Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 106 Part 3.djvu/487

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PUBLIC LAW 102-466—OCT. 23, 1992 106 STAT. 2281 Public Law 102-466 102d Congress Joint Resolution Designating October 14, 1992, as 'National Occupational Therapy Day". Whereas occupational therapy is a health and rehabilitation profession whose practitioners help to restore the highest quality of productive life to individuals recovering from illnesses or injuries; Whereas practitioners of occupational therapy help individuals cope with developmental disabilities, psychosocial difficulties, or changes resulting from the aging process; Whereas practitioners of occupational therapy in the United States treat more than 7,500,000 children and adults annually in a variety of settings, including hospitals, nursing facilities, outpatient rehabilitation facilities, psychiatric facilities, community mental health centers, private and public schools, and through independent practices and home health agencies; Whereas practitioners of occupational therapy served the United States with great distinction from World War I to Operation Desert Storm by providing a wide variety of rehabilitation services to wounded members of the armed forces of the United States and by developing programs with the armed services to train additional occupational therapists; Whereas the American Occupational Therapy Association, which was founded in 1917, is the oldest allied health professional society in the United States; Whereas the membership of the American Occupational Therapy Association includes more than 45,000 occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, and students of occupational therapy from all of the 50 States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and 65 foreign countries; and Whereas 1992 marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the American Occupational Therapy Association: Now, therefore, be it Oct. 23, 1992 [H.J. Res. 471]