Dr. Heather Fritz, Founding Director of PNWU’s School of Occupational Therapy, takes us inside the Washington Occupational Therapy Association’s 2024 “Hike the Hill” event.
On Thursday, January 11, despite blizzard conditions, a sleepy but enthusiastic cohort of PNWU OT students made an epic trip to the Washington State Capitol for the Washington Occupational Therapy Association’s “Hike the Hill” event. The annual event serves to promote joint advocacy for key professional issues.
In Olympia, our students joined other OT students and professionals from around the state to advocate for the implementation of Senate Bill 5228, which serves to expand OT services in community behavioral health settings.
In the morning, students attended advocacy sessions around behavioral health hosted by the Washington Occupational Therapy Association. During the afternoon, each student engaged in two-three visits with their respective elected officials to give their voice to issues impacting OT professionals and the clients they serve.
“Part of our mission is to produce leaders, scholars, and change agents,” said Dr. Fritz. “Doing events like ‘Hike the Hill’ provides the students an opportunity to apply their advocacy skills, and come to understand that legislators are just people, and not scary, unapproachable entities.”
Dr. Fritz hopes the experience will help her students start to find their voices and build their confidence in engaging in conversation with those in power to influence policy. “I was so proud to be there with such a professional group of students who represented PNWU (and OT) so well,” she said.
