Karin Mitchell

M.A. CCC-SLP

Karin has been a practicing Speech Pathologist who has been working at CHOC Children’s Hospital in Orange, CA for over 30 years. She is a clinical specialist at CHOC who provides direct inpatient care coverage, including in their Level 4 NICU. Karin is extremely focused on quality improvement initiatives, writing policies and procedures as well as care guidelines and is involved in councils and committees. Karin serves as a clinical specialist and is committed to empowering others through mentoring and education. She is active in development of guidelines, policies and procedures as well as ongoing analysis of programs, always looking to enhance the care provided. She is passionate about feeding and swallowing, breast feeding, developmental care and partnering with families. Her love of teaching and helping others drives her to create and deliver fun and empowering continuing education courses. She is passionate about empowering family members in the care of their babies and children to optimize outcomes and generalize skills. She is equally passionate about educating and training others in their professional growth and development. She finds joy in helping others succeed.

Financial Disclosure: Karin Mitchell receive honoraria from CIAO Seminars for presenting this course.
Non-financial Disclosure: Karin Mitchell uses NMES during swallowing therapy as appropriate.

Kathy Ramirez

OTR/L, SWC, PAM

Kathy Ramirez, OTR/L, is a highly regarded clinician who is nationally sought out for her expertise in sensory based, neuro-developmental approach for the medically fragile infant and child. Kathy has dedicated her career to building therapists’ skills in clinical analysis and therapeutic effectiveness with a teaching style that is supportive, empowering, paired with a love of fun and laughter. With a strong theory base in NDT, SI, and CranioSacral therapies, Kathy has taken her passion and expertise in the care of the medically fragile infant to a national level by speaking and offering education opportunities across the country on topics including: Developmental Care in the NICU, Cue Based Feeding, pediatric feeding and swallowing analysis and treatment, including the use of VitalStim, swallow studies, sensory processing analysis and treatment interventions to enhance outcomes, advanced treatment concepts and clinical analysis, breast feeding the medically fragile infant and child, and developmental milestones supporting feeding skill acquisition.

Kathy began building her occupational therapy practice in 1992 and she continues to serve as a lead therapist for the NICU and Feeding Teams at Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) in Orange, CA. A leader in her field, Kathy is active in multiple hospital-based committees including Skin to Skin Care, Nutrition and Breast Feeding Coalitions, ECMO, Neurology, Palliative Care, and Family Centered Care. When tasked with the development of a specialized Small Baby Unit for the ELBW preemie, Kathy became an instrumental clinician in the development of unit protocols and care plans including an ongoing comprehensive evidence-based education series on environmental controls, developmental care, and cue-based feeding. In support of maintaining standards of clinical excellence, she continues to provide ongoing in-services and hands-on labs for clinicians of multiple service areas including medical residents, nurses, respiratory therapists, physical therapists, speech therapists, and occupational therapists.

Kathy’s dedication and compassion for her patients and their families has also fueled her community advocacy through speaking engagements at local associations, community settings, and local universities. She has advanced practice certifications in Physical Agent Modalities and Swallowing Assessment, Evaluation and Intervention to practice in the State of California.

Financial Disclosure: Karin Mitchell and Kathy Ramirez receive an honorarium from CIAO for the presentation of this course.
Non-financial Disclosure: There are no financial relationships to disclose.

Day 1

Delivery VIA:

• Live By Request - This course is available to come to you! Contact us to see how easy that can be. mail@ciaoseminars.com

Contact hours pre-approved for:

• 8 Hours
• CIAO is an ASHA Approved Provider #AAWA (0.8 ASHA CEUs) bubble sheet submission required
• CIAO is an AOTA Approved Provider #4119 (0.8 AOTA CEUs)
• This course meets PDU requirements for NBCOT (8 PDUs)
• CIAO is an IACET Approved Provider

Course meets requirements for: