Summary

In this Therapist Thursday episode, Sue Doyle, PhD, OTR/L talks with Consuela Marshall, an occupational therapist with 30 years of experience—26 of those in home health—about shifting from traditional home health into mission-driven fall prevention, home safety coaching, and nonprofit work in the Baton Rouge area. Consuela shares how repeated fall-related home health episodes, insurance and PDGM constraints, and her passion for lower-resource communities led her to rethink “textbook” home modifications and build a foundation focused on practical, affordable fall prevention education for families and caregivers.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

How Consuela’s decades in home health, frustration with PDGM and Medicare Advantage visit limits, and seeing the same clients return after multiple falls pushed her to focus her OT career on proactive fall prevention and home safety instead of only post-fall rehab.

Practical, client-centered strategies she uses to make home safety both relevant and affordable—such as reframing “home modifications,” respecting cherished items, using creative low-cost solutions (like a screen-door handle in a difficult bathroom), and tailoring recommendations for families with very different financial and housing realities.

Business, advocacy, and nonprofit insights on moving beyond cash-pay and Part B, writing a falls book, founding a 501(c)(3) to serve under-resourced older adults, pursuing a master’s in nonprofit administration, building community partnerships and sponsorships, and encouraging other therapists to “start where you are” with home mods—even before you have every contractor or tool lined up

Guest details and links:

Consuela Marshall

• Website: https://www.findingafoothold.com/
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/consuela-marshall-ot-chat-caps-cdp-3a136a1b9

Resources mentioned:

• Certified Home Accessibility Therapist (CHAT): https://www.thehomeaccessibilitytherapist.com/CHAT
• All Courses: https://www.thehomeaccessibilitytherapist.com/courses

Connect with The Home Accessibility Therapist:

• Website: https://www.thehomeaccessibilitytherapist.com/
• Blog: https://thehomeaccessibilitytherapist.blog/
• Join the newsletter: https://www.thehomeaccessibilitytherapist.com/Newsletter
• Join our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/homeaccessibilitysafety
• Follow on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/susan-doyle-38bba3178

Summary

In this office hours episode, Sue Doyle, PhD, OTR/L, focuses on how to actually find and connect with the people in your community who can send you ideal home modification clients. She walks through potential referral sources, how to frame your unique OT value, and simple, relationship-based steps to start building a steady stream of home mods referrals.

Questions answered in this episode:

Who are the key professionals, agencies, and organizations that are already seeing your ideal home mods clients before you, and how can you identify them in your own community?

How do you clearly communicate the unique value of OT-led home assessments—beyond ADA checklists and contractor recommendations—so referral partners understand why they should send clients to you?

What concrete steps can you take to nurture referral relationships over time (multiple “touches,” education, and follow-up) without feeling like a full-time salesperson?

Mentioned resources and links:

• Certified Home Accessibility Therapist (CHAT): https://www.thehomeaccessibilitytherapist.com/CHAT
• Courses & Memberships: https://www.thehomeaccessibilitytherapist.com/courses
• Any handouts, checklists, or blog posts referenced:

Submit a question for a future episode:

• Use the question form here: https://www.thehomeaccessibilitytherapist.com/SubmitQuestion
• Or email your question to: sue@thehomeaccessibilitytherapist.com

Connect with The Home Accessibility Therapist:

• Website: https://www.thehomeaccessibilitytherapist.com/
• Blog: https://thehomeaccessibilitytherapist.blog/
• Join the newsletter: https://www.thehomeaccessibilitytherapist.com/Newsletter
• Join our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/homeaccessibilitysafety
• Follow on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/susan-doyle-38bba3178

Summary

This episode is an audio version of our blog, “From One-Off CEUs to a Real Growth Plan: Professional Development for OTs in Home Safety and Home Modifications.” Sue Doyle, PhD, OTR/L unpacks why random CEUs leave you feeling no more confident in home safety and home mods, and shows you how to build an intentional 6–12 month learning plan that actually moves you toward mastery instead of just meeting licensure requirements.

In this episode, we cover:

• The problem with scattered, last-minute CEUs: how discount-driven or convenience-based course choices create fragmented knowledge, low retention, and ongoing uncertainty around complex areas like home accessibility, funding, documentation, and multi-factor home visits.
• A simple but powerful growth-plan framework with three pillars—a clear destination, a realistic 6–12 month timeline, and structured learning tracks (clinical foundations, environmental/design knowledge, and systems/advocacy) that build depth in home safety and home modifications instead of one-off exposure.
• Step-by-step guidance to map your own plan: self-assessing your current gaps, choosing a focused goal, selecting 3–5 aligned learning activities, intentionally applying what you learn with real clients, and using reflection and check-ins (illustrated through “Jordan,” an OT case example) to turn CEUs into real competence and confidence in the home.

Read the full blog and see visuals:

• Read the article: https://thehomeaccessibilitytherapist.blog/2026/05/19/from-one-off-ceus-to-a-real-growth-plan-professional-development-for-ots-in-home-safety-and-home-modifications/
• View any photos, diagrams, or checklists mentioned in this episode on the blog.

Related trainings and courses:

• Certified Home Accessibility Therapist (CHAT): https://www.thehomeaccessibilitytherapist.com/CHAT
• Disaster Preparedness, Response, and Recovery: A role for OT https://www.thehomeaccessibilitytherapist.com/Disastercourse
• All Courses: https://www.thehomeaccessibilitytherapist.com/courses

Stay connected:

• Website: https://www.thehomeaccessibilitytherapist.com/
• Blog: https://thehomeaccessibilitytherapist.blog/
• Join the newsletter: https://www.thehomeaccessibilitytherapist.com/Newsletter
• Join our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/homeaccessibilitysafety
• Follow on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/susan-doyle-38bba3178