Jen Kaess grew up and Ballarat and after studying in Melbourne and gaining experience and expertise at multiple other centres both in Metro Melbourne, regionally and internationally before setting up in private practice in Ballarat. After working in a local clinic for many years, she decided that it was time to venture out on her own, to offer unique and compassionate Hand Therapy services to the people of Ballarat and surrounds. With a clear goal of offering exceptional customer service, excellent and evidenced based therapeutic intervention in a welcoming and supportive environment the location of Restore Allied Health was selected and she has worked very hard to ensure the team are exceeding this goal. We are so lucky that Rachael Leigh joined the team to be our Office Manager to keep the whole place running smoothly. Restore Hand therapy is offered by Jen Kaess as the principal Occupational therapist. Karen Goodwin and Emma Allan also provide exceptional Hand Therapy services at Restore Hand Therapy. Jen is also an Accredited Hand therapist as awarded by the AHTA, and has achieved the internationally recognised Certified Hand Therapist status. The therapists are experienced in Acute and long term hand and upper limb splinting. Jen is also experienced in Dry Needling. Restore Hand therapy offers a sports clinic on Monday afternoons to see people who have sustained finger, hand, wrist and elbow injuries at sport over the weekend. We endeavor to support our patients to continue to play sport safely with appropriate bracing, taping and education if at all possible, while they recover. Karen Goodwin is a kind and experienced OT with with many years of experience in pain management, arthritis and other degenerative condition care and her practical and caring intervention. Emma Allan has recently joined and has a passion for Hand therapy for almost a decade now. She is loving the teams experience and comes with a creative, driven and dynamic style to work with patients to get their best outcomes. Both Emma and Karen are participating in formal hand therapy extended education and get frequent mentorship from Jen and each other, so you will always get the benefit of all of the teams experience. Degenerative, overuse, trauma, surgical, arthritic and pain conditions of the hand and arm are expertly assessed and managed with care, compassion and skill, to maximise function and minimise pain and scaring in a timely and supportive way, to help our patients reach their goals and continue to function as quickly as possible. We primarily use Woodcast for splinting. Woodcast is a biodegradable and sustainable splinting material with all the properties of the thermoplastics we have used for decades but will become compost within a couple years if left in the garden.
