Rehab Impact 2013-14

REHAB

IMPACT REPORT 2013-14

| A YEAR IN REVIEW

Research provides

PEACE OF MIND

for families affected by

DEMENTIA

Alberta’s first aphasia camp Life is a circus

Pursuing your best

VISION

MISSION

CORNERSTONES

To be at the forefront of knowledge generation and scholarship in rehabilitation.

Through excellent teaching, research and service to the community, the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine is committed to enhancing quality of life, promoting participation and autonomy, and improving function for citizens of Alberta and beyond.

Innovative Teaching and Clinical Education Focused World-Class Research Community Awareness and Engagement Global Partnerships

Rehab Impact Report is published annually by

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Laurie Wang

the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Rehabilitation

MANAGING EDITOR: Bryan Alary

Medicine. It’s distributed to more than 7,500

WRITING: Bryan Alary, Jeannine Guérette

alumni, universities, government bodies, organi-

PHOTOGRAPHY: Alberta Aphasia Camp, Bryan Alary, Lyle Aspinall, Al Cook, Gerald Gosselin, Jeannine Guérette, Bill Hodgetts, Jimmy Jeong, Curtis Trent, Richard Siemens, John Ulan

zations and friends of the Faculty.

Marketing and Communications Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine 3-48 Corbett Hall University of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2G4 T: 780.492.9403 F: 780.492.1646 E: frmcomms@ualberta.ca

INTERIM DEAN: Robert Haennel ASSOCIATE DEAN, GRADUATE STUDIES & RESEARCH: Tammy Hopper ASSOCIATE DEAN, PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS & TEACHING: Liz Taylor ASSISTANT DEAN, FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION: Deborah Palmer

facebook.com/UofARehabMedicine

INTERIM CHAIR, PHYSICAL THERAPY: Doug Gross

twitter.com/UofARehabMed

CHAIR, COMMUNICATION SCIENCES & DISORDERS: Karen Pollock

youtube.com/rehabmedicineUofA

CHAIR, OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY: Lili Liu

Special thanks to department and institute staff for their contributions.

rehabilitation.ualberta.ca

Dean’s Message There’s an old story about a young boy who saves starfish stranded on the beach by throwing them into the ocean. A man approached and, seeing the beach littered with starfish for miles, incredulously asked why anyone would waste their time saving just a few. “You cannot possibly make a difference.” The boy, throwing another starfish back into the water replied, “It made a difference that one.”

That story, first told to me by our former dean, Al Cook (see page 18), sums up what the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine is all about. Like the young man in the story, we strive to make a difference in individual lives. Our graduates work to help those in need, whether through improving communication, physical abilities or helping seniors live well in place.

The essence of this faculty—the only free-standing Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine in Canada—is to serve those in need, one step at a time.

For example, Dr. Lili Liu is leading a 12-month trial that uses GPS technology to locate individuals with cognitive impairments who are at risk of wandering. As you can imagine, the results from this investigation will provide valuable peace of mind to family members (page 14).

With generous support from True Patriot Love, our faculty is leading the way in research to improve the health and quality of life of Canada’s military personnel, veterans and average Canadians (page 16). Working with another partner, March of Dimes Canada, our faculty also launched Alberta’s first camp to help individuals and families affected by aphasia communicate (page 10).

This past year, we celebrated as the first-ever class of occupational therapy students completed their studies from our Calgary satellite. We also received news that the provincial government approved permanent funding for all of our satellites, meaning our faculty now has three permanent locations—north campus in Edmonton, Augustana Campus in Camrose, and Calgary. By July 2015, renovations in Calgary

(at the University of Calgary’s downtown building) will double our space and allow occupational therapy and physical therapy students to learn in the same location.

Our emphasis on teaching excellence continues to grow across all of our programs, including professional development. This past year we launched a new course, Sports Medicine 101, which joins existing post-graduate offerings such as Stroke Rehabilitation and Pain Management. I also want to congratulate the 14 internationally educated physical therapists who are now poised to enter the Canadian workforce—the first ever class to complete our Internationally Educated Physiotherapists Bridging program.

As always, we are very proud of our alumni, who continue to do great things wherever career or life takes them, as illustrated by Gerald Gosselin (‘99 MScPT, page 24).

Welcoming back 100 alumni this past September only reaffirmed that our innovative teaching and mentorship is unparalleled in North America.

Over the coming year, the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine will continue to deliver the very best in teaching, clinical education and research while engaging with our community and partners around the globe. We’ll do it together, one step—and one individual—at a time.

R.G. (Bob) Haennel, PhD, FACSM Interim Dean Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine

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DEPARTMENTS & PROGRAMS

Physical Therapy

physicaltherapy.ualberta.ca

Knowledge, passion, leadership. This is an exciting time for our

department, which for 51 years has evolved and grown into one of North America’s premier physical therapy programs. Not only are we educating more students at more locations across Alberta, our talented faculty are advancing physical therapy research to help Canadians lead healthier lives.

Educating a province.

Two years ago, our department welcomed the first 18 Calgary-based students to a new pilot satellite program to complement our existing teaching facilities in Edmonton and Camrose.

In April 2014, the Government of Alberta approved permanent funding for our Calgary and Camrose satellite sites, allowing our department to become truly provincial in scope in training the next generation of physical therapists.

Bridging skills for the Canadian workforce. In the summer of 2014,

the first cohort of 14 students successfully completed the Alberta Internationally Educated Physiotherapists Bridging Program. A partnership between our department and Physiotherapy Alberta, the program gives internationally trained physical therapists the educational and clinical experiences they need to practise in Canada. Not only does the program address a growing skills shortage, its innovative format has earned a Special Merit Award from Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Successful accreditation. In February 2014, Physiotherapy Education

Accreditation Canada completed the last component of our accreditation review with a site visit to our Calgary satellite. Our MScPT program was granted full compliant status with congratulations to faculty and staff on the “quality of the education experience being provided not only to students in Edmonton, but to those at both the Camrose and Calgary distributed sites.”

North campus expansion. Our department expanded this past year

with the addition of newly renovated space on the sixth floor of the Clinical Sciences Building on north campus in Edmonton. This space now houses the Collaborative Orthopedic Research (CORe) group, which features Drs. Lauren Beaupre and Eric Parent, along with space for Dr. Linda Woodhouse and her team.

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AT A

GLANCE Academic Year 2013-14

$5,232,822 New research grants

179

2

Publications and presentations

Books and book chapters

67

Clinical placements

670

Fieldwork placements

110

Peer-reviewed journal articles

13 Students completed

Abstracts / conference presentations

$229,700

Student awards and scholarships (MSc course-based students)

110

First-year students admitted

66 female + 45 male 95 Alberta residents + 16 out of province 3.82 average GPA

international placements (Indonesia, Kuwait, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, Sri Lanka)

635

Placements in AB, SK, NT

14 Placements in

the rest of Canada

113 Shadow experiences for

first-year students in Edmonton, Calgary and Camrose.

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Partnership aimed at helping paraplegics stand tall Pilot study explores how ReWalk Robotics exoskeleton changes body’s neural pathways in people with spinal cord injuries.

Bryan Alary Four years after a motor vehicle accident robbed him of all mobility below his chest, Denny Ross is standing tall. And he can’t believe the view.

Ross, 35, is paraplegic after breaking his back at the T2-3 vertebrae while driving from Edmonton to a work camp in Conklin, Alta., where he worked as a welder.

His spinal cord injury meant months of rehabilitation and relearning tasks most take for granted, such as brushing his teeth or going to the bathroom.

Thanks to a new University of Alberta pilot study that’s looking at how people benefit from a revolutionary exoskeleton that provides powered hip and knee motion, Ross is once again standing on his own two feet.

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“I couldn’t believe how tall I was—I thought I was shorter,” he said of the first time he got up from his wheelchair. “But it feels good—it feels awesome to stand up.”

Revolutionary technology holds tremendous potential Jaynie Yang, professor of physical therapy in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, wants to improve our understanding about how the ReWalk system changes the body’s signalling pathways and who can most benefit from the device.

Yang recently launched a one-year pilot study in which Ross and other participants with spinal cord injuries

are outfitted with the ReWalk device and perform physical activities such as standing upright, sitting, walking down hallways and even climbing stairs.

“What we’d like to do is establish some basic things like who is best suited for these devices, what kinds of changes and improvements can we see—both with and without the devices,” Yang explained. “By training in the device, can we induce changes in the nervous system that would later improve function even without the device?”

Yang said she will be specifically looking at how the ReWalk device creates neuroplastic changes in the body, such as strengthening motor pathways from the brain to the muscles, and sensory pathways from the body to the brain.

“People might get better balance in sitting and standing. People with incomplete injury—injury that has spared some of those pathways—may actually get better at walking even without the device,” she said, noting there are likely other side benefits, such as reduction in spasticity, preservation of bone strength and better bowel routines.

“These are very fundamental things that we don’t have answers to at this point.”

Partnership makes pilot study possible The ReWalk device being used in the pilot was purchased by the Spinal Cord Injury Treatment Centre (Northern Alberta) Society, or SCITCS, and leased to the U of A for just $1. Without that partnership, the pilot study would not have been possible, said Yang, who hopes to use the data collected to apply for funding for a wider study of a much larger population that will also look at how the devices are used in the home environment.

“Their contribution to this research project is enormous,” said Yang. “I couldn’t have started on this project without the support of SCITCS, who have long been a valuable partner in spinal cord injury research.”

SCITCS president Louise Miller first saw the ReWalk device in action at a demonstration in 2012 and since that time has worked tirelessly to bring one to Edmonton and find a partnership that could do the most good for the most people.

It feels good—it feels awesome to stand up.

Denny Ross, study participant

“It’s the only ReWalk device in Canada, so this is a unique opportunity to showcase Alberta and how forward-thinking we are in terms of spinal cord injury treatment and research,” said Miller, the organization’s co-founder, whose previous partnerships with the U of A include the purchase of specialized exercise equipment housed at the Saville Community Sports Centre. “SCITCS doesn’t do research; we just help make things happen, that’s how it works. We’re proud to have a strong partner like the U of A.” Ross, who has no feeling below his nipples, says he felt “pretty wobbly” and somewhat scared about standing on his own again. But he said he believes in doing his part to advance research—he’s volunteered for several U of A research studies, with a healthy dose of coaxing from wife Megan. He even quit his job so he could participate in the pilot and spend more time with his children, participating in the research and representing organizations like SCITCS. “I’m proud to be involved with SCITCS and the great work they do. If it wasn’t for SCITCS and Louise, this study wouldn’t exist,” Ross said. With new funding, Yang hopes to expand her study over two to three years, working with a larger pool of people with spinal cord injuries. ReWalk, she notes, is one of only two devices approved for use in Canada to help people with paraplegia walk, and the only one approved for use in the home.

