Published:
Abigail Swidergal, associate professor in the Occupational Therapy Assistant program, received the Illinois Occupational Therapy Association’s first-ever Occupational Therapy Assistant/Occupational Therapist (OTA/OT) Partnership Award at the group’s annual conference.
The award recognizes exemplary collaborative intraprofessional partnerships between OTAs and OTs that advance the occupational therapy profession in Illinois and promotes the collaborative team model of OTA and OT practitioners. Swidergal (pictured on right) received the award with Dr. Moira Bushell, a school-based practicing occupational therapist in Buffalo Grove, IL.
Swidergal and Kim Grimm, assistant professor in the OTA program, represented Black Hawk College at the 2025 Illinois Occupational Therapy Association (ILOTA) Annual Conference at Northern Illinois University.
Swidergal also presented with colleagues from Quincy University about the collaboration framework they’ve created for the two programs to work together throughout their students’ curriculum. Black Hawk College OTA students will travel to Quincy, IL, in March to implement the first event with the initial cohort of OT students at Quincy University.
Occupational Therapy Assistant program’s Kim Grimm (left), assistant professor, and Abigail Swidergal (right), associate professor, represented Black Hawk College at the 2025 Illinois Occupational Therapy Association (ILOTA) Annual Conference at Northern Illinois University.