4 June 2016, Pan Pacific Hotel, Vancouver, BC

In 2015 WorkSafeBC’s Hand Therapy Program treated 4141 injured workers. The goal: to provide timely, specialized treatment to help injured workers get back on the job as soon as it is safe to do so.

The program is delivered through our contracted network of 42 hand-therapy clinics around the province. These clinics, staffed by certified hand therapists, provide services to workers who have sustained injuries to the upper extremity, below shoulder level.

Many physicians will admit to experiencing stress and frustration when navigating the health care system on behalf of a patient—a system that we know and work with daily! Now imagine that you are not a trained health care provider and instead you are a family caregiver who is new to the system and administering medications, making multiple appointments, learning new symptoms and signs to watch for, as well as providing basic care for an adult. Then, add to that the distress of watching a loved one with an illness that may rob them of the ability to function physically and cognitively.