We Are IH: Vernon physiotherapist hikes the Great Divide Trail

She has worked with inpatients, outpatients, employee rehabilitation, occupational rehab, and now home health.

One of Kerry’s proudest achievements at Interior Health is an agility class for seniors that she developed with her coworker, Tera Mezynski. It was implemented at the Halina Centre in Vernon before the pandemic. The program helped participants improve cognitive skills, memory, attention, balance, strength, speed of gait, task performance and more.

As a mom of two children, Sage and Sierra, near and dear to Kerry’s heart was lobbying to eliminate the use of pesticides on school grounds in her community, a project she took on way back in 2001. “It took 10 years but our kids are worth it,” says Kerry. “That’s what kept me going.”

In her time outside of work, Kerry is a Lindy Hopper. She’s also a tap dancer and avid bicycle commuter, and she loves to watch foreign films. She’s passionate about long distance trail hiking and running, evidenced by her achievement in completing 800 kilometres of the Great Divide Trail with her husband, Tom, during the summer of 2021. Stretching across the wilderness of the Rocky Mountains between Alberta and B.C. for 1,123 kilometres, it’s considered to be one of the most challenging (and spectacular) long‐distance trails on the planet. Kerry and Tom completed the remaining 323 kilometres of the trail in the summer of 2022.

“It’s one of the most beautiful places in the world and it’s in our own backyard. We are very fortunate.”

A rather uncommon fun fact about Kerry is the number of relatives she has in her extended family. “I have 54 first cousins, and I can dance a mean polka because of all the family weddings I attended as a kid!”

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