“These devices are quite revolutionary,” she says, explaining most devices aimed at helping people with paraplegia walk are impractical because the amount of energy required to operate them is physically exhausting. “This is a big advance. It has tremendous potential—it still needs some careful design and modification—but it is great that some people who currently rely on a wheelchair can now walk.”

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DEPARTMENTS & PROGRAMS

Communication Sciences and Disorders (formerly known as Speech Pathology and Audiology)

csd.ualberta.ca

What’s in a name? It’s now been a little more than a year since we

changed our name to Communication Sciences and Disorders (formerly Speech Pathology and Audiology), a change that we feel better reflects our teaching and research in basic processes related to hearing, speech, language and swallowing as well as the prevention, assessment and treatment of disorders. The name change also signalled a transition in our image and profile as we prepare for a new strategic plan to address research productivity, curriculum revision, and growth in programs and outreach.

Research excellence. Our department saw new external funding for

research increase by more than 400 per cent from the previous year, primarily due to a $1.9-million grant awarded by the Alberta Cancer Foundation to Jana Rieger to test technology to improve the quality of life and independence of head and neck cancer survivors with swallowing impairments. This major project aside, CSD faculty members received 18 per cent more grant funding compared to last year, a testament to the innovative ideas and leading talent of our faculty members.

Supporting adults with aphasia. This past year our department spearheaded the creation of Alberta’s first adult camp for people and families affected by aphasia. Alberta Aphasia Camp was held in the fall of 2014, but a great deal of the planning and preparation occurred during the 2013-14 academic year. This camp was the brainchild of Esther Kim and Rhonda Kajner, with considerable help from Andrea Ruelling, who joined our department as lab co-ordinator / clinical educator in speech science and adult neurogenics, and many student volunteers. Read more about the camp on page 10.

Serving the community. The Corbett Hall Speech-Language Clinic pro-

vides services to clients of all ages. Assessment and intervention is led by student clinicians supervised by registered speech-language pathologists. This team approach to clinical service enhances student learning and the client experience. During 2013 alone, Corbett Clinic provided placement opportunities for 103 students and more than 100 clients.

Early impact. Corbett Hall Early Education Program (CHEEP) is an early

education program designed to facilitate the development of children with significant developmental delays, in an educational setting. Parents work with an interdisciplinary team of specialists to enhance a child’s development in communication, cognition, motor skills, self-help skills, social and play skills. Sixteen MScSLP students completed fall placements at CHEEP, in addition to two long-term clinical placements.

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AT A

GLANCE Academic Year 2013-14

$2,501,391

New research grants

3

Books and book chapters

71

27

Abstracts / conference presentations

Peer-reviewed journal articles

$334,091

Student awards and scholarships (MSc course-based students)

58

First-year students admitted

57 female + 1 male 33 Alberta residents + 25 out of province 3.7 minimum GPA

Clinical placements

355

Fieldwork placements

103

252 Placements in

Placements at Corbett Clinic

188

Placements serving children

Alberta and the rest of Canada

32

Placements serving children and adults

135 Placements

serving adults

6Students completed

international placements (Kuwait, Australia, New Zealand)

9

Alberta Aphasia Camp: A celebration of sharing and learning uab.ca/AphasiaCamp Bryan Alary Ken Thiessen had the gift of gab. He’d chat anybody up—and down and sideways, and sometimes all night long. To his grandkids, he was the world’s greatest storyteller, a larger-than-life hero.

And then came the stroke. Suddenly, Grandpa Ken couldn’t tell those stories; the words had gone.

That stroke in December 2012 left Thiessen paralyzed on his right side, unable to do basic tasks. It took six months of training with a speech-language pathologist at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital before he could string together a sentence. He’s still weak on his right side, but gets around just fine. Story time, however, is just a memory.

“It takes me some time to get the words out,” says Thiessen, with some effort. He’s one of 100,000 Canadians living with aphasia, a communication disorder often caused by stroke or brain injuries that makes it difficult to speak verbally or understand written words.

A former NAIT instructor, Thiessen, 57, hardly visits with old friends, mostly because talking takes too long. He can see their attention drift; retreating inward is just easier.

“It just takes a lot of patience and time, which is tough when our society is so fast-paced,” says wife Connie, formerly the quiet one in the household. “Some people don’t give him the time of day.”

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Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine holds inaugural outdoor leisure camp for families affected by aphasia.

Thirty people attended the first ever Alberta Aphasia Camp to build connect with others affected by this isolating communication disorder and enjoy a fun, relaxing weekend.

Alberta Aphasia Camp: finding ways to connect In September 2014, the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine launched a new outdoor camp for adults with aphasia and their care partners. The Alberta Aphasia Camp hosted 30 campers at YoWoChAs Outdoor Education Centre a​t Lake Wabamun, providing an opportunity for people like the Thiessens to connect with others who know all too well how isolating aphasia can be, and to learn and grow through new friendships.

“A lot of my clients mention they lose a huge component of their support network. It’s easier to not be with people,” explains Esther Kim, co-organizer of the camp and an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Modelled after the groundbreaking Aphasia Camp Northwest run by Portland State University, the threeday camp featured a range of activities, from adapted yoga to rope courses to canoeing to participating in a drum circle. More than two dozen speech-language pathology students helped organize and facilitate the camp, either as volunteers or as part of a master’s project.

March of Dimes Canada supports a similar camp in Ontario and was a partner in funding and organizing

Alberta Aphasia Camp. “They were actually going to do an aphasia camp in Alberta when they found out we had this in the works,” Kim says. “Both Aphasia Camp Northwest and March of Dimes Canada were very giving with support and knowledge for planning. It’s been a very rewarding partnership.”

At the closing session, campers were asked to sort cards of activities they used to do, activities they currently do and activities they wish they could pursue.

Then, they were challenged to take up some of those activities, such as getting a library card or planning a camping activity.

“One of our goals was to get people to participate more in the community, to be able to see that, yes, they have a communication disorder, but that doesn’t have to limit their participation in their life,” says Andrea Ruelling, co-organizer and a clinical educator in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.

For Thiessen the camp gave him the inspiration to challenge himself and take up one of his former joys, no matter how long it takes.

“I thought of my grandchildren. I want to interact with them and tell stories.”

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DEPARTMENTS & PROGRAMS

Occupational Therapy

occupationaltherapy.ualberta.ca

A legacy of excellence.

The University of Alberta has educated some of the best and brightest talent in occupational therapy over the past 54 years, establishing our department as a top OT school in Canada and among the world’s best in teaching, research and service to community.

Through discovery and knowledge generation, our faculty and students are addressing some of the most pressing health challenges facing Albertans and Canadians.

A permanent home in Calgary. Two years ago, our department

established a pilot satellite program in Calgary with an initial cohort of 12 students. In April 2014, the Government of Alberta committed permanent funding for our Calgary site, ensuring we can continue to train the next generation of occupational therapists to serve the needs of our entire province, and beyond.

A global perspective. Whether it’s in the classroom, lab or through

hands-on clinical experience, our students receive some of the very best training in the world. They also have an opportunity to see the world through six weeks of clinical placements at partner universities in Colombia, Indonesia and Kuwait. This experience not only enhances our students’ training and worldview, it allows them to make a global impact.

A place for talented people.

With an impressive assemblage of award-winning professors and internationally renowned researchers, our department attracts some of the best talent in occupational therapy. We were fortunate and pleased to welcome Drs. Mary Forhan, Sandra Hodgetts, Shannon Phelan and Mary Roduta Roberts, who all joined the department in the last year. Collectively, they enhance our department’s knowledge and expertise in areas such as mental health, measurement theory, obesity, autism, inclusion and social justice for children with disabilities and their families.

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AT A

GLANCE Academic Year 2013-14

$1,896,215

New research grants

175

7

Publications and presentations

Books chapters and monographs

34

Clinical placements

560

Fieldwork placements

120

Peer-reviewed journal articles

22 Students completed

Abstracts / conference presentations

$320,246

Student awards and scholarships (MSc course-based students)

120

First-year students admitted

110 female + 10 male 54 Alberta residents + 66 out of province 3.5 minimum GPA

international placements (Indonesia, Colombia, Kuwait, Hong Kong, Scotland, United States, Cambodia and Thailand)

521

Placements in AB, SK, NT

39

Placements in the rest of Canada

168 Placement sites

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GPS technology provides peace of mind for families coping with dementia Partnership with Alberta Health Services uses GPS devices to mitigate risk of wandering or getting lost.

Bryan Alary It was a phone call that changed everything. Two years ago, while Allison Warman was driving from Edmonton to her house in Calgary, she became confused and disoriented to the point that she couldn’t remember the way home.

She pulled over at the halfway point, in Red Deer, and called her husband Tim, who dropped everything to pick her up. It was the first warning sign something was wrong cognitively, a diagnosis that was later confirmed as dementia.

At just 53 years old, Allison—an active, vibrant mother of three and accomplished costume designer whose creations have been worn by figure skating champions Kurt Browning and Kristi Yamaguchi, and the Alberta Ballet—is increasingly housebound, unable to work, drive or even read anything longer than a headline.

“It’s been devastating to watch this happen to such an energetic and talented and creative person—she’s always been an active person, doing things for people she loves—to have all that taken away from you is brutal,” Tim says.

Not everything has been taken. Walking remains one of Allison’s true passions, keeping her body and mind refreshed. But the risk of wandering or getting lost is a real concern for people with dementia.

Locator Device Project Fortunately for Allison, Tim and the couple’s teenaged children, she can continue going on her daily outings without fear, thanks to SafeTracks GPS technology in a phone-like device she wears around her neck. The device, and others like it worn in a shoe or as a watch, provide real-time location information viewable on Google Maps and can send text messages or emails to family if Allison veers outside a designated safe zone.

The device was given to Allison when she joined the Locator Device Project, a 12-month trial to evaluate GPS technology in preventing people with cognitive impairments from getting lost or wandering. The project is a partnership between the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine and Alberta Health Services, with 40 participants from Calgary and Grande Prairie.

“The technology provides peace of mind for families,” says Lili Liu, lead researcher, professor and chair of the Department of Occupational

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The best thing that’s happened to her is being able to go out on her own and still be safe.

Tim Warman, husband

Therapy. “Even if there is an accident or an incident, knowing that their loved one has a GPS device helps family members feel more at peace.”

More than 40,000 Albertans have dementia of some form, and about three out of every five seniors with dementia living in the community experience wandering. The number of Alberta seniors with dementia is expected to exceed 100,000 by 2038.

