Marjorie Hackett, 1981 Bachelor of Rehabilitation Science graduate of UBC, has received the prestigious Helen P. LeVesconte Award for Volunteerism from the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT). Marjorie was acknowledged for her significant leadership through volunteer efforts at her local facility, provincial association, CAOT and the Canadian Occupational Therapy Foundation (COTF). She donates untold hours to her provincial and national organizations – organizing events, bringing occupational therapists together, taking every opportunity to support and advance her profession. You can read more about her amazing work. Congratulations Marjorie from all of at UBC OSOT!
Congratulations to Karen Davies, MSc student, who won the CIHR Masters Award for her project entitled “Long-term follow-up of children with idiopathic toe walking.” Karen’s project examines the condition where children walk on their toes for several years with no underlying medical reason. In BC, treatment strategies can be combinations of physiotherapy, the use of casts or braces, injections into the calf muscles, and/or surgery. However, many of these treatments can be time consuming, invasive, and costly, and whether they are necessary or successful in the long term is unknown. Karen’s study will follow a group of 133 BC children who are diagnosed with mild, moderate, or severe idiopathic toe walking between 1997 and 2005, to see how many continue to walk on their toes. The project will track what treatments they have received to find which were successful, and if other factors prevented families from seeking treatment. Understanding which treatments worked and which did not will inform future treatment schedules and potentially limit unnecessary interventions for children and their families. What an interesting study, and great job, Karen!