USC University Hospital

The USC University Hospital and the USC Norris Cancer Hospital are located on the USC Health Sciences Campus. The USC University Hospital is an acute care hospital, offering a unique range of specialty services to patients with a wide variety of diagnoses, tracking 7,700 inpatient visits and 56,000 outpatient visits each year. The USC Norris Cancer Hospital is devoted exclusively to the treatment of patients with cancer. While both of these hospitals are already considered major teaching and research centers on the West Coast, their acquisition by USC on March 31, 2009 creates an integrated academic medical center consisting of the hospitals, the Doctors of USC and the Keck School of Medicine. This will lead to an acceleration of innovative therapies and treatments, surgical techniques, and disease prevention. According to Provost C. L. Max Nikias, this will ensure USC’s position among the nation’s top-ranked research universities in the 21st century, in an era in which medicine and biology and the interdisciplinary connections between these sciences and other disciplines become the focus for innovation and growth.

USC Occupational Therapy students have the opportunity to be mentored in a number of existing and developing practice areas to gain clinical experiences throughout their program of study. For the Occupational Therapy Doctoral students this opportunity provides them the ability to choose a clinical practice area at the USC University Hospital or the USC Norris Cancer Hospital, a residency at a major teaching and research center.

Occupational therapy provides services to those with cardiovascular and thoracic diseases, organ transplant (heart, lung, liver, kidney), lymphedema and edema management needs, oncology diagnoses and treatments, orthopedics (spinal surgeries, hip and knee replacements, orthopedic cancer), neurological disorders (epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, parkinson’s disease, etc.), those who have had a bariatric procedure, and others. Occupational therapy provides services on the psychiatric unit to those with bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, and dementia diagnoses. Ergonomic evaluations and workplace wellness interventions are also provided.

As an integral part of the interdisciplinary team, occupational therapy helps patients maximize functioning in everyday activities, construct healthy, satisfying and productive lives to the extent possible across the life span, and cope more effectively with acute or chronic illness, disease or disability. Treatments are designed to improve performance, prevent or lessen the effects of illness and disability on being able to perform daily life activities, and promote adaptation to life changes. Information is provided for the interdisciplinary team’s use in determining diagnosis, functional capabilities, prognosis and rehabilitation potential.

Examples of occupational therapy interventions may include:

Training in joint protection, body mechanics, and energy consrvation so that activities are performed safely and with enough stamina for satisfactory completion
Therapy to improve coordination, range of motion, strength and endurance in order to perform activities or perform them better