2016 Health Care Champions Therapist: Ashlea Cardin

Ashlea Cardin learned firsthand what it meant to be an occupational therapist as a child born with multiple physical disabilities.

She was on the receiving end of services at Mercy Hospital Springfield in her youth. Her experiences instilled in her a desire to help others in need.

“I feel so fortunate to work in the hospital in which I was born, had multiple surgeries, was a candy striper and spent time as a patient and eventual OT student,” Cardin says. “I am equally fortunate to teach at (Missouri State University) – the place where my undergraduate degree beautifully prepared me to become an OT.

“I am motivated to give back to this community because this community has given so much to me.”

Cardin is a neonatal occupational therapist at Mercy Children’s Hospital and an assistant professor of occupational therapy at MSU. Occupational therapists work to help patients perform everyday functions through therapy and training. Last year, Cardin received a doctorate in occupational therapy from St. Catherine University in Minnesota with her doctoral training focused on how therapists can help infants and families in the neonatal intensive care unit.

“My area of expertise lies in helping premature and medically fragile infants and families fully participate in activities that are meaningful, valued, necessary and important to them,” Cardin says. “I help families learn to help ‘parent’ their child (through) barriers or challenges.”

Cardin gives multiple examples: How do you feed your newborn baby when he was born 10 weeks early and still has multiple medical complications? Or how do you snuggle with a baby that only weighs 2 pounds?

Her services also include working for the past two years as an NICU consultant for Philips Healthcare, a division of Amsterdam-based Koninklijke Philips N.V. (NYSE: PHG), and providing pro bono pediatric therapy services in Seymour to several Amish families.

At MSU, she works to positively impact future patients by passing along her knowledge to the next generation of OTs.

“My hope is that these young professionals go forward and do more that treats the client; my hope is that they serve members of the Ozarks community,” Cardin says.

She’s also published several scholarly papers related to therapy for neonatal patients and their parents or caretakers. “I have had the opportunity to speak nationally and internationally – in Dubai, (United Arab Emirates), and Cologne, Germany, about how what we do in Springfield makes a difference in the lives of infants and families,” Cardin says. “That’s when I’m most proud – that the work occupational therapists and other providers are doing here in Springfield can make a difference in health care on a global scale.”