poster Presentation:  Population-Based Occupational Therapy, The American Occupational Therapy Association, 2015 Annual Conference, Nashville, TN

2016-Present:  Executive Board Member, Alpha Eta National Allied Health Honor Society, Chapter 83, Touro College

2016-2018:  Founder/Coordinator, Touro College Occupational Therapy Program Level I Fieldwork Program:  Big Sandy Healthcare, Prestonburg, KY

2018:  Touro College OT Program Representative/Participant, Backstretch Employees Service Team (BEST) Annual Health Fair, Belmont Racetrack, Elmont, NY

2019:  Co-developer/Co-producer:  Video:  Discover the Superhero in You:  Become a Clinical    Fieldwork Supervisor, The American Occupational Therapy Association 2019 Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA

4. Professional Memberships

2001-Present:  Member, The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)

2001-Present:  Member, The New York State Occupational Therapy Association (NYSOTA)

2001-Present:  Member, The New York Medical Reserve Corps

2001-Present:  Member, Nu Upsilon Tau Honor Society

2001-Present:  Member, Pi Epsilon Tau

2015-Present:  Member, Alpha Eta Honor Society

5. Honors

2017:           Touro College 2017 OT Clinician Award

2018:           New York State Occupational Therapy Association’s Merit Award for Practice

6. Contributions to Science

The focus of the majority of my publications addresses limited health literacy, health literacy universal precautions, and their impact on client-centered care and program development initiatives

1. “Virtual Health Promotion: Fieldwork Placement Experiences During a Global Pandemic and Beyond.” World Federation of Occupational Therapy (WFOT).  Coauthors:  M. Buccina, D. Cullinane, S. Dapice-Wong, J. Kardachi, S. Leiser, R. Purohit, August 2022
2. Collins, T., Koenig, V. E., Wong, S. J., Buccinna, M., Purohit, R. B., Leiser, S. K., & Cullinane, D. (2022). Community-Based OT Program Planning: A Virtual Level II Fieldwork Program Developed in Response to the Global Pandemic. Journal of Occupational Therapy Education, 6 (3). Retrieved from https://encompass.eku.edu/jote/vol6/iss3/18Koenig, V.E. (2021) Development and Implementation of a Viable Level II Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Program in a Juvenile Justice Setting, Annals of International Occupational Therapy, 4 (1), 44-52, https://doi.org/10.3928/24761222-20200923-02
3. May 2019: Columbia University, New York, NY, Dr. Janet Falk-Kessler (JFK) Distinguished Lectureship and Day of Scholarship, Oral Presentation:  Health Literacy Universal Precautions in OT Practice
4. The New York State Occupational Therapy Association’s 2019 Annual Conference, Palisades, NY, Poster Presentation: A Health Literacy Universal Precautions Workshop for OT Students
5. Koenig, V. E., & Provident, I. M. (2019). Workshop series for occupational therapists using the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit and other supported tools. Health Education Journal, 78(4), 451–463. https://doi.org/10.1177/0017896918820067
6. Koenig, V.E. (2018) Health literacy: Pure and simple, Annals of Physiotherapy & Occupational Therapy, 1(2): 000109
7. Koenig, V.E. (2019) Health Literacy: A Universal Call to Action, Journal of Psychology and Mental Health Care, Doi: 10.31579/ 2637-8892.19/011
8. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: Impact Case Study, August 2018:  AHRQ Toolkit Helps Connecticut Rehab Center Boost Health Literacy Skillshttps://www.ahrq.gov/news/newsroom/case-studies/201805.html?utm_source=2018- 05&utm_medium=en&utm_term=&utm_content=20&utm_campaign=ahrq_ics_2018
9. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, NewsNow Newsletter, Issue 27, August 21, 2018:  Featured Impact Case Study:  AHRQ        Toolkit Helps Connecticut Rehab Center Boost Health Literacy Skillshttps://www.ahrq.gov/news/newsletters/e-newsletter/627.html
10. The American Occupational Therapy Association’s 2018 Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah, Poster Presentation: A Health Literacy Workshop for Occupational Therapists Incorporating Elements of theUniversal Precautions Toolkit
11. The New York State Occupational Therapy Association’s 2018 Annual Conference: Palisades, NY, Oral Presentation: Designing a Framework for a Health Literacy Workshop Incorporating Elements of the Universal Precautions Toolkit
12. May 2019: Columbia University, New York, NY, Dr. Janet Falk-Kessler (JFK) Distinguished Lectureship and Day of Scholarship, Oral Presentation:  Health Literacy Universal Precautions in OT Practice