Spotlight on a leader: Debi Hinerfield
Sunday, January 18, 2009
• Name: Debi Hinerfeld, OTR-L
BARRY WILLIAMS / AJC Special
Debi Hinerfeld works with Dylan Johnson, 5, on a tactile discrimination exercise at the Atlanta Speech School.
• Current job: Staff occupational therapist at the Atlanta Speech School, where she works with children who have learning disabilities, hearing impairment or sensory integration dysfunction.
• Past jobs: Hinerfeld began her practice in a rehabilitation hospital, where she worked with neurological patients. That led to an interest in brain injuries and working with children. She also worked at Atlanta’s Shepherd Center in pediatric spinal cord injuries and as a sensory integrative specialist in private practice.
• Recent accomplishment: Named Occupational Therapist of the Year (2008) by the Georgia Occupational Therapy Association.
• Family: Hinerfeld lives with her husband, Alex; their daughter, Madelyn; and the family dog.
• What makes a good leader? “I’m still working on my leadership skills. I think a good leader sees leadership qualities in others and then mentors them and encourages them to help them fulfill their goals.
“You pay it forward, one person at a time. You have to be good at delegating and getting people to take on tasks, but then you have to support them and help them be successful.”
• What are you most proud of in your career? “I’m proud that I chose a helping profession and that I can make a difference in people’s lives every day. With my young sensory-integration patients, we do activities to help them with the activities of daily living, but it also makes them feel good about themselves.
“Recently I reached a personal goal to become certified in sensory integration therapy. … By volunteering to be the onsite coordinator and getting my school to serve as the host site, my whole department was able to become certified.”
• Who has inspired or mentored you? “I worked in a summer camp with children who had mental and physical disabilities in high school and learned about occupational therapy. I thought it would be a good fit for my personality, and my parents always said, ‘Go for it.’ ”
• What do you like to do away from work? “I’ve always loved to exercise. I run on the weekends and take spin classes and Pilates.
“As a family, we like to have people over for dinner, hike and go skiing in Colorado.”
• Rule to live by: “Live a balanced life, and when new opportunities come up, seriously think about what they could teach you rather than dismiss them. I remind myself that it’s important to always do the best you can and keep learning because, in this profession, we are dealing with people’s lives.”
— By Laura Raines, Pulse editor. Do you know a health care leader who deserves to be recognized? Send an e-mail to pulseeditor@ajc.com.