SA Divisional Council

Ellice Willcourt is a lecturer in Occupational Therapy at Flinders University in the Master of Occupational Therapy and Bachelor of Health Science programs. She graduated in 2003 from James Cook University in North Queensland with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy.

Ellice has spent most of her clinical career working in adult mental health services across adult services in crisis, community, inpatient, and community residential settings within Southern Adelaide and Central Queensland.

Ellice has worked at Flinders University since 2012. She is currently course coordinator of the master’s program and completing a Master of Health and Clinical Research. Ellice looks forward to working with the OTA Association as a member of the SA Divisional Council to support the occupational therapy profession into the future.

Sarah McMullen-Roach is a UniSA lecturer in the occupational therapy program and has experience in a range of practice areas including adult neurology, healthcare management, aged care, complex injury management, acute care, vocational rehabilitation and seating and postural management.

Sarah has spent a significant portion of her career working in New Zealand and has developed competence in the delivery of culturally adaptive Occupational Therapy. During her time in New Zealand, Sarah was able to develop models of practice that supported the implementation of Occupational Therapists in the emergency setting to promote holistic health outcomes and reduced length of hospital stay.

Sarah is a strong advocate for the practical application of Occupational Therapy Models of Practice to enable a holistic and occupationally focused perspective in health.

Hannah Crockett Naini graduated with Bachelor of Health Science and Master of Occupational Therapy from Flinders University in 2021. Now a new graduate Occupational Therapist, Hannah works within the Rewire Program at Brain Injury SA. Hannah is passionate about supporting individuals with acquired brain injuries to help them embrace life and engage in meaningful occupations.

Hannah served as a student representative on the SA Divisional Council and is now looking forward to transitioning into being a new graduate representative. She hopes to provide perspectives through the lens of a new graduate and she maintains a keen interest in understanding the ways in which she can support the occupational therapy profession.

Jessica Muller - has worked in rural South Australia in both government and tertiary education sectors since graduating from the University of South Australia. Jessica has clinical experience across a range of areas in rural practice contexts, particularly working with adult populations in community-based settings and compliments this with experience in service development, delivery, evaluation and research.

Lisa is an Occupational Therapist and Allied Health/ Program Manager and has held roles across private, government and NGO sectors, working in clinical and non-clinical settings within mental health and disability sectors. Lisa has experience in service development and operational oversight related to youth and adult disability and mental health services.

Lisa also delivers community based Occupational Therapy in her private practice, Inclusive Allied Health. Core values include leading with empathy, client centred service delivery, with focus on functional recovery and rehabilitation to support meaningful outcomes for consumers.

With a significant interest in the intersection between technology and activity participation, Will Crowe is an OT who’s dominant area of practice involves in the prescription of assistive and inclusive technological equipment to assist his client’s attain their goals.

Voice and sensor-controlled home automation and alternative smart device and computer access methods are the primary focus of Will’s interventions, however his area of professional passion lies in facilitating accessible video game engagement with clients living with a range of physical and cognitive disabilities.

Will has a broad scope of professional generalist OT experience, working largely in private practice and for not-for-profit organisations. This work involved providing largely rehabilitation, equipment prescription and worksite and ergonomics assessment services before moving into his current inclusive technology advisor role.

Will also part-time lectures for Flinders University in the ‘Information and Technology for Occupational Therapy’ course with first-year masters students. Will has completed research aimed to explore the benefits that Australians over the age of sixty-five experience through the guided use of Smart Home technology and was a key speaker at the Diabetes SA, World Diabetes Day Seminar in 2021.

Kate is a qualified Occupational Therapist obtaining her Bachelor of Applied Science in Occupational Therapy in 2003. Kate commenced her career in clinical hospital and community based OT completing assessment and treatment of Activities of Daily Living, mobility, cognition, manual handling and health education both in Australia and the UK.

Kate commenced working in the Vocational Rehabilitation field in 2007 completing extensive return to work activity including functional assessment, pre-employment assessments, return to work planning, ergonomic assessment, pain management education and manual handling training. Kate has worked with a wide range of industries including manufacturing, mining, aged care, agricultural, retail, clerical, hospital and transport services. Kate has provided services in numerous schemes including SA and WA workers compensation, Self Insured, ComCare, TAC Victoria, CTP schemes in SA, NSW and Qld and DVA. Kate also has experience conducting medico-legal Activities of Daily Living assessments across multiple schemes. /p>

In 2011 Kate progressed to the insurance sector working as an Injury Management Consultant to one of Australia’s major workers compensation insurers, reviewing claims and providing advice and education in regards to appropriate claims, injury management and treatment of workplace injuries. More recently Kate has been working in workers compensation regulation in a provider management role and gaining exposure to government relations, service design and legislation drafting.

Kate has had experience with a broad variety of medical conditions throughout her career including:

• Musculoskeletal – soft tissue, bony injury, joint replacement, amputation, degenerative conditions, poly trauma, fibromyalgia, whiplash
• Neurological – Stroke, brain injury, spinal injury, multiple sclerosis, dementia, peripheral nerve injury such as carpal tunnel syndrome and peripheral neuropathy.
• Cardiothoracic – Myocardial Infarction, Cardiomyopathy, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder, peripheral vascular disease
• Medical – Major trauma, burns, vision impairment, deep vein thrombosis, diabetes, autoimmune disorders
• Psychological – Depression, anxiety, PTSD

Kate is trained in the use of the Functional Independence Measure (FIMs), Standardised Cognitive assessments such as the Cognitive Assessment of Minnesota and the Mini-Mental State Examination. Kate has also been trained in the use of the AMA guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, 5th Edition (AMA5) and the WA and SA Workers Compensation Permanent Impairment guidelines.

In addition to her clinical skills, Kate is also experienced in providing advice and implementing injury management systems, claims management, disputes and compliance of Impairment Assessments. Kate is also experienced in training across a wide range of topics within her expertise.

Spending the past 22 years living and working in regional locations, Sarah Baker has a passion for rural health. Sarah recently returned to South Australia to commence the role of Advanced Clinical Lead, Occupational Therapy for the Rural Support Service in SA Health.

Prior to this she held the position of Manager, Occupational Therapy Services at Western District Health Service (VIC) during which her passion for rural health was strengthened. Sarah also worked for 10 years in the private sector in the field of Vocational Rehabilitation and Injury Prevention. Such experiences, in addition to work in Community, Rehabilitation and Acute care settings have enabled Sarah to provide leadership in the area of rural Occupational Therapy service provision, growing and supporting teams to deliver a broad variety of consumer services.