“We have a responsibility to provide Albertans who are at risk with supports that will enable them to enjoy their independence without coming to harm,” says Don Juzwishin, director of health technology assessment and innovation for AHS. “And we believe the locator project, which uses sophisticated GPS technology, will also support family caregivers and emergency responders to assist dementia clients who have wandered or become lost.”

Liu’s team, which includes several graduate students based in the Department of Occupational Therapy’s satellite site in Calgary, has visited the homes of fam-

ilies participating in the project, answering questions and offering support. The data they’re collecting are still being analyzed, but could be used to inform technology options for home-care clients and families.

To her knowledge, this is the first study of its kind in Canada, says Liu, and one she wants to eventually expand to a national level.

For the Warman family, participating in the study and using the technology has afforded Allison a precious sense of dignity.

“The best thing that has happened to her is being able to go out on her own and still be safe,” says Tim, who believes the technology could benefit other individuals and families coping with dementia. “It contributes to her emotional well-being, just knowing that she is safe. It’s empowering. It’s just a wonderful thing.”

Partners in the Locator Device Project include the Grande Prairie RCMP, Emergency Medical Services, and AHS Seniors Health.

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DONOR

RECOGNITION

True Patriot Love supports rehabilitation research for all Canadians Soldiers, veterans and civilians all benefit from Rehab Med research breakthroughs Bryan Alary In 2010, a grassroots charity called True Patriot Love Foundation took a major stride toward its goal of improving the lives of Canada’s soldiers, veterans and families when it partnered with the University of Alberta to advance military rehabilitation research.

Not only did that initial $200,000 donation allow the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine to launch a new Canadian Military and Veterans’ Rehabilitation Research Program, it started a legacy where today True Patriot Love is one of Canada’s biggest supporters of military rehabilitation research.

“Six years ago, when we started True Patriot Love, if you told us we would be funding a chair at the University of Alberta and supporting another 35 research universities, we wouldn’t have believed it,” said Michael Burns, co-founder and vice-chair of True Patriot Love.

Funding the military chair at the U of A was True Patriot Love’s first introduction into the world of research, now one of the organization’s main pillars with the immediate health needs of families, physical health and rehabilitation, and mental health and well-being.

The initial funding allowed the faculty to recruit Ibolja Cernak, Canadian Military and Veterans’ Chair in Clinical Rehabilitation, and support the work of Jacqueline Hebert, Associate Chair in Clinical Rehabilitation—both internationally renowned leaders in their fields.

“When we look at what UAlberta is doing, they are making a significant impact on the health and well-being of both our soldiers and their families,” Burns said.

Cernak became the first research chair in Canada dedicated specifically to the rehabilitation of injured soldiers and veterans and in 2013 her work took her to Afghanistan to study resiliency in Canadian troops, before, during and after deployment.

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Cernak is also leading efforts to create the Centre for Traumatic Brain Injury and Military Research at the U of A, which will feature one of Canada’s only shock tubes—a nine-metre-long device capable of simulating the effects of explosions soldiers could experience during combat or training exercises, including blasts from improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

In the fall of 2014, True Patriot Love committed another $100,000 to support Hebert’s pioneering work in targeted sensory reinnervation surgery—a technique and sensory feedback system that aims to give an amputee a degree of sensation in their prosthetic limb.

The patients that have had the surgery can move a prosthetic limb more naturally. Some subjects in the lab not only feel touch from the bionic limb but can feel its movement as well. Each surgery requires months and

True Patriot Love’s support of military rehabilitation research was instrumental to the creation of the Canadian Military and Veterans’ Rehabilitation Research Program at the U of A, and advancing the health and quality of life of military personnel, veterans and their families.

often years of follow-up evaluation and rehabilitation but the reactions of each patient when they first gain sensation are nothing short of inspiring and enlightening, she said.

“Their experiences really teach us a lot about how the brain and body recover after limb amputation,” Hebert said.

In 2012, Hebert’s work won the Major Sir Frederick Banting Award for Military Health Research, one of the country’s most prestigious military research awards, sponsored by True Patriot Love. Burns believes Hebert’s work will only continue to gain importance and draw attention from other parts of Canada and the globe.

“You only have to spend time with her and see what she’s doing and understand how her work is going to

change the lives of men and women who have unfortunately lost a limb in combat. Dr. Hebert’s work speaks for itself.”

Hebert, who also holds an appointment with the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, runs the Adult Amputee Program at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, and collaborates with researchers and students across campus through her Bionic Limbs for Improved Natural Control (BLINC) lab, said limitations in the human-machine interface are one of the challenges facing advanced prosthetic systems research. New funding will help overcome these challenges through the development and testing of new technology, she said.

“The support from True Patriot Love is going to help develop clinically focused research that will translate discoveries in the lab and the newest technology to immediate patient care.”

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DONOR

RECOGNITION

Making an impact

The Starfish Story

For more than 20 years, the story of the starfish has served as the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine’s unofficial motto.

It’s about making a difference one step at a time, whether that’s teaching students, treating patients, advancing research, or the work of our alumni, donors and friends. This was a record year for our faculty, both in terms of total funds raised and total donors.

And just like in the starfish story, every contribution makes a difference.

While walking down the beach, a man saw someone in the distance lean down and pick something up before throwing it in the ocean.

As he came closer, he saw thousands of starfish the tide had thrown onto the beach. Unable to return to the ocean during low tide, the starfish were dying. The man observed a young boy picking up the starfish, one by one and throwing them back into the ocean.

After watching the seemingly futile effort, the observer said: “There must be thousands of starfish on this beach. It would be impossible for you to save all of them. There are simply too many. You can't possibly save enough to make a difference.”

The young boy smiled as he picked up another starfish and tossed it back into the ocean.

“It made a difference to that one,” he replied.

— Story adapted from The Starfish Thrower by Loren Eiseley

Thank You Donors for Helping us Make an Impact Aaron Hryciw AB-NWT Command The Royal Canadian Legion Abbott Petroleum Consulting Inc Acme Royal Purple Lodge No 103 ACSLPA Adrian Watters Adrienne Jansen Agrium Inc Alberta Elks District No 7 Alberta Elks Foundation Alberta Paraplegic Foundation Alberta Royal Purple Lodges Association Alex Von Niebelschutz Alice Babb Allan Chapman Allan de Caen Allard Foundation Allen Piche Amarpreet Lallh Ambrose Sun Ana Luc Andrea M. Cundliffe Andrei Chichak Andrew Turzansky Angela J. Vandervelde Anita Ferri Anita Perri Anita Yates Ann Matthews Anne Campbell Anne Chapman Heinemeyer Anne Lopushinsky Arien Ferré Arleen Pooley Audrey Lowe Audrey Salkeld Gibson Dr. Avnish Ghai Dr. Avnish Ghai Professional Corp.

Barbara Chamberlain Barbara Gregg Barbara Gwyer Barbara Hitchcock Barbara Hoar Barbara Moore Barbara Norton Barons Elks No 224 Barry Yerex

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Ben Officer Bentley Royal Purple Lodge No 264 Bernie Kotelko Berniece L. Malone Betty Norman Bray Big Valley BPOE 147 Big Valley Royal Purple Lodge No 77 Blairmore Royal Purple Lodge No 159 BMO Financial Group Brad I. MacDonald Bradley Banasch Brenda Erichsen Brenda Ikuta Breton Elks Lodge No 402 Breton Royal Purple Lodge No 285 Brian Faulkner Brian Gwyer Rev. P.H. Brian Jayawardhana Brian Knight & Mary Knight Britny L. Andrews Bruce Toporowski Cal Nichols Calgary Elks Lodge No 4 Calgary Royal Purple Lodge No 7 Callista Boser Cameco Corporation Cameron Kuzyk CanadaHelps.Org Canadian Corps of Commissionaires Northern Alberta Canadian Occupational Therapy Foundation Candace Foy Candace J. Tendler Cara Kaup Cara Lee Carie Watters Carmen Emslie Carol Blinov Carol MacDonald Carola Wiehr Caroline Lodge No 193 Catherine Daruwalla Catherine Johnson Catherine Scott Catherine West Cathie-Lou Christensen Cathy Simmons Cécile E. Mactaggart Celina Pietrusik

Celine R. Feagan Cenovus Employee Foundation Cerebral Palsy International Research Foundation Chantelle C. Lefever Charlene Hand Charlene Luciak-Corea Christine Helpard Christine Laforge Christine Rapp Christine Whittaker Christopher B. Zarski Christy Cooke Cindy Gammel Cindy Nyhoff Clay Miller Colette Fournier Marshall Colleen Crawford Colleen MacDonald Cordie L. Moir Covenant Health Craig Pilgrim Dr. Craig R. Butler Crossfield Royal Purple Lodge No 261 Crowsnest Pass Elks Lodge No 584 Cynthia Johnson Cynthia Webber Walsh D’Arcy L. Wingrove Dale Christensen Daniel & Connie Zalmanowitz Daniel Boland Daniel VonBank Danielle C. Zaiffdeen Darlene Bell Darrel Ellenwood Darren Abbott Daryle Tilroe Dave M. Buijs Dave Zayac Dr. David Collins David DeGryse Dr. David G Hughes David Hasinoff David Hitesman Dr. David Johnston David Martin David Porsx Dayna Kowton Deann Stein Hasinoff Deanna M. Thompson

Deanne Timmons Deb Gordon & Howard Burke Deborah Kully-Martens Debra L. Parke Delburne Elks Dennis Felts Dennis Holowaychuk Derryl & Candace Tendler Dexter Croft Diana M Bacon Diane Metcalfe (McIntyre) Diane Zayac Dianna Mah-Jones Dianne C. Dunnigan Donald Fowler Donna Bernes Donna Jule Donna Kotelko Donna M. Goldson-Piper Donna Pietrusik Dorothy Guch Doug Warren Dr. Douglas Wiens Drayton Valley Elks Lodge No 391 Dwayne Wohlgemuth Dynacor Communications Inc E Jun Johnston Eaglesham Royal Purple Lodge No 318 Ed C. Kaine Edgerton Royal Purple No 224 Edmonton Community Foundation Edmonton Royal Purple Lodge No 22 Edna Nichols Elden Swab Eleanor Penny Elements Physical Therapy and Acupuncture Ltd. Elk Point Royal Purple Lodge No 269 Ellie M. Martin Emma Breurkens Enid Gom Erika Adrain-VonBank Erwin Pooley Esther MacDonald Evelyn & Gene Norville Memorial Fund F Lynn Keeling Fabian Walsh Fay Strohschein Faye Carter Florence Aung-Collins

