St. Scholastica occupational therapy clinic uses smart technology... - Duluth News Tribune

"You don't have to do the 'please,'" admonished his wife, Sharyn Hill. "Tell her what you want."

Without a change of expression, Nick said, "OK, Lady, play the verse of the day."

Laughter ensued.

The Hills were not alone. The table the Duluth couple were seated at was in a faux apartment inside the Maurices Community Clinic within the College of St. Scholastica's Health Science Center.

Since it opened in 2016, Nick Hill, an Episcopal priest whose ministry was on Native American reservations, has been a thrice-weekly client at the free clinic. It provides physical therapy, occupational therapy and physician assistant care from graduate students under supervision from faculty members. The clinic is intended for people who are uninsured or whose insurance doesn't fully meet their needs.

On this day, the Hills were joined at the table by Alwajudat Latrice Lawal, a second-year occupational therapy student. Standing nearby in the kitchen area were Michele K. Johnson, an assistant professor in the occupational therapy department, and Eric Mistry, St. Scholastica's instructional technologist and digital media specialist.

Wait. What's an IT guy doing in an occupational therapy session?

"As an occupational therapist, I cannot keep up-to-date on all of this," Johnson said.

The Johnson-Mistry teaching partnership occurred almost by happenstance, she explained. A couple years ago, Mistry was using motion cameras during a class she was teaching. Johnson had been thinking about introducing what's known as smart home technology to the Maurices clinic. The idea is to use devices such as Alexa and smart light bulbs to help people who have suffered strokes, or traumatic brain injuries or similar debilitating conditions adapt to their new circumstances.

But smart home technology can be used by anyone, and it turned out that Mistry was really into smart home technology. He uses Alexa in the morning, for example, to turn on his kitchen lights, begin brewing his tea and put on classical music.

Could Mistry help bring smart home technology to St. Scholastica's OT world?

He was eager to, a budget was approved, and last summer the smart devices became part of the mock apartment.

The apartment is set up, Johnson explained, to offer real-world scenarios, such as using the toilet and the bathtub, washing clothes, putting on clothing and getting in and out of bed.

Smart technology isn't part of the mix for every client, she said. That's determined on a case-by-case basis. In the Hills' case, it seemed like an appropriate next step, Johnson said.

Victimized by flood

Nick Hill's need for occupational and physical therapy started with the 2012 flood. Nick and Sharon, who live in Duluth's Hunters Park neighborhood but have a trailer at Boy Scout Landing, were there during the flood, and Nick was using their car to pull boats off a sidewalk, Sharyn explained. Somehow, he cut his leg. He went to the hospital for antibiotics, and initially seemed fine. But three weeks later, he went into a coma and then spent several weeks in intensive care.

The cut had introduced hazardous substances into his body.

"The outhouse, the paper plant all the poisons in the water had poisoned his entire system," she said. "It affected his brain, his eyesight, his walking."

But he has made tremendous progress with the help of the therapy programs, Sharyn said. She has learned to support him, but not to offer too much support. She used to always drive him to the therapy sessions, but now he often takes a Duluth Transit Authority Stride bus.

She was along on this occasion, although Sharyn had brought a book with her.

"Whenever I have a client with some type of cognitive factor, it's always nice to have a caregiver there," Johnson said. "Because the caregiver is already stepping in and providing so much support to that individual in their daily occupations."

Meeting Alexa

At the session last week, the Hills were being introduced to Alexa for the first time. There were communication difficulties — Nick found he sometimes had to speak up, and he needed to be specific about what he wanted. But husband and wife clearly were having a blast, and Nick's sense of humor leavened any difficulties.

"She can tell you a joke," Mistry said. "They're not good jokes."

Nick: "Alexa, give me a joke."

Alexa: "I tried to write a joke about pi. But it went on forever."

Mistry: "I told you they were bad jokes."

= = =

Nick: "Play the radio, please, Alexa."

Alexa: "Here's a station you might like — Elvis Presley on Amazon Music."

(Music emerges, Elvis Presley singing, "I can't help falling in love with you.")

Mistry: "Well, what station do you want to listen to? Like you could say, 'Play Minnesota Public Radio.'"

Nick: "This is good music. I like it. How did she know I would like that?"

= = =

The Hills already were imagining future uses of the technology, such as putting the Alexa app on a smartphone that Nick could take with him when he goes to see the Friday afternoon movie at the Duluth Public Library.

After learning that Alexa could remind Nick to take his medicines, Sharyn commented, "It's going to replace me, because I'm the one reminding him all the time."

More seriously, she thought out loud about the possibility of adapting the technology for use when Nick is out and about.

"If you have your own phone, and you could connect this to your phone," she said. "I mean, Nick, you'll have a whole new life."

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