Education
Inter-professionalism, teamwork, and client-centered care By Sonja Redden
The first ever lymphedema conference in the Northern Health Region of British Columbia was hosted in Prince George in the fall of 2024. It consisted of an interdisciplinary “Lymphedema Education Day” (LED) for physicians and health care professionals on November 22, and a half day “Lymphedema Workshop Day” (LWD) for health care professionals on November 23.
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he LED was organized by a planning committee1 consisting of dedicated volunteers, physicians, and Northern Health employees. Over 100 health care professionals and physicians attended either in person or online. The event was accredited for continuing medical education for physicians. We are incredibly thankful for the support we received from Northern Health, BC Rural Continuing Medical Education, the Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation, and the BC Lymphedema Association. The LWD was made possible by generous industry support and provided an opportunity for health care professionals to learn practical skills as well as learning about the availability of products used to treat lymphedema. The objectives of this conference were to learn about best practice lymphedema management and to discuss accessibility and affordability issues, and strategies to improve access to care for patients in Northern Health’s various Health Service delivery areas. As in many other areas across Canada,
lymphedema in B.C. is underdiagnosed, undertreated, and underfunded. It is not hard to imagine how challenges in lymphedema care are compounded by our vast geography (600 square km) in the many rural and remote communities in our
Themes and values
Inter-professionalism, teamwork, and client centered care were overarching themes throughout these education days and are key to successful lymphedema management. LED topics and presenters
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Northern health Region. The development and distribution of lymphedema related resources and practice tools for physicians and health care professionals were identified as important components in developing first steps to improved care.
Sonja Redden, BScPT, CLT has focused her work on treating patients with lymphedema ever since becoming a certified lymphedema therapist (Vodder) in 2005. She is the owner of Healing Rivers Physiotherapy (Prince George, B.C.), and has volunteered for the Canadian Lymphedema Framework since 2013.
The main presenter at the LED was Dr. David Keast, Chair of the Canadian Lymphedema Framework (CLF). Dr. Keast talked about lymphedema as an under-recognized and under-treated condition. He reported on the new prevalence study (published in the Winter 2024/2025 issue of Pathways), concluding that about 1.25 million Canadians suffer from chronic edema/ lymphedema. Dr. Keast covered best practice treatment of lymphedema, including skin hygiene and exercise, the effectiveness of various compression, and the roles of manual lymphatic drainage, current surgical approaches and lifestyle changes. He elaborated on challenges of lymphedema care and concluded with several case studies. In the afternoon, Dr. Keast spoke about cellulitis infections and wound management in lymphedema.
1. Planning Committee members: Dr. Dick Raymond, Dr. Khalid Bashir, Dr. Brian Hillhouse, Sonja Redden PT, Lila Reynolds, Jayleen Emery, Santaya Garnot, Diane Sarmiento, and Natalie Allan. 2. Source: https://www.bcbudget.gov.bc.ca/annual_reports/2005_2006/hlth/appendix_1.htm 24 w w w. l y m p h e d e m a p a t h w a y s . c a
Spring 2025