Fort Macleod Lodge No 129 Fort MacLeod Royal Purple Lodge No. 28 Fort MacLeod Elks No. 129 Fort Saskatchewan Elks Lodge No. 399 Fort Saskatchewan Royal Purple Lodge No. 212 Fran De Beer Fran Vargo Fran Williams Frances Campbell Frederick Murray Gail Faulkner Gail Horne Gail Kamitomo Gaille Wallach Garth Block Garth E. Craig Gary Erichsen Geoff Emslie Geoff Marshall Dr. Geoffrey P. Bostick Dr. George Pemberton George Somogyi Gerry Johnson Gerri Matheson Ginger Martens Glennis Stirling Gordon Krowchuk Gordon Strang Grande Prairie Elks Lodge No. 285 Grande Prairie Royal Purple Lodge No 107 Greg Gardner Gregor Cantz Gwyneth Harris Gyro Club of Edmonton H Jane de Caen Hairy Hill Elks Lodge No 304 Hanna Chernausava Hans Alderliesten Heather L. Schroeder Heather M. McEwen Heather R. Zarski Heather Stamler Heisler Elks Lodge No 305 Dr. Helen Machida Helen McLeod Helen Ross Helen Weyland Helene Manning Henry Stanford

Herman & Elly de Jongh Fund Herman Gom High Prairie Elks Lodge No 279 High Prairie Royal Purple Lodge No 59 Howard Burke Ian Dymock Ila Smith Ileen Hagen Ilona Glass Irene Malnaric Iryna Sukhorukova Isabel Henderson Ivan Radostits Ivonne Montgomery J A McGavin Jacalyn Morissette Jacek K. Twarowski Jacqueline Bryce Jacqueline Leaver Jacqueline M. Schoenberger Jacquie A. Eales James & Nancy Fleming James Bond James F. Dunn James L. Gervais James MacDonald James Rowlett Jan Summersides Janet Gibson Janet Gibson Speech Pathology & Audiology Services Janet Kuchinka Janet Wilson Janis Cunningham Jannie Alderliesten Jean Blayney Jean Macnab Jeanine E S Kimura Jeff Vagay Jehangir Daruwalla Jennifer Rees Jessica A. Kotelko Jessie Cheetham Jo Ann D. Hill Joanne Watson Jo Stephen Jo-Anna Wohlgemuth Joan Sullivan Joanne Watson John Barnard

561 Total donors (RECORD YEAR)

$2.961 million Total funds raised (MOST EVER RAISED BY THE FACULTY)

YOUR DONATIONS SUPPORTED Research 75%

(numbers approximate due to rounding)

Faculty & Departmental Initiatives (First Fund + Other) 1.5% Chair in Military & Veterans Rehab 3.5%

ISTAR 13%

Student Support (Scholarships/Bursaries) 7%

Donations over $500, 2013-14 academic year John Lockhart John Ross John Stroppa John Watson Joy Tremblay Judge Norman A. Mackie Judith Somogyi Judy & Chris Meintzer Julia M Boberg Julianne E. Smidt Jun Xu June Fowler June A Norris June Barnard K J Roofing Karen J Towne Karen M. Miller Karen Penrice Karen Perry Katalin Hancock Kathryn Gillis Kathy Pors Kathy Tam Kelly Harrison-Miles Kelly Hawken Kelly Kaup Kelly Lucky Kelly Penner Kelvin & Callista Boser Ken Haverland Kendra Wilson Kenneth G. Crawford Kenneth Grimes Kevin Cundliffe Kevin Hebb Kim Hammerstedt Kimberly S. Wong Kinga Kerestes Kingston Ross Pasnak Chartered Accountants Kirsteen Connelly Kristine Belamisca Kurt Stahl L Gail Debruin L J Orlecky Lac La Biche Elks Lodge No 470 Lac La Biche Royal Purple No 309 Laird Wightman Lakeland Sport Physical Therapy Larry Stokowski Laurie A. Benjamin

Laurie Banasch Lawrence R. Kennard Leduc Elks Lodge No 156 Leduc Royal Purple Lodge No 41 Leonard Swanson Lillian Stahl Linda Hurkot Linda Miller Linda Todd Linda Zimmerman Lisa Hall Lisa M. Officer Lisa Rossi Living Sounds Hearing Centre Ltd Lloyd McLeod Lloydminster Royal Purple Lodge No 105 Dr. Lois Stanford, Professor Emeritus Lori Haufe Lorian Kennedy Lorna Oel Lorna Piche Louise Desaulniers Louise Yerex Lu-Anne McFarlane Lyle Haverland Lynda Beyer Lynn Mathiesen Lynne Abele-Webster Manitoba All Charities Campaign Manning Elks Lodge No 286 Mannville Royal Purple Lodge No 205 Marc Benjamin Margaret Rowlett Margot Sondermann Marianne C. Edwards Prof Corp Dr. Marianne Edwards Marie Green Mario Morissette Marion Pilger Marion Schmitke Marlene Hitesman Marlene Nordstrom Mary A. Radostits Mary Knight Mary McLean Mary Patrice Roduta Roberts Mary Trumpener Mary R. Turner Mary Wood Mary Zacharia

Dr. Matthew Spence Mattie Matheson Maureen Senior May Lockhart Meada Pederson Dr. Megan M. Hodge, Professor Emeritus Mei Tian Michael B. Niven, QC Michael Foy Michael J. Cooke Dr. Michael P. Châtenay Michael Sondermann Michael Sorensen Michele Jessop Michelle A. Fernet Michelle A. Millson Kuefler Michelle Bourgon Michelle T. Davis Mindful Movement Inc. Muth Electrical Management Inc. Myrnam Royal Purple Lodge No 242 Myrrha L. Mariano Nancy Gardner Nathan D. Bruneau Nathania Van Kuik Fast Neil Martens Neva Lemon Nick Nemeth Nicole L. Beauchesne Nirmal Herian Norma Crone Norman Machida Okotoks Elks Lodge No 31 Order of the Royal Purple No 176 of Bashaw P.A. Hrudko Properties Pat Stokowski Patricia Delaney-Bernier Patricia Hrudko Paul Clendenning Paul G. Comrie Dr. Paul Trepanier Paul Walters Paulette Kully-Petrov Peggy Woytiuk Peter & Carole-Ann Wyant Peter Benezra Peter C. Flynn, Professor Emeritus Phil Connelly Picture Butte Elks Lodge No 268 Dr. Pierre Desaulniers

Ponoka Elks Lodge No 561 Ponoka Royal Purple Lodge No 27 Pope John Paul I Assembly No 2754 Knights of Columbus R Dale & Susan B Withage R Michael Wood Rachel Devereux Rajko Crnogorac Realtors® Community Foundation Regine Kutzner Rex Beaton Richard Parent Rick Pilger Dr. Rob MacEwan Robert and Helene Manning Robert Cormack Robert G. Leinweber Robert MacEwan Prof Corp Robert Matheson Rod MacDonald Dr. Roland Ikuta Ron Norton Ronald Woytiuk Rosanna L. Wegner Rotary Club of Edmonton Strathcona Royal Canadian Legion - Airdrie Branch No 288 Royal Canadian Legion - Bow Island Branch No 197 Royal Canadian Legion - Calgary Poppy Fund Royal Canadian Legion - E I D Brooks Branch No 63 Royal Canadian Legion - Edmonton Ex-Service Womens 215 Royal Canadian Legion - Evansburg Branch No 196 Royal Canadian Legion - Nanton Branch No 80 Royal Canadian Legion - Strathmore Branch No 10 Royal Canadian Legion - Vegreville Branch No 39 Royal Canadian Legion No 105 Olds Royal Canadian Legion 223 Poppy Trust Fund Ruby M. Swanson Rupa Mistry Dr. Russell Crawford Ruth Goodchild Ruth Welwood Dr. Sabrina Plitt Salvatore Corea and Charlene Luciak-Corea Sandy Dunn

Scott Burdick Dr. Sean B. Chapman Selene Tash Sexsmith Elks Lodge No 284 Sexsmith Royal Purple No 266 Shannon Kirscht Sharel Wentz Sharon Châtenay Sheelagh Bara Sheila Eckhart Sheila Greenberg Sheila Newman Sheila P. Mahood Shelley Kennedy Sherwood Park Elks Lodge No 481 Sherwood Park Royal Purple Lodge No 287 Shirley A. DeGryse Shirley Toporowski Sigurd Jorstad Silke Tilroe Small Talk Family Speech & Language Services Sonja Taylor Stacey Will Staci Cooper Stavely Elks Lodge No 112 Stavely Royal Purple Lodge No 99 Stawnichy’s Meat Processing Stephanie D. Toews Dr. Stephanie J. Madill Stettler Elks Lodge No 92 Stettler Royal Purple Lodge No 60 Steven & Day Le Poole Stuart Parker Sundre Royal Purple Lodge No 191 Superfluity Shop Susan Greaves Susan K. Goodwin Susan Malo Susan Newman Susanne Koehler Susanne M. Jarman Tara Weaver Tegan Hryciw Teresa G. Gagnon Teresa Hardy Teresa Pemberton Teresina Chan Terrance B. Dunnigan Terry Hawken Dr. Terry Horne

The Arthritis Society The Dinner Optimist Club of Edmonton The Elks & Royal Purple Fund for Children The Insurance Doctor Inc Thelma Duffy Thomas Beyer Tom & Char Hand Foundation Tracey Airth-Edblom Traci Belyk Tracy Berg Trenville Royal Purple Lodge No 248 Trey Kirscht Tyler Andreasen Dr. Ulrich Trumpener, Professor Emeritus United Way of Saskatoon & Area Valerie Mackie Valley Rehabilitation Services Inc. Vegreville Elks Lodge No 143 Vermilion Elks Lodge No 131 Victor Maris Viking Elks Lodge No 83 Vulcan Elks Lodge 121 Wainwright Elks Lodge No 22 Wainwright Royal Purple Lodge No 92 Warner Elks Lodge No 222 Warner Royal Purple Lodge No 72 Wendy A. Gervais Wendy Antoniuk Wendy Marion Davis Wendy Takeda Wes Feagan Physiotherapy Corp Wesley Feagan Westlock Elks Lodge No. 330 Whitehorse Elks Lodge No 306 Whitehorse Physiotherapy Dr. William Cryderman Yvette Stroppa Yvonne V. Anderson Yvonne Emson Zaheen Nanji

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DEPARTMENTS & PROGRAMS

Rehabilitation Science rehabilitation.ualberta.ca/rehabsci

Rehabilitation Science aims to assist people whose disability, whether acute or chronic, interferes with their ability to live the life they choose.

It is an inherently multidisciplinary field, attracting students from basic and social sciences, engineering, medicine, rehabilitation and a wide range of clinical professional backgrounds.

Our thesis-based MSc and PhD students advance knowledge in physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, audiology and related fields. Rehabilitation Science also offers a specialization in aging through the study of communication, musculoskeletal, neurological and psychosocial disorders. Rehabilitation Science graduates go on to become leaders in teaching and research, health-care management, business and the provincial and federal civil service.

