Occupational therapists and patients at the Moody Clinic will have the tools and toys they use to help develop fine motor skills within easy reach thanks to an OT cart that Troop 111 Eagle Scout candidate Rodrigo Rios delivered to the clinic Tuesday afternoon.
Rios said the cart was one of several potential projects that Moody Clinic Executive Director Jessica Cuevas suggested when he approached her about doing his Eagle Scout project to help the clinic. Rios, assisted by a team of fellow scouts, has been working on the project since January, putting in more than 60 hours of work to deliver the finished product. RPM Manufacturing of San Benito did the millwork and 4Front Engineered Solutions provided OT tools.
The cart’s intention is to have everything pertaining to occupational therapy available in one place for patients and therapists, Rios said during a brief hand-over ceremony at which he thanked his parents Rodrigo and Vanessa Rios for being there for him since his Cub Scout days, his grandmother Soledad Zertuche for a generous donation to help finance the project, and Eagle Scout committee chairman and former Scoutmaster Larry Jokl for his guidance.
Jokl said an important aspect of an Eagle Scout project is to give the scout management experience. He added that if everything goes according to schedule, Rios is expected to sit before an Eagle Scout board of review in the fall and become an Eagle Scout sometime in October.
Rios is in the process of completing a required written report about the project. It includes original conceptual drawings and photographs taken as the project progressed.
Rios also thanked his brother, scout Axel Rios, and Troop 111 senior patrol leader Richard Zayas for their help on the project.
He said the OT cart sparked his interest among several projects Cuevas suggested.
“I felt like it was something I could do that would make the lives of the kids better,” he said. An important aspect of the cart is shelves on the sides that adjust to age-appropriate height for patients receiving therapy. They range from 0 to 10 years old.
The Moody Clinic, which depends on contributed and grant funding, offers speech, occupational and physical therapy to patients from 0 to 21 years of age regardless of their ability to pay, Cuevas said as she introduced Rios and others who played a role in getting the cart built and equipped.
She said Moody Clinic provides therapy to children who, for example, are having difficulty learning to drink from a bottle, say their first words or take their first steps.
“A project like this means a whole lot to us,” she said, noting that the shelves are adjustable to the child’s level and that the OT team picked out all the toys that will be stored on the cart and used by patients.
Cuevas also introduced Jokl to Federico “Ozzio” Hernandez, 8, a Moody Clinic patient who is interested in becoming a Boy Scout. Jokyl said he would help connect Federico with a Cub Scout pack. He will be able to join a Boy Scout troop once he turns 10.
