When a patient at the Rehabilitation In-patient Unit at Baillie Henderson Hospital takes their first steps back into daily life, something as simple as making a cup of tea can mark a huge milestone.
Thanks to a $142,309 grant funded through the Toowoomba Hospital Foundation and the generosity of our community, occupational therapists now have a fully equipped, home-style kitchen to help patients safely regain independence before returning home.
Occupational Therapist Catrin Williams says the kitchen has already become an essential part of therapy for patients recovering from injury, illness, or stroke.
“A patient I had recently loves making stir fries but had quite severe visual deficits, and so she was worried about how she would go cutting garlic,” Catrin explains. “We got her in the kitchen so we could practice that in a supervised, safe environment. She made a delicious stir fry — it went really well — and she was safe doing that, which was a really nice way to grade her towards being more confident prior to discharge.”
Before the upgrade, therapists relied on a small bench and portable hotplate — a setup that made it hard to simulate daily life or properly assess safety.
“Now we can replicate home a lot more accurately — bench high appliances, filling up a kettle and carrying it across the kitchen, and reaching cupboards,” Catrin says. “It replicates home so much more than what we had before.”
The new space, complete with realistic fittings and accessibility considerations, gives clinicians the tools to design therapy that reflects real-world tasks. It’s part of a broader goal to help patients not just recover, but to return to the routines and roles that matter most to them.
“Without the Foundation’s funding, there's no way we would have had this kitchen at all,” Catrin says. “It’s something the team has wanted for a very long time.”
As Occupational Therapy Week approaches, Catrin says the timing couldn’t be better to highlight the vital role of OTs in supporting recovery.
“Our role here is looking at those things people take for granted — like getting up to the toilet, making a cup of tea after you've had a stroke or any sort of change to your function,” she says. “That's where we come in — we look at strategies to support them, repeated practice equipment, or whatever we can to help them be more independent.”
The kitchen is already making a meaningful impact for patients and therapists alike — and it’s all thanks to the community’s ongoing support for the Toowoomba Hospital Foundation.