Rehabilitation Science continues to grow in popularity, with hundreds of inquiries about the program coming in every year from around the globe. As of July 1, 2014, we have 38 students enrolled in our PhD program and 23 students enrolled in our MSc program.

$711,466

Current graduate student research funding (MSc and PhD)

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First-year students admitted

13 female + 10 male 14 Canadian + 9 International

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38

PhD RS students admitted

29 female + 9 male 28 Canadian + 10 International

2014 PhD Centenary Award Winners shine in clinical research and rehabilitation The PhD Centenary Awards at the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine recognize three PhD students each year from Rehabilitation Science.

The PhD Centenary Awards at the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine recognize three PhD students each year from Rehabilitation Science who have demonstrated a commitment to pursuing a clinician-scientist or academic role, and advancing the rehabilitation professions in areas of knowledge exchange and transfer, quality of life, clinical practice, patient outcomes and patient safety.

The awards were established by the Alberta College of Occupational Therapists, Alberta College of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists and Physiotherapy Alberta College and Association in 2009.

Since then, $5,000 has been awarded annually to one PhD Rehabilitation Science student/candidate from each of the three departments.

Congratulations to this year’s winners!

Alberta College of Occupational Therapists

Physiotherapy Alberta College and Association

Alberta College of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists

Joanne Park

Yu Lok (Arnold) Wong

Melissa Skoczylas

Joanne Park’s PhD research project is titled: The Effectiveness of Motivational Interviewing as an Interventional Tool for Improving Return-to-Work Rates for Injured Workers with Musculoskeletal Disorders. There are no formal assessments in work rehabilitation that address the behavioural and psychosocial components of musculoskeletal disorders. Through her research, supervised by Doug Gross and Shaniff Esmail, she hopes to introduce new approaches to work rehabilitation.

Arnold Wong is interested in investigating the pathologies and treatments of low-back pain. His doctoral research, supervised by Greg Kawchuk, explores spinal manipulative therapy responders and non-responders and their different physical characteristics. Through his studies, he hopes to unveil the mechanisms of spinal manipulative therapy which he believes will help clinicians make better treatment decisions based on the results of their patients’ physical examinations.

While working as an SLP with schoolaged children, Melissa Skoczylas developed a strong interest in the development of children’s literacy skills.

In 2011, she returned to U of A to pursue this interest as a PhD student with Phyllis Schneider. Her research currently focuses on the relationship between oral language skills and reading comprehension among children with language impairment.

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DEPARTMENTS & PROGRAMS

Continuing Professional Education

rehabilitation.ualberta.ca/professional-development

Professional development for rehab and health-care professionals The Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine is a pioneer among Canada’s post-secondary institutions for its innovative programming and commitment to lifelong learning for health-care professionals.

Not only were we the first university to offer completely online credit programs, we lead post-secondary institutions by offering the widest variety of professional development opportunities for Canadian healthcare professionals.

Our Continuing Professional Education (CPE) programs range from one-hour webinars to full-day workshops to distance-based certificate programs that attract clinicians from across Canada, the U.S. and beyond.

Our program registrants come from a broad range of backgrounds, including physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists, but also physicians, nurses, psychologists, pharmacists, social workers, recreation therapists, chiropractors, graduate students and more.

Responding to demand Our CPE programs had 142 course registrations (July 2013 to August 2014), setting another record for the second straight year.

International impact In July 2014, 34 health sciences students from Al-Jouf University in Saudi Arabia took part in the Health Sciences Visiting International Program. These students, enrolled in medicine, pharmacy, nursing and science, experienced a blend of lectures, hands-on workships and clinical observation over five days. The visit proved such a success, another cohort of students is expected in July 2015.

We continue to work with our partner, Universidad Del Rosario in Bogota, Colombia, to deliver the Pain Certificate in Spanish for clinicians and students across South America.

Our faculty developed a new online course, Physiotherapy Practice In Canada, that was scheduled to launch in fall 2014. This course fulfills national credential requirements by providing internationally educated physiotherapists a broad overview of the practice of physiotherapy within the context of the Canadian health-care system.

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Professional development Letters of certification In spring 2014, the university approved the use of letters to designate completion in our certificate programs in Pain Management (PgCPain) and Stroke Rehabilitation (PgCStroke).

Workshops and webcasts In addition to graduate certificate programs, we offered numerous workshops and webinars in high priority areas related to rehabilitation. In February 2014, we launched a series of new on-demand webcasts available for purchase on the FRM website. The easily accessible webcast format enables health professionals from across Canada to learn from top educators in each respective field when and where they want via smartphone, tablet or computer.

142

Clinicians enrolled in our CPE courses

(July 2013 to August 2014)

40

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12

10

Physical therapists completed online Diagnostic Imaging in Physical Therapy

Clinicians graduated from the Stroke Rehab Certificate

Clinicians graduated from our certificate programs (Spring 2014)

Clinicians graduated from the Pain Certificate

1ST EVER COHORT in Stroke Rehab Certificate

Our newest full-day workshop, Sports Medicine 101, gave physicians, physical therapists and other health professionals an opportunity to enhance their knowledge and skills from top experts at the Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic.

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ALUMNI FEATURE

Life is a circus Physical Therapy alumnus takes his skills on the road for 14-year globe-hopping adventure as a physiotherapist for Cirque du Soleil.

Bryan Alary The ink was barely dry on his physical therapy degree when Gerald Gosselin decided he needed a way to put his skills to use and see the world at the same time.

So he did the most obvious thing, and joined a circus.

Gosselin, ‘99 MScPT, had been working in a sports medicine clinic pondering his future when he saw a job posting for a physiotherapist with the grand spectacle of travelling circuses, Cirque du Soleil. He’d never seen a show and knew nothing about the circus arts, but applied anyway. Two weeks later, he was backstage in Montreal, marvelling at the extravaganza and finding himself face-to-face with artists in full makeup, giant wigs and feathered bird costumes who wanted to know why their knee clicked a certain way.

“I couldn’t take anybody seriously,” Gosselin remembers. “I had a big smile on my face, not just for the

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amazement of actually being there, thinking, is this really happening? Is this reality? It was really surreal.”

After a brief orientation in Québec, Gosselin jetted across the world to Auckland, New Zealand, one of two physiotherapists charged with overseeing the musculoskeletal health of the 50 to 70 artists on a tour of about 150 total staffers.

“It’s a huge operation,” says Gosselin. On any given day in the performers tent he’d hear a dozen or more languages, reflective of the blend of cultures, backgrounds and demographics that are part of a successful show.

“It’s a real cross-cultural mix of people, a microcosm of society.”

Working with high-performance athletes

The family circus

Day-to-day, Gosselin maintained a travelling physiotherapy clinic, treated injured artists, scheduled their medical appointments and tests, and worked with the stage manager to determine who was in and out of the performance lineup due to injury.

When Gosselin joined Cirque at the age of 25, he didn’t expect to be on the road long, maybe a year. But one year stretched to two and then three and before you know it, 14 years passed and he’d travelled to every continent on the globe except Antarctica.

The artists he worked with were “phenomenal athletes,” Gosselin says, many of them former Olympians and champion gymnasts from eastern Europe. Some had spent decades training in specific ways, and as a result had their own views on how to best prepare, says Kosta Zakharenko, a former World Championship silver medallist in acrobatic gymnastics who spent 10 years touring with Cirque.

In that span, Gosselin married a Cirque colleague, acupuncturist Yoko Masuda, and they had two children, Mio and Hana.

“I hadn’t heard of pilates before Gerald, and at first didn’t like it because they made me do all the work.

I just wanted to lie down and let them fix me,” he laughs. “That was a learning curve for everybody.”

But Gosselin’s professionalism and expertise quickly won over Zakharenko, and the two became good friends. Gosselin’s thoroughness helped him not only recover physically from injury, but mentally as well.

“He would spend time with me and explain exactly what injury I had, why it happened, what types of exercises I needed, what routines I could still do,” Zakharenko says. “If it hurts, you’re afraid to do anything and make it worse, so the extra time was definitely helpful.”

On a Cirque tour, where artists are performing the same movement 10 shows a week plus training time, injuries are unavoidable, says Gosselin, equating the physical toll of repetition to working on an assembly line.

“When you’re doing the same movements over and over again, you end up with muscle imbalances and that can lead to chronic injuries.”

The family continued on the road for four years, with the girls getting to enjoy all the usual things kids do, such as music or ballet lessons, but did them in places like Vienna or wherever their schedule allowed.

“Once you get into it, you don’t think about not having a base. Your base is where you are,” Gosselin explains.

As the kids grew older and approached school age, the family decided it was time for a change. In September 2014 they moved to Edmonton, Gosselin’s hometown, where Masuda has set up a clinic and the children are enrolled in school.

Gosselin hasn’t decided his next move. A recent 15-year reunion with his U of A classmates brought together colleagues working in a variety of roles and locations—private clinics, small towns, as administrators, hospital staff—only reinforcing that his options abound.

For now, Gosselin is acclimatizing to being in one place and enjoying Edmonton’s newfound energy and vibe.

One thing is certain, the family will travel again. Moving all the time came with a rhythm, like a “season change,” and it’s only a matter of time before they get that ‘I need to move feeling,’ he says.

“Three months back and already I’m feeling that.”

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INSTITUTES & CENTRES

Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic glensatherclinic.ualberta.ca

The Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic at the University of Alberta is one of Canada’s leading multidisciplinary clinics serving the needs of active people with musculoskeletal, sport and exercise-related concerns.

Everyone from novice runners to weekend warriors to high-performance athletes can access our services and receive treatment from physicians, surgeons, physical therapists, kinesiologists, massage therapists, orthotists and nurses. Having all this expertise under one roof is not only convenient for patients, it ensures the best possible care from an initial assessment and diagnosis through to treatment and rehabilitation.

The Glen Sather is a teaching clinic for students, learners and clinicians from the faculties of Rehabilitation Medicine, Physical Education & Recreation and Medicine & Dentistry. The research mandate of the clinic is to advance knowledge in ambulatory musculoskeletal, sport and exercise medicine and rehabilitation outcomes-based research.

The Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic is one of Canada’s top multidisciplinary clinics serving the needs of active people with musculoskeletal, sports and exercise-related concerns.

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Institute for Stuttering Treatment and Research istar.ualberta.ca

The Institute for Stuttering Treatment and Research (ISTAR) is one of the world’s leading centres that specializes in the treatment and research of stuttering, a communication disorder that affects an estimated 30,000 Albertans and 290,000 Canadians.

In 2013-14, ISTAR’s staff of highly skilled and specialized speech-language pathologists helped 419 children, teens and adults from around the world—life-changing treatment that not only helped people improve their speech but speak with increased confidence. Our researchers also continued their work to advance our understanding of the role of genetics, brain development and motor learning in stuttering.

