Karen Kelley, MS, OTR/L, CLT

Biography

Karen graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo with a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Therapy, then received a Master of Science degree in Rehabilitation Administration from Southern Illinois University. She worked at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in the early 1980s as well as in a variety of settings treating the head injured, neurologically impaired, mentally ill, and people with burns and orthopedic injuries while in Southern Illinois, Montana, and Missouri.

In St. Louis, Karen worked at BarnesCare, as a hand therapist in the acute, work-conditioning and work-hardening programs. Karen taught at Washington University, and presented on work-hardening at the American Occupational Therapy Association Conference in 1993. While working for St. Louis University, at the Pain Management and Work Hardening Center, she was responsible for the first successful CARF accreditation in the region for the Work Hardening program.

Karen returned to Northampton as a coordinator for Occupational Therapy in regional nursing homes and was rehired at Cooley Dickinson in 1998. After studying in Devon, England, Karen he was certified in M.L.D-C.D.T. for the treatment of Lymphedema by the Dr. Vodder School. With these skills, she works with patients who have had cancer or orthopedic injuries that have resulted in lymphedema. Recently, Karen has been re-certified in Stowe, VT to continue working with these patients. She has been doing hand therapy for her entire career and continues her studies in this area.  She provides outpatient hand therapy at the Southampton clinic and at Cooley Dickinson Outpatient Rehabilitation locations.