Melissa loves being a part of Lifemark’s multidisciplinary clinic team of providers. She knows that not one practitioner can “fix everything”, and a collaborative approach is often required to regain optimal function. However, when it comes to the Hand, Wrist and Elbow she is an extremely passionate expert with 20 years’ experience treating this complex and intricate system that everyone relies on for day to day function.

With her client centered approach at the basis of the Occupational Therapy Models of Practice, Melissa will help you to ensure that you are living the best life that you can. If she identifies other needs than what she can provide, she will direct you to another professional who can. She has an innate ability developed through her experience to listen to your story and ensure that your needs are being met based on your goals.

Melissa has been working for 25 years as an Occupational Therapist starting with 5 years on nearly all the inpatient wards at the St. Boniface hospital developing a varied repertoire of knowledge of multiple medical conditions. This strong foundation was followed by 15 years in the Outpatient Plastic Surgery Program with the latter 10 as the Senior Therapist for the program, specializing in the treatment of acute traumatic and chronic injuries and conditions of the Hand, Wrist, and Elbow, including wound care management. Her expertise in wound care has been acknowledged by the WRHA by being asked to co-author 3 chapters in the WRHA Wound Care Guidelines for Therapists.

She has worked as a University Lecturer on hand assessment and treatment extensively to master's students in the Occupational Therapy programs at Jefferson University while on Fellowship, as well as in Winnipeg at the University of Manitoba’s College of Rehabilitation Sciences. She has also extended her education to plastic surgery residents and has been a resource to rural therapists by telephone and providing individual learning experiences to any therapists wishing to expand their knowledge and skills in this specialized area of practice. She hopes to have time to provide more educational opportunities for others in the future, but her passion lies in direct client care.

Melissa received a Fellowship Level of Education of the Hand and Upper Extremity through the Philadelphia Hand Foundation Evelyn J. Mackin Hand Therapy Fellowship, an affiliation of the Philadelphia Hand center and Jefferson University………….http://handfoundation.org/fellowship/…….……. She had the most amazing opportunity of her career to work closely with dozens of surgeons and therapists who authored and edited the most widely used, unparalleled and indispensable resource for the practice of hand therapy, “Rehabilitation of the Hand and Upper Extremity”.

Although she is not a Certified Hand Therapist, she is the only Occupational or Physiotherapist in Winnipeg with a Fellowship Certificate. Combined with her years of experience, she provides a unique look at your Upper Extremity problem. Melissa does not follow a cookie cutter approach to your situation, your treatment will be as unique as you, your injury and your own history. She has developed her own innovative guidelines for treatment that focus on the early principles of rest combined with early pain guided movement.

Over the years, Melissa has made thousands of splints but are now more often referred to as orthoses. This unparalleled experience in Winnipeg allows her to improvise on the spot to provide you with a custom, effective, comfortable and therapeutic orthoses whether for immobilization, for function including substitution for loss of motor function, or for tissue lengthening to regain movement due to the troublesome effects of scarring. She has been able to provide comfort to many clients that have struggled for years