Karen Goldenberg,
Department of OS&OT
Alumna, Awarded
Order of Canada
Karen Goldenberg, an alumna of the Department of
Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy, has
been made a Member of the Order of Canada "for her
role in advancing research and practice in occupa-
tional therapy, and for her leadership of social service
organizations."
As many of us in the department know Karen person-
ally, we are especially thrilled at the news. A visionary
throughout her diverse career in community care and
social entrepreneurism, Karen has always been an “OT
first”, as indicated in her Order of Canada citation, and
she has been instrumental in bringing occupational
therapy to the forefront as an integral and leading as-
pect of health care.
Her contributions to community organizations and
health care institutions are numerous and varied. She
was a co-founder and leader of Community Occupa-
tional Therapy Associates (COTA), the first community-
based not-for-profit occupational therapy organization
in Canada; she helped to establish the Canadian Oc-
cupational Therapy Foundation (COTF); she has con-
tributed expertise as a board member of the United
Way and as a member of the Canadian Association of
Occupational Therapists Executive Committee; she has
provided direction at the former Addiction Research
Foundation (now a part of the Centre for Addiction
and Mental Health), and she has served as Special Ad-
visor for Long Term Care Reform for the Ontario Min-
istry of Health.
These accomplishments and others make Karen a
highly deserving and worthy recipient of the Order of
Canada. We are deeply proud of our friend and col-
league! (To learn more about Karen’s contributions,
read the article written by former student Aya Ortel
posted on the CAOT website.)
link to:
-
berg.pdf
University of Toronto’s
Advocacy on the Role
of Occupational Thera-
pists in Primary Care a
Collaboration in
Educating Physicians
Faculty and student OTs from the University of Toronto
worked collaboratively on an exciting project to celebrate OT
Month. The project involved planning an event that would
connect the Department of Family and Community Medicine
(DFCM) with the Department of Occupational Science and
Occupational Therapy (OS&OT). DFCM had recently moved
into the Rehabilitation Sciences building and so faculty within
OS&OT were anxious to connect with them in as many ways
as possible. Through academic work, the student OTs knew
that although OTs in Ontario have been eligible for funding
in Family Health Teams (FHTs) since 2010, the vast majority
of FHTs have not yet engaged OT services. Therefore, they
enthusiastically supported this project as a wonderful oppor-
tunity to share with family practice physicians and residents
all that OT has to offer in Primary Health Care!
What started as a primarily social event, blossomed into po-
tential opportunities to educate many organizations and
FHTs about the role of the OT. This occurred because of
the encouragement and support of the Program Director
of Professional Development at the DFCM as well as sup-
port from key OS&OT faculty members. The students put
together folders with resources from the Ontario Society of
Occupational Therapists and the Canadian Association of
Occupational Therapists, and included a letter inviting Fam-
ily Physician Professional Development (PD) Representa-
tives to connect with OS&OT to request more
information. These folders were shared with all of the
DFCM PD representatives from across the Greater Toronto
Area at one of their monthly meetings. Almost immediately,
a Family Physician from the FHT at Sunnybrook Health Sci-
ences Centre requested a presentation on the role of OT in
primary health care to be presented at their grand rounds
in February!
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