3 Celebrating Allied Health Professionals
SUPPLEMENT TO THE FREE PRESS • SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2025
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It’s estimated that more than 600 Winnipeggers receive in-hospital dialysis treatment on a weekly basis.
Dialysis Analysis OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST HELPS BREAK DOWN BARRIERS FOR AT-HOME DIALYSIS
By Sherry Kaniuga A tragic family experience when she was a teen led Carly Sanders to a career where she now helps people who require dialysis to live their lives to the fullest. An occupational therapist for dialysis working in the Renal Health Clinic at Seven Oaks General Hospital, the home base for the Manitoba Renal Program, Sanders works with people with chronic kidney disease who are on home dialysis across Manitoba, as well as in Nunavut. Sanders has been in this role for the last third of her 18 years as an occupational therapist or OT. She is grateful for the opportunities that led her here – despite the unfortunate circumstances that introduced her to the value of occupa- tional therapy in the first place. “When I was 15, my dad passed away from a brain tumour. He was in the hospital for many months leading up to that, and we worked with a variety of health professionals. Interacting with dif- ferent therapists in particular really started to pique my interest about these ‘helping professions’ and things you can do to help with someone’s recovery,” Sanders recalls. “After going through that, I started researching some of the options and took the steps towards becoming an occu- pational therapist, and just didn’t look back.” As an OT, Sanders has worked in several areas including neuro rehab, geriatric rehab and mental health. The oppor- tunity to switch to working with dialysis patients presented itself as a bit of a fluke. While on maternity leave with her second daughter, Sanders learned her department would be moving across the city, but was offered the chance to stay
at Seven Oaks by taking on a new role as a part-time OT in the dialysis program. Seven Oaks hosts about 200 of Winnipeg’s 660 hemodial- ysis patients at one of the hospital’s in-centre hemodialysis units three or four times a week, while another 100 or so patients dialyze or undergo dialysis at home on their own. Home dialysis patients use one of two methods of filtering waste, toxins and excess fluid from the blood: peritoneal dialysis or home hemodialysis. While a patient’s physician prescribes the most appropriate method and a nurse pro- vides training, Sanders steps in to ensure the patient’s situ- ation and surroundings are amenable to dialyzing at home. She typically begins by telling new clients – who range in age from 18 to over 100 – what an occupational therapist does, as many don’t know. “I like to describe it in a really simple way, so my clients under- stand what the process that we’re engaging in is going to look like. I explain that I get involved with their care when people have an illness or an injury that prevents them from doing what they want to do, need to do or have to do,” she says. “I ask questions that allow me to get to know the individu- al and their circumstances better. We get a complete picture of what the barriers are for them to participate fully in their life, and then we work at breaking those things down.” Sanders and her colleagues assess not just the person’s phys- ical health and environment, but also their mental health and cognition. A younger patient’s main concern may be balancing dialysis with working and raising a family, while for older patients, mobility and accessibility are key, along with supportive care to ensure they are safe in their homes. For patients in Winnipeg, Sanders will do a home visit to
Carly Sanders Supplied photo
assess how a person is getting around. For example, can they manage stairs or does their home need modifications? “I might work with contractors, insurance companies, or government programs and grant funding to see if, for ex- ample, we can get a ramp put onto a house for someone if they’re wheelchair dependent. We might look at setting up transportation options. We’ll look at making sure the home environment is safe, so they’re not risking falls and injury, and we collaborate with the home care program to get peo- ple supports that they need.” For patients from northern parts of the province and Nun- avut, Sanders mainly consults with them by phone. If they need a product such as a wheelchair, Sanders will gather as much information as possible in advance, then when the patient is able to travel to Winnipeg she’ll complete the pro- cess by taking measurements and ordering the equipment to be shipped to the patient, often through a community nursing station. ■
CELEBRATING allied health professionals
I like to describe it in a really simple way, so my clients understand what the process that we’re engaging in is going to look like.
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WAB KINEW YOUR MLA FOR FORT ROUGE Wab.Kinew@yourmanitoba.ca 204-615-1922
NELLIE KENNEDY YOUR MLA FOR ASSINIBOIA Nellie.Kennedy@yourmanitoba.ca 204-888-3188
JIM MALOWAY YOUR MLA FOR ELMWOOD Jim.Maloway@yourmanitoba.ca 204-415-1122
LOGAN OXENHAM YOUR MLA FOR KIRKFIELD PARK Logan.Oxenham@yourmanitoba.ca 204-831-6689
MALAYA MARCELINO YOUR MLA FOR NOTRE DAME Malaya.Marcelino@yourmanitoba.ca 204-788-0800
—Carly Sanders, occupational therapist and dialysis educator
RENÉE CABLE YOUR MLA FOR SOUTHDALE Renee.Cable@yourmanitoba.ca 204-222-9038
ADRIEN SALA YOUR MLA FOR ST. JAMES Adrien.Sala@yourmanitoba.ca 204-792-8779
ROBERT LOISELLE YOUR MLA FOR ST. BONIFACE Robert.Loiselle@yourmanitoba.ca 204-505-2800
MIKE MOYES YOUR MLA FOR RIEL Mike.Moyes@yourmanitoba.ca 204-421-4666
CARLA COMPTON YOUR MLA FOR TUXEDO Carla.Compton@yourmanitoba.ca 204-416-1140
LISA NAYLOR YOUR MLA FOR WOLSELEY Lisa.Naylor@yourmanitoba.ca 204-792-2773
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