Wheelchair Clinic’s Beth Shonts Follows Craig Vision of Fostering Independence

Beth Shonts remembers the first time she walked up South Clarkson Street toward Craig Hospital in 2008. It was the start of a three-month journey for her as an intern and graduate student in Western Michigan University’s occupational therapy master’s program, but really it was much more. Although she was a long way from Kalamazoo, Michigan, Beth felt at home.

“I was just thinking this was a really cool place to do an internship, like when you know you’ve made the right decision,” she says. “I had to do field work as part of my master’s program, and I was in a neurorehabilitation class, so I did some research on good neuro hospitals. I looked into Craig and knew that’s where I want to be.”

It still is for Beth, now 17 years later. As part of the Wheelchair Clinic staff, Beth sees the difference the Occupational Therapy (OT) Department makes in the lives of Craig inpatients and outpatients each day by helping them regain their independence and reach goals for developing, improving and maintaining skills needed to take part in the activities they love.

The work of OT is a testament to Craig’s mission of fostering independence for individuals with spinal cord and brain injury – and is one of the many reasons to celebrate the team each April for Occupational Therapy Month!

“I think what Craig and what OT have done so well is build a sense of community,” Beth says. “There are so many places you could work as an occupational therapist, and they’re all amazing and wonderful in their own way, but I think Craig has built a team where you can follow in your passion, help people and feel supported in that.”

Beth has had the opportunity to work in OT in several roles at Craig. She was hired as an inpatient occupational therapist on the spinal cord injury floor and worked her way up to assistant supervisor before pivoting to outpatient OT and a chance to work more with patient equipment. Following that, she chose to shift her practice fully to optimizing patient access to wheeled mobility, transitioning to her current role in the inpatient Wheelchair Clinic. For Beth, Occupational Therapy Month is a chance to celebrate not only occupational therapists but the opportunities she has had to grow at Craig.

“It’s awesome working here,” she says. “I feel like our OTs are very celebrated and respected. We’re like a family, working together to support patients in all disciplines.”

Wheelchair Clinic Supervisor Meg Dimpfel praises Beth as both a clinician and an occupational therapist.

“She’s an exceptional clinician,” Meg says. “As an occupational therapist, she can see the complex interactions between each patient, their body, their environment and their mobility, which enables her to design and adjust their wheelchair to meet their needs.”

Cultivating a sense of freedom, independence and control is a journey that goes beyond the individual. In the Wheelchair Clinic, occupational therapists like Beth help patients reclaim their autonomy through intricate fittings that ensure their equipment meets their specific needs. The team’s understanding of the complexities of rehabilitation and the uniqueness of each patient’s life after they leave Craig enables them to design a patient’s mobility equipment specifically for each person, empowering all patients to thrive after injury.

“When patients go home and are living their lives, it is very important their wheelchair or powerchair gets them to where they need to go and engaging in meaningful activities,” Beth says.

The Wheelchair Clinic staff make adjustments for changes in comfort or even changes in lifestyle. Beth recalls working with Garrett Northrup, an outpatient from Castle Rock, Colorado, who was working on a ranch in Elbert when he sustained a spinal cord injury in 2024. During his inpatient stay, Garrett told Beth he wanted to work on the ranch again once he was discharged but was unsure if a powerchair would allow him to do that.

That led Beth to arrange an outing for Garrett to try out several powerchairs at the ranch and his home.

“Speaking with Garrett, we were figuring out what the terrain was like, what tasks he was wanting to do and what equipment was going to help him do that,” Beth says. “The fact we were able to go into his environment and see what was going to meet his needs was huge.”

Garrett describes the experience of working with the Wheelchair Clinic to find a powerchair that met his needs as incredible.

“It became a whole new world when I was able to maneuver around the ranch and get back to seeing the places that I once loved,” Garrett says. “My mom said she’s never seen me with as big of a smile on my face as I had that day when we went to the ranch for the first time since my accident. Beth truly made it possible again for me to get back to doing what I love. Her passion for helping patients is inspirational to help them keep going.”