Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (Nov 27/02) - Occupational therapist Meinwen Tsui is there when people need a helping hand.

Tsui has lived in Rankin Inlet for the past two years and is the Kivalliq's first regional occupational therapist, covering the entire age span from pre-schoolers to elders.

When asked to describe occupational therapy (OT), she says OT helps people with medical illness, disease or disability (physical or emotional) do things they want, or need to.

Tsui spends a lot of time with elders in the region.

She says some elders have troubling bathing themselves, getting in or out of the bath tub, or navigating household barriers such as steps.

"Many elders fall in or around the tub and can break their hip or crack their head," says Tsui. "I teach them safer ways to get in and out of the tub or change something in the environment, like giving them a bath seat to sit in."

Tsui also spends time with preschoolers who may have developmental problems. She says parents worry when their child is still not toilet trained or feeding themselves at an age when they should be. Still others worry when their child is three and still not walking.

"Basically, I work with children by giving them activities to do so they're working towards those goals."

Tsui is part of a Northern Medical Unit team, which also has two physiotherapists and a speech language pathologist.

She often helps adults suffering from chronic illnesses such as arthritis, manage their pain. "Arthritis sufferers tire easily, so I teach them how to do things with less effort. I also show them how to change their environment to make tasks easier. If it's someone recovering from a hand injury, I work with them doing strengthening exercises and pointing out things they shouldn't do because it will make their problem worse."

Tsui gets plenty of referrals from the health centre, but she'd like to have more people phone her directly. "It's great when someone calls to tell me about their problem and asks what I can do to help. That shows they're taking control of their own health situation and that makes me happy."