As a not-for-profit clinic, ISTAR’s offices in Edmonton and Calgary could not exist without the generous support of our community partners, who helped raise more than $280,000 to ensure our innovative speech therapy programs are available to everyone who needs it—regardless of their ability to pay or where in Alberta they live.

Distance treatment from anywhere: A partnership between ISTAR and TELUS Edmonton Community Foundation allows clients like 11-year-old Connor Franklin to receive speech and language treatment without having to travel to ISTAR’s offices in Edmonton or Calgary.

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RESEARCH

Research Chairs Focused, world-class research is one of our cornerstones in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine. Our research chairs are leading the way with their efforts to improve our understanding of low-back pain, spinal function, bone and joint injuries, and health issues affecting military personnel, veterans and Canadians as a whole.

Ibolja Cernak, PhD Chair in Military and Veterans’ Clinical Rehabilitation Q: What is your area of research?

Q: Tell us what you’ve been up to in the last year.

My research includes both clinical and experimental components, and focuses on:

We continued our long-term study that measures resilience, both mental and cognitive, in military and veteran populations at multiple time points, in different operational environments to identify those who are at risk from PTSD and other mental health impairments, or are experiencing consequences of multiple concussions or blast exposures. This study, which is unique in the world, already provides valuable information about the effects of military operational stressors on the soldiers’ mental health and the data will be used to develop a predictive system and a customized program for individuals at risk.

• Military resilience as it relates to operational readiness and maintaining optimal health • Mental health impairments due to military service • Traumatic brain injury acquired in military operational environment Q: Why is this work important?

These research directions address the most pressing health problems facing Canadian Armed Forces personnel and veterans. Of the total active service and veteran population, an estimated 10 to 30 per cent of the members deployed will develop stress injuries, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or major depressive disorder, or will suffer from concussion / blast-induced traumatic brain injury (TBI). These types of injuries have historically proven difficult to detect and treat, and their diagnoses often come with negative social stigmas.

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Q: What is the next big research challenge you hope to address?

Mental health impairments such as PTSD often develop in parallel with blast-induced concussion.

Diagnosing and treating such a complex condition is extremely challenging. Our experimental and clinical studies, using state-of-the-art research technology such as magnetic resonance imaging and whole-body microscopy, address some of the essential mechanisms underlying chronic degenerative consequences of blast exposures.

Greg Kawchuk, PhD Canada Research Chair in Spinal Function

Jacqueline Hebert, MD Associate Research Chair in Clinical Rehabilitation

Q: What is your area of research?

Q: What is your area of research?

A: My research interest is to find the best way to measure how well someone’s back is working. We have so many ways to do this for different organ systems like the heart, but when it comes to the back, we have yet to find the perfect ‘ruler.’

My work focuses on making bionic arms a reality by improving the use of advanced prosthetic devices following limb amputation. What we’re trying to do, basically, is make bionic limbs that can feel.

Q: Why is this work important?

Q: Why is this work important?

If you can’t measure how the spine is working, how do you know when—or if—to intervene? Putting a number on spinal function gives us the chance to determine if various therapies improve back problems, and by how much.

Improving upper limb function is the biggest challenge in limb loss so our work has the potential to enhance quality of life. We also hope our work will translate to improved lower-limb function, and all levels of limb loss. Our experiences with patients teach us a lot about how the brain and body recover after amputation.

Q: Tell us what you’ve been up to in the last year.

Q: Tell us what you have been up to in the last year.

This has been a year of collaboration with several international groups interested in the same questions.

By sharing resources and pooling strengths, we have a much better chance of succeeding.

I have been working mainly on our National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to integrate physiologically relevant joint position feedback into prosthetic limbs.

We have a major article submission in progress that we are very excited about, as it’s a major breakthrough that we are very proud of.

Q: What is the next big research challenge you hope to address?

Personalized health care to address musculoskeletal problems of the spine. Right now, we tend to treat back problems using a herd mentality—if it’s good for one person with back pain, it’s good for everyone.

In reality though, not every treatment is effective for every person. Unfortunately, we don’t yet know how to match the most appropriate treatment to the patient standing in front of us. Our next big research challenge is to get the right care to the right patient at the right time.

Q: What is the next big research challenge you hope to address?

2015 will be a very exciting year for us. New funding from True Patriot Love will allow us to develop better approaches to using the advanced prosthetic technology that we possess. We hope this will allow us to take a leap forward in how prosthetic devices are assessed and used for individual patients.

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RESEARCH

Q: Tell us what you’ve been up to in the last year.

Michele Crites Battié, PhD Canada Research Chair in Common Spinal Disorders Q: What is your area of research?

My primary clinical and research interests have been in common low-back pain problems and their underlying conditions and mitigating factors. My focus has been on factors influencing the occurrence, progression and outcomes of common, painful conditions of the lower back. I hope that by improving our understanding in this area we can find more rational, effective prevention and treatment approaches and well-founded health policy.

Q: Why is this work important?

Low-back pain is among the most common of all musculoskeletal health problems and currently has the dubious distinction of being the leading cause of days living with disability, globally.

Over the past year my research has examined genetic, behavioural and environmental factors associated with degenerative changes of the lumbar spine, including the intervertebral disc, vertebra, endplate and paraspinal muscle, and their links to back symptoms. My group also completed a study of the heritability of lumbar spinal stenosis. This is the first study to estimate the magnitude of genetic influences on this common spinal condition in older adults, revealing that it is a highly genetic condition.

Q: What is the next big research challenge you hope to address?

I am sitting on a mountain of data from several longitudinal studies that have recently come to completion and I need to dedicate time to analyses and disseminating our findings. These studies have been in the works for many years, including a 15-year follow-up of the development and risk factors of lumbar spine degeneration and symptoms, and a five-year follow-up study of prognostic factors for lumbar spinal stenosis outcomes of pain, disability and health-related quality of life.

Faculty-level research Our faculty-level appointees—Kim Adams, David Bennett, Ibolja Cernak and Karim Fouad—continue to make outstanding contributions through their scholarly pursuits and research publications. Their efforts have a direct impact on the health and well-being of Albertans and pushing the boundaries of knowledge.

Kim Adams, PhD, continues to mentor children through her involvement in the First LEGO League and helping them discover how robots can address some of our most important health challenges. This is the perfect complement to her research using technology

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to help children with special needs learn and play, including new projects awarded funding from CIHR/ NSERC and the Glenrose Research Foundation.

Dave Bennett, PhD was successful in his application to CIHR to further his work into understanding changes that occur in neurons below a spinal cord injury to help enhance recovery of motor function. Bennett was also successful in his co-application to the United States Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

Karim Fouad, PhD, continues his efforts to study the mechanisms of recovery and neuroplasticity after

Linda Woodhouse, PhD Dr. David Magee Endowed Chair in Musculoskeletal Clinical Research Q: What is your area of research?

As a research-clinician with over 20 years experience in clinical trials and translational research, my research has focused on measuring physical function in individuals with musculoskeletal disorders (predominantly osteoarthritis and low-back pain), endocrine disorders and cachexia. More recently, my focus has shifted towards developing and evaluating innovative models of integrated, interprofessional, musculoskeletal care for the province of Alberta.

Q: Why is this work important?

Alberta currently spends 48 per cent of its provincial budget on health care. This rate of spending is unsustainable. The cost of clinical care, especially for musculoskeletal health problems, continues to rise as Canada’s population ages. However, the increased costs are not entirely due to increased demand for service. There is an opportunity to improve the healthcare system, using evidence-based practice and practice-based evidence to improve efficiencies, cost and

patient outcomes. The work I am involved with now is fully integrated into Alberta’s health-care system which serves just under four million people.

Q: Tell us what you’ve been up to in the last year.

As scientific director of the Bone and Joint Health Strategic Clinical Network, we secured $1.5 million from Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Health System (PRIHS). One of the grants, SpineAccess Alberta (co-investigators are Leah Phillips and Greg Kawchuk) involves a team of more than 70 people focused on providing early access to multidisciplinary team-based care with an objective of significantly improving quality outcomes. The other grant, Optimizing Centralized Intake to Improve Arthritis Care for Albertans (with co-investigator Deborah Marshall), will allow us to identify, implement and evaluate the optimal system for Albertans who suffer from osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Q: What is the next big research challenge you hope to address?

Projects such as those described above can help us create the structure to answer whether a particular system provides patients with faster access, better quality of care and are more cost-effective to manage this way. Making a difference for each patient means getting them the right provider, at the right time, for the right care, as fast as we possibly can.

AT A

GLANCE

spinal cord injury, and was successful in a co-application to CIHR and an award from the Alberta Paraplegic Foundation.

Ibolja Cernak, PhD, Chair in Military and Veterans’ Clinical Rehabilitation, continues to focus on the care and welfare of soldiers and veterans. She is leading efforts to create the Centre for Traumatic Brain Injury and Military Research at the U of A, which when complete will be the first of its kind in Canada and help advance our understanding of blast-induced brain injuries.

Academic Year 2013-14

$3,021,475

New research grants

12

Peer-reviewed articles published or in-press

7

Peer-reviewed abstracts 31

RETIREMENTS

Calling it a career Former dean, assistant dean and several faculty and staff retire after decades of work that advanced rehabilitation teaching, learning and research.

Al Cook, professor

(dean from 1994-2007) Al Cook barely knew his big sister Elizabeth, sent away from the family home in Colorado for being born “an idiot.” That’s how people with intellectual disabilities were labelled in the 1930s, when marginalization and institutionalization were the standard in care.

By the time Elizabeth turned 12, she was incarcerated as an inmate in the State Home and Training School for Mental Defectives.

“At the time, the only way people with intellectual disabilities were handled, the only way families could deal with them was institutionalization. There were no resources or help in the community,” Cook remembers.

In 1968, Cook’s son Brian was born with what was then called mental retardation. Attitudes about disabilities had advanced since Elizabeth was born, but only to a certain point. When his wife Nancy went for a postnatal checkup, her doctor blamed her for Brian’s condition.

“There was no medical diagnosis of what went wrong,” Cook remembers.

Brian’s arrival not only affected life at home but Cook’s career decisions as a young biomedical engineer interested in the neurosciences.

“I realized there were technologies that could be used to help people with disabilities. That’s what got me into rehab in the first place, and assistive technologies,” he said.

While at California State University in Sacramento, Cook began collaborating with a speech-language pathologist, using technology to help people with disabilities communicate. Those collaborations later expanded to include a psychologist and Cook went on to serve as co-director of the Assistive Device Center in Sacramento.

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Brian and Al Cook share a moment in May 2008.

