AHTA Management Committee

Rosemary is our newly elected President and is the Principal and Director of Sydney Hand Therapy & Rehabilitation as well as Hand Therapy at Hornsby. Rosemary joined the committee because “hand therapy still faces a lack of recognition in the wider medical and insurance community. The problems with orthotic reimbursement with BUPA has brought this to the fore more recently. The AHTA has made great sides in addressing this issue and I hope to follow up and help bring about a positive result for recognition of our hand therapy skills.” Rosemary, a Life member of the AHTA has also just completed her PhD which largely focused on the evaluation of provocative wrist tests and MRI findings for patients with prolonged wrist pain undergoing arthroscopy. The second part of this study focussed on the prognosis and prognostic factors for these patients. Both of these papers are published. The third study which I will have the final followup results in February 2013 is a RCT on ...more

Tracey has been a full member of the AHTA since 1997. She has worked in the public and private sectors, and has recently opened her own private practice – North West Hand Therapy, in suburban Sydney. Tracey joined the AHTA executive committee after serving on the Research and Scholarship Subcommittee for the past four years. She has a strong interest in evidence-based practice and wants to improve member’s access to research to assist in clinical decision making. Tracey has a MSc(Hand & UL Rehab) from Curtin University, and has studied the relationship between sensibility and dexterity following digital nerve injury.

Sarah holds the position of AHTA Administration Manager and has extensive experience in customer service, program management, and administration through her various previous roles. Sarah has an extensive list of achievements. The highlight of Sarah’s career so far was being awarded the Air Officer Commanding Commendation in the Queens New Year’s Honours List 2000 for exemplary performance and outstanding contribution to Royal Air Force Marham in the UK. Preparing individuals for short-notice detachments was crucial to the achievement of operational tasks and demonstrated the highest professional standards in administrative support.

Dave is our new Treasurer in 2013. Dave has worked in the area of Hand and Upper Limb Rehabilitation since graduating from Curtin University in 2006. He has held jobs in both the public and private sector throughout his career. Dave has recently undertaken a full teaching and research role at Curtin University in Hand and Upper Limb Rehabilitation. He is currently completing a Master of Business Administration. Dave hopes that he can bring strong business acumen to the treasurer portfolio to ensure the high quality and strong financial position of the AHTA can continue.

Kirsten graduated as an occupational therapist from James Cook University in 2003 and has worked in hand therapy since 2005 in both Australia and the UK. She completed her Masters in Hand Therapy through Brunel University in 2011. Kirsten works at the Royal Brisbane and Woman’s hospital as the advanced occupational therapist in hand therapy and has a strong interest in complex hand trauma, research and teaching.

Cara has been working in hand therapy since 2003. She began her hand therapy career in the UK, and moved back to Australia in 2008. She currently works at Shoulder2Hand Hand Therapy at the National Capital Private Hospital in Canberra. She graduated from Occupational therapy in 2001. Cara joined the AHTA executive committee after serving on the education portfolio subcommittee as as the deputy education convenor for 2 years. Cara likes the idea of assisting others with their ongoing education needs and developing the ATHA education portfolio. She finds it exciting to see the education opportunities that can be developed as an organisation, drawing on the many skills of our members, and also linking with other orgniastions to expand our education options. Cara has spent time on researching mallet injuries and deQuervain’s tenosynovitis. She had recently started a private practice after have her first baby in 2010. Her special hand therapy interests are the wrist and PIP joints.

Carla works in her own private practice on the gold coast and has had over 20 years experience in the management of hands and upper limb conditions. She graduated from the University of Qld in 1989 and gained her full AHTA membership in 2007.
Carla established Gold Coast Hand Therapy in 2001 and now has 3 clinics throughout the gold coast. Prior to that she was the senior hand therapist at the Gold Coast Hospital.
She is dedicated to the mentoring and ongoing education within Hand Therapy and guest lectures at Southern Cross University. Her passion for hand therapy started in Florida, where she worked for three years and was amazed at the depth of knowledge and clinical skills required to successfully treat hand injuries

Jo O’Sullivan graduated in 1989 and has worked in hand therapy for 17 years. Her current workplace is Toowoomba Hand Therapy. She has also graduated in Masters of Applied Science (Hand and Upper Limb) through Curtin University. She joined the AHTA committee to give back to the profession and to have some input in the future direction of the association. Jo is one of the AHTA membership secretaries. Her interests in hand therapy are predominately in trauma.

Jane has worked in the field of hand and upper limb rehabilitation for 18 years and currently works in her own private practice in Geelong. She recently completed a post graduate certificate in OT from Latrobe University and is contemplating beginning a Master of Public Health, exploring the incidence and prevalence of post partum deQuervain's tendinopathy. Jane has been a part-time lecturer in the School of OT at Deakin University for many years and is committed to providing undergraduate and new graduate learning opportunities in hand therapy. Jane enjoys the variety and complexity of hand injuries and has a particular interest in biomechanics, post partum deQuervain's, PIPJ injuries and anything wrist related! She also enjoys the many challenges of managing a small business. Jane joined the management committee as she wanted to be more involved in the association and is keen to facilitate ongoing communication for members of the AHTA. .

