This Occupational Therapy (OT) Month, we’re celebrating the occupational therapists at IWK Health who help children and youth build the skills, confidence and independence they need to participate in everyday life. From supporting development to helping children navigate challenges at home, at school and in their communities, our OTs make a meaningful difference for patients and families every day. Thank you for all you do!
For Jaime Blenus, occupational therapy is about creating opportunities for people to participate, belong and thrive. Today, she applies that philosophy across the health system.
Jaime is the Accessibility Health Consultant within Equity and Belonging in IWK Health’s Health Equity, Safety & Wellness (HES-W) portfolio. Her role applies occupational therapy principles at a systems and organizational level, with a focus on identifying and addressing barriers and improving the accessibility of policies, programs, services, environments, and practices for diverse populations, including patients, families, and staff.
Its occupational therapy applied in a broader, system-level context, grounded in the same core principles of participation, inclusion, and meaningful engagement.
“As occupational therapists, we are trained to look at the relationship between people, their environments and their ability to participate meaningfully,” Jaime says. “Applying an intersectional lens also helps us understand how people’s identities, lived experiences and the systems around them can shape opportunities for participation, inclusion, health and well-being.”
Jaime brings this perspective to her work within HES-W and in supporting the EDIRA Strategy. Working with teams and partners across IWK Health, she helps identify systemic barriers, bring diverse perspectives together, and advance more accessible, equitable and inclusive approaches to planning, decision-making, and everyday practice.
This work reflects the versatility of occupational therapy. The profession’s understanding of the relationship between people, environments and systems can help address both individual needs and systemic barriers, creating opportunities for meaningful change beyond traditional clinical practice.
“I love being an OT because the profession is incredibly diverse and focused on what matters most to people. My role allows me to combine OT with leadership, strategy and collaboration to help create meaningful change across the organization.”
For Jaime, occupational therapy has an important role in helping create a more accessible and inclusive health system. Accessibility is a shared responsibility, and it’s about working together to build a system where people with diverse needs, identities and experiences can participate fully, and where accessibility, equity, inclusion, safety and wellness are embedded in how we plan, make decisions and work every day.