In the early 1980s, the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital hired Cook as a consultant to evaluate possible services in assistive technology—efforts that led to the creation of the I Can Centre in 1983. Those interactions later influenced him to apply for the dean’s position in Rehab Med. As dean, Cook led the faculty through the difficult and politically sensitive transition from offering undergraduate degrees to graduate programs. His tenure also coincided with an increase in funding that allowed the faculty to expand its recruitment and research focus.

Cook also served in a variety of senior leadership roles on campus, including chair of the Health Sciences Council, but through it all continued to focus on his research and using robots to help children with disabilities learn and engage in play.

Since retiring and relocating to California, Cook has used his newfound time to focus on writing a new book about how views of intellectual disability changed during Elizabeth’s and Brian’s lifetimes, from the eugenics movement to Nazism to a 1940s speech delivered to the American Psychiatric Association that called for the killing of all disabled children under five.

“Looking at differences in Brian’s life and Elizabeth’s life is reassuring that we can make progress,” says Cook, but adds we have a long, long way to go.

And although he’s now removed from campus, the U of A remains close to his heart.

“I love the U of A. That was probably the most rewarding 20 years of my life. It’s an amazing institution and I’m very proud of the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine. It’s a remarkable place where really good things happen.”

Yagesh Bhambhani, OT professor Yagesh Bhambhani has been with Rehab Med since 1986 and has been a full-time professor since 1997. His research focused primarily on the acute and chronic physiological responses to different modes of exercise in healthy subjects and individuals with chronic disabilities. He will miss interacting with faculty from all three departments and the challenging questions posed by his students in the classroom. In retirement, he looks forward to travelling internationally, playing lots of tennis and keeping physically fit.

Masako Miyazaki, OT associate professor Masako Miyazaki has been at the U of A since 1977.

During her time at Rehab Med, her work focused on the research and development of wireless wearable physiological monitors. The things she’ll miss most about the faculty are the bright minds and great humour of people she got to work with. Though Miyazaki has retired, she’s not sure if she’ll ever “retire”— this part of her life is just a change in speed and focus.

Johanna Darrah, PT professor

Phyllis Schneider, CSD professor

Johanna Darrah first began as a graduate student at the U of A in 1987 and has been a faculty member since 1997. Her research revolved around three broad topics: typical infant gross motor development; rehabilitation issues for children with motor disabilities and their families; and the transition to adulthood for children and youth with motor disabilities. Above all else, she will miss the people at Corbett Hall when she leaves but looks forward to “living more mindfully” in retirement.

Phyllis Schneider has been with been at the U of A for 25 years where her work focused on children’s storytelling abilities. Though she will miss the faculty, students and staff, she looks forward to having the time to embark on new adventures, including travel and volunteering.

Carol Ebert, administration

Katherine Shuttle, administration

Carol Ebert got her start at the U of A in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry in 1975, but we remember her most for her administrative contributions to Rehab Med. Though she will miss all the staff at Corbett Hall, especially her colleagues in the dean’s office, she’s looking forward to being on island time—literally! Ebert and her husband moved to Vancouver Island the day after she finished work.

Katherine Shuttle has worked in the administration field for various faculties at the U of A since 1984 and has been with the Department of Occupational Therapy since 2001. She will miss working in a beautiful building surrounded by people with beautiful spirits the most.

Shuttle loves the energy that surrounds the U of A, and Corbett Hall in particular.

Joyce Magill-Evans, OT professor

Anita Yates, assistant dean

Joyce Magill-Evans was a full-time academic staff member for 25 years, during which time her work focused on children and their families. She also mentored undergraduate and graduate students as they prepared to make a difference in the lives of their clients.

Magill-Evans jokes she’ll miss marking and meetings, but really, she will truly miss working with an amazing interdisciplinary group of colleagues. In the next phase of her life, she looks forward to focusing on the needs of her family while determining how best to use her skills and passions.

Anita Yates’s career with Rehab Med spanned 42 years in a variety of administrative roles. Her most recent work as assistant dean focused on balancing the budget, exploring new initiatives, and day-to-day operations. She will miss the great people here and the beautiful Corbett Hall building, but will enjoy her free time running, cycling, swimming and doing yoga. She’s also excited to spend more time with family, travelling (especially to warmer climates in the winter) and cooking.

Thank you for all your contributions to the faculty over the years!

Enjoy your well-deserved retirement!

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INSTITUTES & CENTRES

Rehabilitation Research Centre rehabilitation.ualberta.ca/rrc

The Rehabilitation Research Centre (RRC) specializes in supporting and undertaking health-related research both on and off campus, covering a wide range of topics. In addition to student and faculty researchers at the U of A, our external clients represent industries such as health care, rehabilitation, biomedical engineering, government, pharmaceutical science, construction and transportation.

RRC is comprised of experts including quantitative and qualitative research associates, project-specific research affiliates and representatives from the faculty, and together they ensure that the best methodological and analytical strategies are carried out on any given project.

The RRC prepared a new workforce planning report for Alberta that identifies a need for an internationally educated physical therapists training program to address an emerging skills shortage that’s facing the province.

Smoothing the road to recovery for cancer survivors Jana Rieger, a speech-language pathologist in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, was awarded $1.9 million from the Alberta Cancer Foundation to help improve the quality of life of head and neck cancer survivors. The five-year project was selected out of a pool of 12 applicant teams.

After life-saving treatment, patients require reconstructive surgery to restore their appearance and essential functions such as the ability to speak, chew and swallow food. Swallowing impairments often lead to nutritional deficiencies or tube-feeding dependencies and rehab for these patients can include countless hours and trips to clinics for assessments.

Speech-language pathologist Jana Rieger is exploring how technology can improve the quality of life of head and neck cancer survivors with swallowing impairments.

Rieger will be testing a technology that can be used remotely and comfortably in a patient’s home and utilizes an adhesive sensor applied under the jaw to send patient data to health-care professionals, anywhere in the province. This will allow patients to be more independent during and after treatment, while still receiving the care they need.

“It’s an important conversation about whether we’ve done enough for the survivors of head and neck defects and the medical community has really embraced the new mission of doing more,” says Rieger, research director at the Institute for Reconstructive Sciences in Medicine (iRSM). “Of course the first focus will always be a cure. But now we all understand that’s just the start. After their treatment, after they survive, we must do our best to give patients back as much of their lives as possible.”

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(With files from the Alberta Cancer Foundation)

CLINICAL

PLACEMENTS

Communication Sciences and Disorders (formerly known as Speech Pathology and Audiology)

355 Student Clinical Placements at: Alberta Children’s Hospital Alexandra Marine and General Hospital Autism Association of Western Australia BC Family Hearing Resource Society Calgary Board of Education Centennial Centre for Mental Health & Brain Injury Central Okanagan School District Centre for Child Development (Langley) Chinook Regional Hospital Community Health - Central Community Accessible Rehabilitation Community Health - Calgary Community Health Services Community Health Services-Public Health Community Rehabilitation Services Conseil scolaire Centre-Nord Corbett Hall Early Education Program (CHEEP) Cowichan Valley School District Dr. Vernon Fanning Centre Deer Lodge Centre Durham District School Board Edmonton Catholic Schools Edmonton Public Schools Elk Island Public Schools Fawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Institute (Kuwait)

Foothills Medical Centre Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Grande Prairie Public Schools Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools Greater Victoria School District Grey Nuns Community Hospital & Health Centre Health Care Corporation of St. John’s Health Sciences Centre Hillmorton High School (New Zealand) Interior Health Authority - Community Health Services Institute for Stuttering Treatment and Research Kamloops/Thompson School District Kelowna General Hospital Kinsmen Children’s Centre Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital Langley School District Leduc Community Hospital & Health Centre Medicine Hat Regional Hospital Misericordia Community Health Centre Northumberland Hills Hospital Northwest School Division Okanagan Skaha School District Parkland School Division Peter Lougheed Centre Prairie Spirit School Division

Providence Child Development Society Queen Elizabeth II Hospital Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre Renfrew Educational Services Richmond Road Diagnostic Riverview Health Centre Rockyview General Hospital Royal Alexandra Hospital Royal Inland Hospital Royal University Hospital Royal Victoria Hospital Rural Centres - Calgary St. James Assiniboia School Division SHARE Speech & Language Therapy Saskatoon City Hospital Saskatoon Public Schools Seven Oaks School Division Sheldon Chumir Centre Speech Language Pathology Services in Seniors Health South Health Campus Sunrise Health Authority Two Hills Health Centre University Of Alberta Hospital Winnipeg Regional Health Authority

Special thanks to our alumni and clinics who've hosted clinical placements for our students!

35

Physical Therapy

670 Student Clinical Placements at:

Abbotsford Regional Hospital Active Body Centre, New Zealand Active Physio Works - Dynamic Active Physio Works - Kensington Active Physio Works - St. Albert Alberta Children’s Hospital Alberta Hospital Edmonton Alberta Physical Therapy Clinic Allied Health Association for the Rehabilitation of the Brain Injured Beaumont Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Clinic Bonnyville Health Centre Bowden Physiotherapy & Gym Brooks Health Centre Calgary Sports Therapy Camrose Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Clinic Canmore General Hospital CapitalCare, Dickensfield CapitalCare, Grandview CapitalCare, Norwood CapitalCare, Strathcona Care Centre Capital Health Centre P.C, NB CBI - Burnewood Physical Therapy CBI - Calgary Central CBI - Calgary Foothills Industrial CBI - Calgary North East CBI - Calgary South CBI - Edmonton NW CBI - Edmonton SE CBI - Erindale CBI - Hospital Side-Red Deer CBI - Medicine Hat CBI - Red Deer CBI - ReMed Centennial Centre for Mental Health & Brain Injury Child Development Centre Chinook Regional Hospital Clearwater Physiotherapy Cold Lake Healthcare Centre Community Accessible Rehabilitation Central Community Accessible Rehabilitation North Community Accessible Rehabilitation South Community Health, Camrose Community Health Centres - Calgary Community Health Centres - Red Deer Community Neurorehab Services Community Rehabilitation Interdisciplinary Services, Edmonton Cooper Physiotherapy Clinic Coronation Physiotherapy Cross Cancer Institute CSA Physiotherapy Cura Physical Therapies Daysland Community Health Centre Didsbury District Health Services Diverse Sports Physical Therapy

