Marjorie Delva Is Named VNSNY’s First Occupational Therapist of the Year

As VNSNY continues its recognition of April as Occupational Therapy Month, the organization has announced the winner of its inaugural Occupational Therapist of the Year award: 12-year VNSNY veteran Marjorie Delva. The award was presented to Marjorie at our first-ever Occupational Therapy Month Celebration event on April 28th.

Nominations for the award could be submitted by anyone in the organization. Leaders from the Occupational Therapy (OT) and Rehabilitation teams then reviewed the nominations to select an awardee who best exemplified VNSNY’s values, including the organization’s Core Values of Empathy, Integrity and Agility, as well as exceptional service and going above and beyond to achieve the best outcomes.

“Marjorie is reliable, resourceful, and passionate about the care she provides to her patients,” said one of her nominating letters. Another colleague praised Marjorie as “the most thorough OT I’ve worked with in a 30-year rehab career,” adding, “she has integrity, empathy and incredible clinical skills.” A third nomination noted “how effective her treatments are with our shared patients,” and cited the way she “individualizes treatment plans for each patient and listens carefully to the patient to determine what the focus of treatment should be.”

“I was drawn to occupational therapy because I loved how it was about working with the patients,” says Marjorie, “giving them anchors, helping them to engage with their environment, and partnering with the whole person to help them achieve the goals they wanted to reach. The work is both very holistic and very practical.”

Marjorie notes that when she teaches a client a new approach to bathing or meal preparation, she is helping them with “minor things that most of us take for granted and might never think about.” However, she adds, “when the ability to do these activities of daily living is taken away from you, it can be devastating. Helping a client relearn how to do these seemingly little things is often life-changing.”

Marjorie loves seeing her patients achieve milestones that have a dramatic impact. “I have one elderly client with a shoulder fracture who had to rely on her husband for everything, which was very difficult for her,” she recalls. “We worked together on strategies to help her dress herself, and it made a huge difference. Seeing her big smile when she greets me at the door is wonderful!”

When it comes to her award, Marjorie is characteristically humble. “It hasn?t really sunk in yet,” she says. “I’m honored and grateful, but I do this job because I love it. I love working with my patients, and with my rehab therapy and nursing brothers and sisters. There’s so much support, and the rewards are tangible!’