Kensley Hoover

Kensley Hoover is a clinician in the field of Occupational Therapy working for Brooks Rehabilitation at Memorial Hospital. She is a native of Waycross, Georgia, but now calls Jacksonville home. While in high school and college, Kensley didn’t have a plan or a set career pathway in mind. Her parents told her she needed to “go to college no matter what,” but she wasn’t certain that she would do with her degree.

Once Kensley earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Georgia Southern University, she got involved with the Miracle League and Special Olympics, which provides abled children and adolescents with physical and intellectual disabilities the option to engage in sports where she worked with children specifically with Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome. This experience prompted interest in occupational therapy (OT).

When Kensley began exploring this option, she was told she would need to wait a full year to apply for OT schooling. She wanted to act sooner, so she explored the Associate of Science in Occupational Therapy program at Keiser University in Jacksonville. Within one week, she was accepted and enrolled. Kensley commuted daily for 16 months from Waycross to Jacksonville to attend classes at Keiser. “I look at back at that and wonder how I did it,” she said.

While at Keiser, Kensley took advantage of the work study program. She was paid to work in the college’s Nursing Department, where she scanned, uploaded, and organized documents for the director and instructors as well as assist with various clerical duties. This opportunity provided gas money Kensley needed for her daily commute. However, it also opened doors that have profoundly impacted her career.

After graduating from Keiser University, Kensley took a position at a small hospital in Georgia which provided her valuable work experience. Kensley was soon to be married and with her husband’s job, it would result in a move to Jacksonville. Luckily, Kensley continued to keep in touch with the former nursing director at Keiser University; they conversed about various job opportunities that lead to Kensley applying for a per diem position with Brooks rehab at Memorial Hospital with the nursing director providing a letter of recommendation. Ultimately, Kensley interviewed and was offered the job as a float per diem therapist between Brooks Rehab Hospital and Memorial Hospital. This required her to leave behind a full-time job, all while planning a wedding. After a year of commitment and training, Kensley was officially hired as a full-time occupational therapy assistant at Brooks Rehab at Memorial Hospital. “It was a big leap of faith, but it was definitely worth it!”

Kensley has been actively working at Memorial for two years with her focus in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU), Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and Trauma ICU. She states, “I love being there for people even on their worst days. I’m there for a lot of firsts. First steps, first time to bathroom, toileting, dressing, grooming. After a big event like stroke, open-heart surgery or car accident it’s a major accomplishment. It is very rewarding knowing that I helped them achieve their goals.” Alongside patient care, Kensley is active with multi-disciplinary rounding in the ICU, conducts new hire training, participate with education fairs training for nurses, and transfer training.

Admittedly, working as an OT in the ICU can be daunting, as individuals enter the hospital with severe, medically complex illnesses and injuries. Kensley stresses the importance of being that familiar source of encouragement, compassion, and education for patients as well as their families. It helps to explain the entire process of treatment, as some treatment may look like they cause pain but are meant to increase optimal mobility, stimulate cognition, or decrease ICU delirium. “In the ICU, I help patients the best way I know how. It’s about progressing the patient to their maximum capability.” Sometimes, patients experience coma or death, so Kensley works through those emotions. “It’s hard not to bring it home.”

Kensley sites her grandmother as someone whose legacy impacted her career pathway. During WWII, while her husband was in the Navy, her trailblazing grandmother opened her home to anyone who needed shelter and a hot meal. This hospitality morphed into starting a soup kitchen, which then evolved into a nursing home. Eventually, Kensley’s entrepreneurial-minded grandmother operated six nursing homes. “She was an amazing woman and she cared a lot about others. Mom went into finance and took on the business side of all the nursing homes. Eventually, she and my dad ran the homes.” This influence continues in Kensley’s work. Outside of her professional scope, she tries to help others who are vulnerable. She carries packs of water, protein bars, and hygiene products in her car to be able to help anyone at any time.

Kensley’s advice to anyone thinking about going into occupational therapy? “Volunteer, request to job shadow an OT for a day, and make connections to explore the field.” She also notes “Don’t be surprised when your employer states you’ll work a few holidays. People don’t think about therapy being needed on a holiday. People can decline rapidly and need the continued mobilization in a hospital setting.” Kensley also liked to add that there are so many settings in which a therapist can work. “You go into it thinking you’ll work in an outpatient facility or a school. You may not consider doing therapy in a hospital working with a dementia patient or doing therapy for a patient in hospice. OT is needed in all settings and play important roles with physical and mental recovery.“