After working as an occupational therapist in an inpatient acute rehab clinic for two years and in an independent/assisted living facility for three years, Lyndi Plattner was finding that many of her patients’ healthcare services would significantly drop off once they returned home from the hospital, rehab, or doctor’s office.
She was consistently seeing a lack of support and wrap-around services in the healthcare and health management realm for aging adults living in the community, so she decided to do something about it.
Plattner
“Navigating our complex healthcare system and managing our personal health can feel like a full-time job, especially during the aging process,” Plattner said. “After seeing dozens of older adults, and their caregivers, struggle with health management tasks, I had a realization. As an occupational therapist, I am well-equipped to provide holistic services that address the many complexities associated with health management. I decided to firmly plant myself in the gap created by lack of healthcare services present in the community, and qualOT of Life was born.”
She learned about occupational therapy in an unexpected way. When she was 15 years old, her mom had rotator cuff surgery on her dominant arm. “A few days later, my dad broke both of his wrists in a 4-wheeler accident,” Plattner said. “By the end of his surgeries, my parents only had one, non-dominant arm to function with. For the next several weeks, I became their primary caregiver. One of my duties was to drive to all of their therapy appointments. Their occupational therapist taught me all about the scope and goals of occupational therapy. I fell in love with the profession immediately. Much of my free time between sports and school was spent shadowing occupational therapists. I learned that occupational therapy is both an art and a science that aims to help people find quality of life after an unexpected injury or condition. I hate that my parents had to go through injuries for me to find my calling, but I do feel it was fate. I was put on this earth to be an OT.”
Her new venture, qualOT of Life is a private case-management business that helps guide people as they navigate the very complicated healthcare system. “We have the medical training needed to serve as interpreters, organizers, and advocates for patient care,” Plattner said. “We personalize our services for each of our clients with the goal of helping them feel more in control of the aging process, more able to remain independent, and feel more financially secure with aging-in-place solutions.”
She grew up in the Northland and is a Park Hill High School alumna. She received a Bachelors in Health Science and Masters in Occupational Therapy at the University of Missouri, then worked at Centerpoint Medical Center for two years in the acute in-patient rehabilitation unit before transitioning to Legacy Healthcare in Liberty, where she worked for three years, with her last year as Rehab Director.
“A few months into my job with Legacy, I decided to go back to school for my doctorate in occupational therapy,” Plattner said. “I joined the University of Missouri’s post-professional occupational therapy doctorate program. I worked full-time and completed my doctorate school work online on nights and weekends. I graduated with my Occupational Therapy Doctorate in December 2023.”
While she admits she now has a ridiculous amount of letters after her name: Dr. Lyndi Plattner, OTD (Occupational Therapy Doctorate), MOT (Masters of Occupational Therapy), OTR/L (Occupational Therapist Registered & Licensed) she’s glad she put in the work and she is ready to begin a new chapter with qualOT of Life.
“Our mission is to enhance the lives of older adults and individuals with chronic conditions by offering holistic health management consulting services, Plattner said. “We acknowledge the complexity of our current healthcare systems and aim to provide top-grade healthcare and guidance through the lens of an occupational therapist. We empower our clients and their families to embrace productive aging, define health on their own terms, successfully navigate intricate healthcare systems, and foster independence. Here at qualOT of Life, your health and quality of life are always the priority.”
Plattner believes the client’s primary caregiver or support system to be part of the client. She also believes that healthcare services are not truly holistic if you are not including the client’s primary support system in the services provided. “One of the primary services qualOT of Life provides is caregiver respite solutions,” Plattner said. “I often remind my caregivers that you cannot pour from an empty cup. I work with them to find creative solutions for respite and burnout management, while ensuring the caregiving services are still being completed by a trustworthy individual. QualOT of life also helps adult children who are beginning to transition into that caregiver role, find ways to maintain their parent’s independence and minimize caregiver needs. We want adult children to be able to keep their title of son or daughter when they are visiting their parents, not become a full-time caregiver.”
The new business services are customizable to the client and they are assisted with any health management task.
Services provided include:
Medication management assessment and guidance
Post-hospital stay health management
Symptom and chronic condition management
Medical insurance and drug coverage management
Medical record organization assistance
Management of physician recommendations and/or attend healthcare appointments
Advance planning guidance
Home safety assessments
Senior living assessment and planning
Caregiver respite solutions
Identification of social engagement opportunities
“I believe one of the weaknesses of our current healthcare system is its tendency to generalize care in order to increase efficiency and profit – we do not want to follow this trend,” Plattner said.
The personalized services are an important part of the business’ mission and clients are encouraged to be active participants in the services provided to ensure that their needs are being met and that clients feel empowered and feel more confident and able with health management tasks.
“I believe this is the unique contribution of occupational therapy compared to other healthcare practitioners,” Plattner said. “We are actually educating and giving our clients the tools to manage their health independently, instead of just managing their health for them. This allows our clients to define health on their own terms, maintain control and independence in their own life, and live the life they actually want to live.”
