Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM is an occupational therapist who has spent her career advocating for and treating the needs of clients and caregivers.
As an educator at Texas Woman's University Master of Occupational Therapy program, and as a clinician working in settings as diverse as the ICU, acute care, inpatient rehab, skilled nursing, home modification, home health, and outpatient clinics, Emilia came to see two well defined truths.
- Caregivers are foundationally vital to our healthcare system.
- Caregivers are rarely, if ever, given the tools, knowledge, and skill-set they need to safely care for others and themselves.
Acknowledging her own ability to address this problem, Emilia set about creating an organization that could provide vital, practical, accessible training to caregivers all over the world.
Using education to empower others, Emilia's mission is to improve the safety and quality of life of caregivers and the people they care for.
Listen in and learn how Amelia is creating Healing Ties through her work at Higher Standards Caregiving Training.
Healing Ties
Beyond Caregiving...How do care?
How do we care for our family, friends, and the strangers we meet? How do we care for the community we live in?
How do we heal the physical, social, financial, spiritual aspects of our life and the lives of those around us?
We do this by creating Healing Ties!
By sharing their stories with host Christopher MacLellan, our guests reveal how they are creating Healing Ties in their community by their words, actions, and deeds.
Meet the Team
Affectionately known as “The Bow Tie Guy" in the vast network of family caregivers, Christopher MacLellen is the Author of "What's The Deal with Caregiving" and the host of Healing Ties podcast featured on The Whole Care Network.
The story of Chris and his deceased partner, Richard Schiffer was chronicled in a 2015 Pulitzer Prize nominated story “In Sickness and In Health: A Couple’s Final Journey” about their journey of caregiving. Seen by over 500,000 people world-wide the story told of the challenges that LGBT partners have in dealing with the medical and legal system, but it also told of the love and joy that Richard’s last years had on their relationship.
Chris' masters degree thesis, Caregiving, Stress and its Impact on the Work Place was accepted by the faculty at Gonzaga University in 2016 where he earned a masters degree in Leadership and Communication.
Chris founded the Whole Care Network in 2016, presents regularly on topics that impact family Caregivers and now is Aging Gayfully after caregiving has ended.