Alexandra Demetriou OTR/L CHTearned a Master of Arts degree in Occupational Therapy from Touro College School of Health Sciences in 1995,with an emphasis in Hand Therapy. Her career started at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore where she rotated through inpatient, outpatient, acute care and brain injury units. During her time at the hospital she developed a strong background in medicine/illness/injury as it relates to rehabilitation and was promoted to Program Coordinator of the inpatient rehabilitation unit.

Desiring experience in upper extremity rehabilitation and sports medicine, she concurrenlty she worked at the Hand Therapy Center in Queens, NY as a staff therapist for a total of 4 years and part time at a sports medicine clinic. Her goal was to gain a strong background in general Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, while honing her skills as a hand therapist. Experience in hand therapy lead Alexandra to recognize the need for qualified treatment to patients with lymphedema, specifically patients who develop edema as a result of breast cancer treatment. She became certified in Lymphedema Management in 2000 and became a Certified Hand Therapist in 2001.
 

Alexandra also had a strong personal background in sports, weight lifing (she is an NSCA certified personal trainer), nutrition/supplementation and the martial arts. Her personal interests coupled with her professional life blends together seamlessly to create a well rounded and knowledgeable therapist. After years as a clinician it just made sense to her to marry rehabilitation and personal training for the common goal of better health and function. She saw too many patients falling through the cracks of today’s health care environment. Patients were getting lost between discharge from treatment and return to work/leisure activities. For her, health/function and training/rehabilitation is not just a job, it’s a way of life. She “lives, eats and breathes this stuff”.

Having so many small parts that add up to the recovery of a person, the function or healing is not just physical rehab alone. The path to recovery is determined by how committed you are to yourself; smoking, a poor diet, depression and pessimistic thoughts will negatively impact your recovery. Much of rehab and medicine today is so severely compartmentalized that patients and practitioners are missing out on the big picture. Ms. Demetriou looks at the person as a whole, seeing more than an injured part. You can not and should not just rehab an arm or a hand. You must treat the entire person.