Kantaro Ito, Physiotherapist within the Movement Disorders Clinic at the Kingston Centre, is the STAR Award winner in the Improving Access and Care category for Q4 2021.
This category recognises an individual, group or team that develop improved ways for patients to access and manage their care and may include developing new ways to help patients experience improved equity of care.
When asked how receiving this award made him feel, Kan shared how he was honoured to be recognised for his contribution to the Clinic and his patients.
“It is very encouraging, and I am honoured that this initiative is being recognised by my colleagues and the broader Monash Health community. It is great to see and to be able to share what is being done to support people living with movement disorders.”
Kan has been recognised for initiating and developing an online physiotherapy exercise group for patients of the Movement Disorder Clinic during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Kan founded the program in March 2020, to provide physiotherapy sessions and exercise programs for patients who could not attend their usual appointments.
Throughout 2020 and 2021, Kan worked collaboratively with his colleagues to deliver and continuously improve the program. Kan further supported his colleagues and patients to learn the technology required to adopt this new way of exercising and delivering care in the COVID-19 environment.
Kan acknowledged his colleagues’ contributions and their ongoing support in the development and running of the program.
“I would like to thank my managers for their ongoing support for this project and the Kingston Movement Disorders Program. I would like to thank my colleagues Robyn Gardiner and Marielle Collings for supporting me and running the program with me.”
The program catered to different ability levels, targeting fitness and movement difficulties specific to the patient population. During the peak of lockdown, the program delivered 52 telehealth episodes of care per week.
The team received positive feedback from patients, with many describing the program as enjoyable, motivating and increasing access to care for those who usually face barriers to attend their appointments. The program was a great success and will continue to be part of the Movement Disorder Clinic beyond the pandemic.
Kan’s colleagues and patients would like to say thank you to Kan for developing this innovative program and for his ongoing contribution to the Clinic. Thank you Kan.
If you would like to nominate a colleague or team, you can do so at any time by visiting the STAR Awards portal. For more information about the STAR Awards program, visit the Monash Health COVID-19 website.
Approved by Karen Lowe.