Plattner believes there are a variety of factors which contribute to the healthcare system becoming more and more complicated, including the increased reliance on technology, such as online health portals, in which older adults are not always well-versed.
“There has also been an increased emphasis on healthcare practitioners being efficient and profitable,” Plattner said. “Many older adults, in their younger years, were able to spend an hour with their primary care physician if they needed it. And their primary care physician took the time to get to know them, conversed regularly with specialists and pharmacists, and provided a more holistic form of healthcare. Unfortunately, that is no longer the norm.”
The most important thing she does to help older adults is to take the time to sit down and listen. She learns about their previous level of function, their current level of function, their goals, their struggles, and their concerns. The second most important thing Plattner does is take these concerns off of their plate for a little while and return it to them as a suggestion or a solution that meets their goals. “The mental break from worrying about how to manage complex health needs is sometimes just as beneficial as the solutions I provide,” Plattner said.
Other important issues qualOT of Life assists with include:
Tailored Healthcare Referrals - Many older adults are unaware of the vast amount of resources that exist for management of health-related problems. A very important service Plattner provides is finding available resources that specifically match her clients’ needs.
Organization of Medical Records - Going to the hospital or doctor’s office can be an overwhelming experience. We all know the questions they ask about our birthdate, medications, past medical history, medical insurance info, etc. It can be difficult to store all of that information in our heads, especially when we aren’t feeling good. qualOT of life provides a service which organizes all important medical information - including med list, emergency contacts, preferred pharmacy, advanced treatment directives, etc.- into a compact folder which is easily accessed by both the client and healthcare practitioners; even paramedics if needed. This has been a highly appreciated item by qualOT of life clients.
Client Advocacy- It can be very hard to know what to say or what you can ask when talking to a healthcare practitioner or insurance company. qualOT of Life employees have lots of experience working in healthcare. We act as our client’s advocate, confidently stating our clients’ needs and asking questions that need answers.
Helping people make decisions about what is best for their loved ones is also something that is important to Plattner.
“As an occupational therapist, I am very experienced in assessing a client’s health status, living situation, safety awareness, and functional independence. I am able to work with clients and their families to assess the current situation and make recommendations that match the client’s needs, which sometimes does include a transition to a higher level of care such as senior living. However, my clients are very involved in my services. So, if the client and family’s preference is to remain at home as long as possible even if they qualify for senior living, I provide education on all possible options that meet the client’s needs and preferences. We realize these conversations can be tricky, so we provide these recommendations in a gentle, but direct manner, and remain present for education and mediation as long as the client and family need.”
It is also important for Plattner to find strategies for seniors to maintain independence, prevent health decline and maximize quality of life. “Independence is something that we tend to highly value as Americans. We are also living longer, so it is important to prevent health decline. And lastly, quality of life does not seem to be at the center of many healthcare practices but I think it should be. For qualOT of Life, maximizing quality of life throughout aging is absolutely our number-one goal. And our clients get to define what a good quality of life looks like for them. How refreshing!”
With the high cost of nursing homes, many older adults are not ready to take on that monthly expense and Plattner said qualOT of Life is also in the business of saving clients money.
Helping older adults and their families find alternative solutions which allow aging in place is a big goal of qualOT of Life.
“Many older adults do not want to move out of their home and their definition of a good quality of life includes staying in their home,” Plattner said. “Our client-centered approach allows us to prioritize our client’s wishes, be creative in finding alternative solutions, and provide a list of options for the client and their family to consider in order to fulfill needs.”
Plattner encourages seniors to be proactive, not reactive.
“Most of our healthcare systems are designed to be reactive, so it is up to each individual to be proactive about their health. Action items that are proactive may include writing down your wishes if you become unable to speak for yourself, identifying an assisted living facility you would be okay with living in if it became clear that was needed, participating in regular exercise routines, checking in with your support system often, installing grab bars in the bathroom, engaging in social activities, and organizing important medical records.”
Her new business makes Plattner grateful that she is serving a real need in the local communities. Since health management is often overwhelming, confusing and frustrating, her mission is that qualOT of Life will address these main points and provide solutions that can be applied immediately. “Our services have the potential to keep clients in their homes years longer than originally anticipated, saving the client thousands of dollars and hours of heartache,” Plattner said. “More importantly, older adults and families that utilize qualOT of Life will get the opportunity to improve their health status, maintain their independence, and truly maximize quality of life throughout the aging process.”
Plattner said she is most grateful and rewarded for the opportunity to help people feel more empowered, safe, and independent through her work. She takes the invitation into a client’s life or space very seriously. “The greatest reward in doing work like this is seeing a person go from down, confused, and overwhelmed to confident, capable, and fulfilled,” Plattner said. “I get to walk side-by-side with my clients while they define, then achieve, what health and quality of life means to them. It is a feeling like no other.”