At Nemours Children’s Health, we are so proud of our occupational therapy teams, who are dedicated to helping children reach their highest level of independence and function. One of those standout professionals is Charlie Cericola, a Certified Hand Therapist and Occupational Therapist on our Outpatient Therapy Services team at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware.
Charlie’s path to occupational therapy at Nemours Children’s started with an interest in the human hand! “I am fascinated by the form and function of the human hand,” shares Charlie. “I’m an occupational therapist by training and I spent many years working in a teaching hospital in Bronx, NY. That position afforded me the opportunity to rotate through the various therapy settings and I soon discovered that loved working in outpatient hand therapy. At that time, I was also working through early intervention, treating children in some underserved areas in south Bronx and Queens. Becoming a hand therapist at Nemours was a combination of both of those interests.”
Now at Nemours, Charlie has found a role that blends his passions for both hands-on care and making a difference for children and families. “I have never gone home from work and wondered whether my job was helping to make the world a better place,” says Charlie. “I cannot underestimate the personal value of this.”
As an occupational therapist specializing in hand therapy, one of his favorite aspects of his job is fabricating custom thermoplastic splints! “By my own estimate, I’ve fabricated somewhere around 9,000 of them in my career,” he says. “Some splints are quite elaborate with pulleys and springs. The splints are made by creating a pattern and fabricating directly on the patient’s arm. I love this creative aspect of my job. It is an intersection between art and science.”
Charlie also collaborates closely with the Nemours orthopedic and physical medicine physicians to provide seamless, personalized care to patients. “Patients will travel across the country to be seen by our medical staff and I am proud to be a part of the team,” shares Charlie. It’s truly a team effort to provide expert care.
Since joining the Nemours team, there have been too many career highlights to list them all. But, one that sticks out for Charlie was when a patient’s grandmother sent him a video of the child using his new thumb to pick up and play with toys. It’s moments like these that fuel his commitment to patient care.
And of course, working at a children’s hospital has it’s own unique excitements. Charlie shares one of his favorite memories at Nemours occurred when he ran into some famous characters! “I was waiting for an elevator and when the door opened, there were five Disney princesses on it,” says Charlie. “That doesn’t happen at just any job. They were impressed that I (a grown man) knew one of them was Elena of Avalor. Full credit for that knowledge goes to my youngest daughter.”
As Charlie progresses in his career, he hopes to continue mentoring new therapists and helping to grow the hand therapy program. His work is a reminder that occupational therapy is about much more than rehabilitation – it’s about creativity, collaboration, and helping children to do the things they love.
