Diane has been practicing as a recreational therapist for 30 years and has been certified by the National Council of Therapeutic Recreation since 1992. Diane holds a Master’s degree of Science in Health Care Policy and Management, and a Bachelor’s degree of Science in Therapeutic Recreation. More recently Diane has continued her education getting certificates in various holistic healing modalities, that is her passion today. Diane has worked in many diverse healthcare settings including: hospitals, community mental health centers, group homes, after school programs, weekend RECESS programs, and currently works for the VAMC in Northport, NY. Diane has worked with various age groups and special populations including: geriatrics, the mentally ill, the developmentally disabled and autistic populations, the physically disabled and MS populations. While working for the VAMC, Diane has worked with our returning Veteran’s on the PTSD unit. She also works with ventilated patients suffering from ALS, orthopedic patients, and geriatric psych patients. Diane was a pioneer in the establishment and management of the recreational therapy program for the Family Service League back in 1995; that serviced emotionally disturbed children on weekends. The program mentored children in the development of appropriate play behaviors and social skills offered to families of special needs. Diane also worked as a consult for various non-profit agencies servicing developmentally disabled children in after school programs. Diane was a pioneer in this establishment as well since she was the first therapist to advocate for need of recreational therapy with special needs children on Long Island as part of the student’s IEP. Diane has started teaching for Florida International University as an on-line adjunct professor in May of 2014. She teaches LEI 3723L Assistive Technology Lab, LEI 3723L Aromatherapy Lab, LEI 3723L Reiki, LEI 4720 Trends, Issues and Management Aspects of Recreational Therapy, and LEI 3542 Principles of Management in Recreation and Sports Management. Diane also held a NYS Certification in Health Education. She has taught middle school and high school health education courses for Upper Room Christian School in Dix Hills, NY. She also has a diverse background in healthcare management. Diane has worked for Stony Brook Medicine in NY in their Continuous Quality Improvement Department, the Finance Department, and the Department of Psychology. While working for Stony Book Medicine Diane organized annual reports, abstracted data, and quality measures used for audits in best practice to monitor the quality assurance of both the Krasner Psychological Clinic and the Quality Department of the Stony Brook Medicine. Diane also served on two boards at Stony Brook Medicine, the Healthier U Committee & Subcommittee, programming and budgeting healthcare initiatives for the hospital employees. She has also served on Stony Brook Medicine’s Mental Health Advisory Board. Diane has also written professional publications for Creative Forecasting and did a cable interview on the Public Access Channel with Dr. Larry Weiss, Associate Director of The Family Service League called “The Center of the Issue”, regarding the establishment of their Saturday RECESS program for emotionally disturbed children. Diane’s long dedication to the healthcare field led her to teaching higher education to foster that passion with students in the field of recreational therapy.
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