Advisory Board Member, Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association
Deborah Ellsworth MS, OTR/L is an Advisory Member to the Board of the Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association (NORA), an inter-disciplinary group of professionals dedicated to providing patients who have physical or cognitive disabilities as a result of an acquired brain injury with a complete ocular health evaluation and optimum visual rehabilitation education and services to improve their quality of life.
Deborah has been working as an Occupational therapist since graduating from Colorado State University in 1992 and has spent much of her career working in rehabilitation with clients with neurological injuries including stroke and acquired brain injury. She currently works at SageWest Healthcare- Lander (Lifepoint Hospitals) in Lander, Wyoming providing inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services. In 2018, she received the Mercy Award, which recognizes one employee from each Lifepoint campus “who profoundly touches the lives of others and best represents the spirit and values on which the company was founded.”
Deborah completed the certification course in NDT in 1996. In attending Advanced NDT courses, she was trained by Waleed Al-Oboudi, MOT who positively transformed her effectiveness as a clinician. She completed her training as a Neuro - IFRAH Instructor in 2005. It was the training with Neuro- IFRAH that lead her to seeking out Traci Ammann O.D. NORA trained clinician in order to help stroke patients with visual complications to recover. In collaboration with Dr. Ammann, many lives have and continue to be positively changed in Wyoming through the NORA training.
Deborah worked with the NORA Board in Mexico in 2013 in providing multi-disciplinary treatment to clients and training to local clinicians. She served on NORA advisory board in 2013-2014 and assisted as a presenter at the annual conferences.