36

Dr. Vernon Fanning Centre Drayton Valley Hospital and Care Centre Edgeworth Centre Edmonton Musculoskeletal Centre Edmonton Public Schools Empower Physical Rehabilitation Excel Physical Therapy Fawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Institute, Kuwait Ft. Saskatchewan Community Hospital GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Grande Cache Community Health Complex Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, Grande Prairie Grey Nuns Community Hospital HealthPointe Rehabilitation & Sport Therapy High River Health Services Hinton Healthcare Centre Home Care Seniors Centre - Calgary Region Home Living Program, Edmonton Innisfail Health Centre Inuvik Regional Hospital, NWT Jasper Physiotherapy and Health Centre Kinsmen Sports Centre Physical Therapy Clinic Lacombe Hospital Care Centre Lacombe Physiotherapy Clinic Lamont Health Care Centre Lifemark - Academy Place Lifemark - Athabasca Centre Lifemark - Chestermere Lifemark - Genesis Place Lifemark - Heritage Hill Lifemark - Institute Lifemark - Kingsway Lifemark - Lake Beaumaris Lifemark - Max Bell Arena Lifemark - Mayor Magrath Lifemark - Millwoods Lifemark - Mira Health Centre Lifemark - Quarry Park Lifemark - Southland Leisure Centre Lifemark - Springborough Lifemark - SpringHill Sport Physiotherapy Lifemark - Stony Plain Lifemark - Sunpark Plaza Lifemark - Sunridge Way Lifemark - Talisman Centre Lifemark - Village Square Mall Lifemark - Willow Brook Mayerthorpe Healthcare Centre Medicine Hat Regional Hospital Misericordia Community Health Centre Momentum Health Physiotherapy Northern Lights Regional Health Centre Nose Creek Sport Physical Therapy Oilfields General Hospital Orion Health Panther Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation Centres

Partners in Rehab Peace River Community Health Centre Peak Physical Therapy Peter Lougheed Centre Pincher Creek Health Centre Pindara Physiotherapy Sports Medicine, Australia Pivotal Physiotherapy, Edmonton Pivotal Physiotherapy, Ft. Saskatchewan Ponoka Hospital and Care Centre Prairieview Physiotherapy Provost Health Centre PT Health - Advantage Aspen PT Health - Advantage Corporate Sport PT Health - Advantage Royal Oak PT Health - Market Mall PT Health - Maximum Potential Physiotherapy Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre Rehabilitation & Rheumatology Hospital, Sri Lanka Rocky Mountain Rehab & Sports Medicine Clinic Rockyview General Hospital Royal Alexandra Hospital Royal Columbian Hospital Seton Jasper Healthcare Centre Shaunavon Hospital & Care Centre Sheldon Chumir Centre Sherwood Care Silverado Sport Physiotherapy Slave Lake Healthcare Centre St. Boniface Hospital St. Mary’s Hospital Stan Cassidy Centre for Rehabilitation Stanton Territorial Hospital Sturgeon Community Hospital Summerside Children’s Sport and Physiotherapy Sundre Hospital and Care Centre Supportive Living, Calgary Supportive Living, Edmonton Surakarta Health Polytechnic, Indonesia Tamarack Physical Therapy Two Hills Health Centre University of Alberta - Corbett Clinic University of Alberta - Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic University of Alberta Hospital Vermilion Health Centre Vulcan Community Health centre Wascana Rehabilitation Centre West End Physiotherapy Westlock Healthcare Centre Westview Health Centre Wetaskiwin Hospital and Care Centre Whitecourt Healthcare Centre WCB Alberta - Millard Health Rehabilitation Centre

CLINICAL

Occupational Therapy

PLACEMENTS

560 Student Clinical Placements at:

Alberta Children’s Hospital Alberta Hospital Edmonton Acquired Brain Injury Edmonton Mental Health and Addictions Calgary Mental Health and Addictions Edmonton Alberta Health Services Psychiatric Consulting Services Anusarnsunthorn School, Thailand Armadale-Kelmscott Memorial Hospital, Australia Arthritis Society Alberta & NWT Assertive Community Treatment Team Autism Services Mental Health Centre Banff - Mineral Springs Hospital Battlefords Union Hospital Foundation Beverly Centre Lake Midnapore Bethany Calgary Bethany CollegeSide Boyle Street Community Services Buffalo Trail Public Schools Burnaby Hospital Camp Winston Campbell River Hospital Extendicare Eaux Claires Extendicare Hillcrest Extendicare Leduc F.A.C.T. Services Fanning Continuing Care Father Lacombe Continuing Care Fawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Institute, Kuwait Foothills Medical Centre Function 1st Pediatrics George Spady Centre GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Good Samaritan Southgate Care Centre Good Samaritan - Dr. Gerald Zetter Care Centre CapitalCare Grandview Camrose Home Care Cape Breton Regional Hospital Cariboo Memorial Hospital CASA House CBI Health Group Canadian Armed Forces Canadian Mental Health Association CapitalCare Dickensfield CapitalCare Lynnwood CapitalCare Norwood CapitalCare Strathcona Campus Carewest Sarcee Continuing Care Centennial Centre for Mental Health & Brain Injury Child and Adolescent Addiction and Mental Health Chilliwack Home Health Chilliwack General Hospital Chinook Regional Hospital Chinook School Division Citadel Care Centre Community Accessible Rehabilitation

Community Integrated Health Services Community Rehabilitation Services Community Services - Saskatoon Community Services Southern Alberta Cross Cancer Institute Daysland Health Centre Dianne & Irving Kipnes Centre for Veterans Edmonton Public Schools Greater Niagara General Hospital Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools Grey Nuns Community Hospital High River General Hospital Highland Hospice, Scotland HIV Community Link Calgary HIV Edmonton Hlutverkasetur, Iceland Home Care Calgary Home Care Drayton Valley Home Care Olds HomeLiving Edmonton Huoy Pong School, Thailand Inverurie Hospital, Scotland Kelowna General Hospital Kelsey Trail Health Region Khmer Child Foundation, Cambodia Kinsmen Children’s Centre Ladysmith Community Health Centre Leduc Community Health Centre LifeMark Health - Calgary LifeMark Health - Edmonton Lurana Shelter Society Mary Pack Arthritis Centre Medicine Hat Regional Hospital Millwoods Care Centre Misericordia Community Hospital Moose Jaw Hospital Mount St. Joseph Hospital Mustard Seed Calgary Nanaimo Regional General Hospital Napa State Hospital, California New Heights School & Learning Services Nipawin Hospital Northern Alberta Regional Health Services Northern Lights Regional Health Centre Northwest School Division Olds Hospital and Care Centre Orion Health OT 4 Kids The Ottawa Hospital Parkridge Centre Special Care Home Pasqua Hospital Peace River Community Health Centre Peter Lougheed Centre Ponoka Hospital and Care Centre Population Health - Alberta Health Services Prairie Spirit School Division Prairie Valley School Division Providence Children’s Centre Providence Renewal Centre Queen Elizabeth II Hospital Ranch Ehrlo Society Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre

Regina General Hospital Regional Psychiatric Centre Rehab and Retreat Renfrew Educational Services Ridge Meadows Hospital Rockyview General Hospital Rosetown & District Primary Health Centre Royal Alexandra Hospital Royal Columbian Hospital Royal Jubilee Hospital Royal University Hospital Rural Community Therapies Sensational Kids Seven Oaks General Hospital Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre Shellbrook Health Centre Sherbrooke Community Centre Sherbrook Health Centre Simply OT Saskatchewan Community Health Services Saskatchewan Mental Health Services Saskatchewan Regional Home Care Saskatoon City Hospital Schizophrenia Society of Alberta Seniors Association of Greater Edmonton Sky Pediatric Therapy, California South Calgary Health Campus St. Joseph’s Hospital of Estevan St. Mary’s Hospital St. Michael’s Hospital St. Paul’s Hospital St. Joseph’s Health Centre St. Therese - St. Paul Healthcare Centre Sturgeon Community Hospital Sturgeon School Division Supportive Living Edmonton Surakarta Health Polytechnic, Indonesia Surrey Mental Health Tatagwa View Health Centre Theraplay Tofield Health Centre Toronto Rehab Touchmark at Wedgewood Universidad del Rosario, Colombia University of Alberta Hospital Vancouver General Hospital Vancouver Island Home and Community Care Vegreville Care Centre Vermilion Hospital Vernon Hospital Victoria Hospital Wascana Centre Westlock Continuing Care Centre Westlock Healthcare Centre WestView Health Centre Wetaskiwin Hospital and Care Centre Wing Kei Care Centre Workers’ Compensation Board - Alberta Yorkton District Health Centre

37

AT A GLANCE 2013-2014

100

Alumni enjoyed a chance to catch up and reconnect during Alumni Weekend. We eagerly look forward to seeing many more familiar faces during this during Alumni Weekend 2015, Sept. 24-27.

315%

The Institute for Stuttering Treatment and Research (ISTAR) saw a 315% increase in distance speech and language treatment since the purchase of new polycom equipment two years ago.

The purchase was made possible thanks to a $20,000 grant from the TELUS Edmonton Community Foundation.

142

Clinicians enrolled in our Continuing Professional Education courses between July 2013 and August 2014.

Our complement of learning opportunities continues to meet the needs of a range of health professionals.

HOME SWEET HOME

In April 2014, the Government of Alberta provided permanent funding for our satellite occupational therapy and physical therapy sites in Calgary and Camrose.

3

Karen Pollock was reappointed chair of CSD for a third term.

OLYMPIC DEBUT

AlumnusTyson Plesuk, MScPT ‘07, served the medical lead and head physiotherapist of the Canadian Skeleton team at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.

14

Students completed the inaugural year of the Alberta Internationally Educated Physiotherapists Bridging Program. This program gives students the educational and clinical experiences they need to practise in Canada.

34

Students from medicine, pharmacy, nursing and science at Al-Jouf University in Al-Jawf, Saudi Arabia, spent six weeks learning about issues such as managing pain, stroke rehabilitation and spinal cord injury. The visit was part of the Health Sciences Visiting International Program, a pilot offered by University of Alberta International in partnership with Rehab Med and the School of Public Health.

SOCIAL MEDIA

2,089

Likes on the Faculty of Rehab Med’s Facebook page. Our likes increased 47% year-over-year this past academic year.

Visit us at www.facebook.com/UofARehabMedicine

1,611

Followers on Twitter. Follow us at twitter.com/UofARehabMed

TECH INNOVATION Lester Lim of the Rehab Med Technology Group received the University of Alberta Information Technology Leadership Award, which recognizes an individual each year for their leadership or innovation in the adoption of technology, fostering a supportive team environment and possessing a strong record of mentoring.

What will your legacy be?

Your planned gift to the University of Alberta will help a student realize their potential or a researcher make a vital breakthrough. You will build on our long tradition of postsecondary excellence.

Remember the University of Alberta, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine in your will. Make a commitment to the future without a change in your lifestyle today.

To create a legacy gift that keeps on giving, please contact John Voyer by phone at 780-248-5781 or via email at jvoyer@ualberta.ca; or contact Michele Shea at 780-492-2394 or michele.shea@ualberta.ca

giving.ualberta.ca

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