Dion has worked in the area of hand therapy for the past 8 years. He graduated in occupational therapy in 2001 and passed his CHT exam in 2007. He is currently working at the Royal Newcastle Centre but has experience working in a number of hand therapy units in both Sydney and London. Dion joined the management committee as he wanted to become more involved in the AHTA and looks forward helping people access the AHTA’s library and hopefully adding more valuable resources to the collection. His interests in hand therapy are complex trauma, PIPJ injuries and tendon repairs. Dion is nervously contemplating starting his Masters in the next year or two

Cassandra Webb has been an active AHTA member for the last 12 years since graduating from University of Queensland in 2001. Cassandra has worked in both the public and private sector in Australia and the UK. In 2006 she opened her own business, Helping Hands Hand Occupational Therapy, which has clinics in Townsville, Ingham and Ayr. Cassandra has previously held positions in the AHTA Education and Communications Subcommittees, and has contributed significantly to the AHTA social media presence - developing the Facebook, Twitter and LindkedIn pages. Cassandra has previously held board positions in the Townsville Triathlon Club where she most recently held the Vice President position.

Rebecca works at Pacific Hand Therapy in NSW. She is our NSW/ACT Divisional Representative. Rebecca has previously served on committee as the Deputy Marketing/Promotions Officer. Rebecca has 19 years in the specialty of hand therapy, and has undertaken Graduate Diploma in Management and has completed her CHT.

Beth is the Rep for our new NT Division. Beth has more than 20 years hand therapy experience, starting in Sydney but gaining experience in Tasmania, Newcastle NSW and the NT. She now works in her own private practice in Darwin. She loves getting to know more therapists in the AHTA and around Australia and has a passion to enhance communication among remote therapists. Beth sat the CHT exam in 2006 and has recertified since. She enjoys a caseload with variety but loves trauma, something there’s plenty of in the NT. Outside of work, Beth loves dyeing and printing fabrics for quilting and takes every opportunity when visiting family on the coast of NSW to swim in the ocean.

Terra Branton is a Certified Hand Therapist (CHT) who has worked throughout various hand therapy clinics in Canada and the United States. She graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a degree in Occupational Therapy in 1996 and after specialising in upper extremity rehabilitation she become a CHT and full member of the American Society of Hand Therapy in 2002. Terra is the current Queensland Divisional Representative and has joined the committee to help promote the continued development of the profession and to be the voice for Queensland hand therapists. Terra immigrated to Brisbane and joined the EKCO Hand Therapy team in 2009 where she continues to work today.

Kathy has been working in hand therapy since 1983 and has been a full member since 1986. Kathy has her own private practice – Adelaide Hand Therapy and has now decided to come back on to the management committee as our SA Divisional Representative. Kathy was previously on the committee in the 90’s as Secretary/Treasurer and Div Coordinator and so brings to the role a mass of knowledge and skills, which we will utilise, to the maximum! In her spare time Kathy enjoys Gardening, bushwalking, entertaining, reading..

Jen works at Ballarat Hand Therapy in a partnership private practice after spending 10 years in the USA working as a hand therapist and gaining her CHT. She has been in hand therapy for 18+ years but started out as a prosthetist and orthotist so has a special interest in orthotics. Her current focus is on treatment of pain, specifically CRPS and she is about to start a research project that is looking like turning into a Masters by research. On Jen’s agenda in her role as state rep is to try to facilitate regional and remote therapists accessing monthly meetings more easily and strengthening professional links to support more isolated therapists..

I have had six years occupational therapy experience specialising in hand therapy. This has been in Perth in both the public and private sector. I became a full member of the association in 2012. I have a keen interest in research and in March 2012 one of the papers I co wrote was published in the American Journal of Hand Surgery. I have been on maternity leave since June 2012 and thought this position would teach me more about my hand therapy association as well as allow me the opportunity to give back in some capacity. My external interests at present are around my new baby and recalling my child development units as well as fitting in as much cooking, beaching and gardening as possible. .

Therese is sharing the NSW/ACT Divisional Coordinator role with Melanie Forbes. Since graduating as an Occupational Therapist in 2010 from the University of Sydney, Therese has worked full-time in Hand Therapy. She has recently commenced her MSc in Hand Therapy through the University of Derby, and endeavours to complete her CHT once eligible. Therese has joined the AHTA committee to assist in networking with colleagues and increasing professional development. When not at work or studying, Therese is down at the Netball Courts as a previous player and now coach.

Since graduating in 2005, Charlotte moved from Sydney and commenced work with EKCO Occupational Services in the field of occupational rehabilitation, before specialising in hand therapy in 2007. During 2010, Charlotte continued to specialise her hand therapy skills in a private clinical setting in Sydney, before returning to EKCO as the Ipswich Clinic Coordinator in late 2010. In 2011, Charlotte was successful in completing the Hand Therapy Certification Exam and was accepted as a Full Member of the Australian Hand Therapy Association.