Welcome to the New Jersey Occupational Therapy Association
Claire Daffner: In Memorium
Claire Daffner: In Memorium
Claire Daffner, PhD, OTR, FAOTA passed away on Sunday August 23, 2010.She will be sorely missed by all who knew her, many of us her colleagues and friends from NJOTA.Claire served NJOTA in many capacities over the years, notably her Presidency of the Association, her position as NJOTA’s Representative to AOTA’s Representative Assembly, and most recently as a member of NJOTA’s Constitution revision committee.She was always ready to serve her profession.
Claire’s contribution to the profession was extraordinary, and extended over many years. Claire was the Director of the Occupational Therapy Program at Children’s Specialized Hospital in Mountainside/Westfield, serving there for 23 years.During that time she was instrumental in growing the department from a staff of three to 25, establishing it as a center for expertise in pediatric practice.Competition among schools and students to attend the clinical education program she developed there was fierce.
When PL 94-142 was established, Claire was instrumental in developing the TOTEMS project in NJ, serving as faculty in the workshops she provided to therapists throughout the state. Board Certification for Pediatrics was then established by AOTA.Claire facilitated the first NJ study groups to prepare BCP therapists, thus adding to our State’s reputation for outstanding pediatric clinicians.She was also one of the first program directors in NJ to establish contract services to the school systems.
Claire was a devoted scholar and researcher throughout her career, concurrently maintaining a private practice for children in NJ.She was always posing questions that drew from her clinical experience, while developing creative methods to answer them.Data about ongoing projects was perpetually displayed on her bulletin board, and she liberally shared her ideas about the treatment of children with disabilities in personal discussions and public discourses.Her presentations were always well attended as her expertise in pediatrics was widely recognized.
Later in her career Claire turned to teaching pediatric occupational therapy at Touro College in Manhattan, in both the OT and OT Assistant programs, resigning from those efforts this last year due to illness. In 2007, she completed her PhD in Health Sciences at Touro University International, achieving a long-term goal.
Claire Daffner, widowed from her husband David ten years ago, leaves two daughters, Adrienne and Beth, two granddaughters, Julianne and Sofie, and her sister Bobby, all of whom were with her at the end.
AOTA and NJOTA are collaborating on a Town Hall event at Seton Hall, on September 15. The event will feature Chuck Willmarth of AOTA who is our "expert" on how the new healthcare reform will affect us all, new challenges for reimbursement and the impact of the financial crisis on the provision of OT in the state of NJ.
The New Jersey Occupational Therapy Association strives to provide excellence in educational, legislative, and professional networks and services for our membership, enabling them to provide the highest quality care for their clients and the community.
Contact Information
You can reach the New Jersey Occupational Therapy Association's management services by calling the hotline number: 1-888-80NJOTA.
Members of the Board of Directors can be reached by calling the hotline number (1-888-80NJOTA) and requesting a call back from a specific individual. For quicker answers, try emailing the appropriate director - individual email addresses can be found under BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
Postal address:
P.O. Box 401, Summit, NJ 07902
Email addresses:
Click here for email addresses of all board directors.
"Occupational Therapy is caring, innovative, empowering."
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