2020 CASE MANAGER OF THE YEAR NOMINEE

Victoria Sweetman

Nominated For: CASE MANAGER OF THE YEAR

I am grateful and humbled to once again be nominated for this distinction of Case Manager of the Year. There are many case managers, like me, who are committed and dedicated to their clients and families. We all strive to advocate for and enhance our clients’ lives and bolster the profession. To be nominated again is an honour as there are so many truly phenomenal case managers in this field.

I have worked as a Case Manager for 30 plus years. I work independently as the owner of Victoria Sweetman Rehab Consulting with the following certifications:

• Canadian Certified Rehabilitation Counselor
• Certified Vocational Rehabilitation Professional
• Registered Rehabilitation Professional
• Return-to-Work Disability Manager

I am a graduate of Humber College with a diploma in rehabilitation services and from the University of Guelph with an Honours B.A. in Sociology. I was an early subscriber to the Brain Injury Family Intervention (BIFI) and BIFI/A training.

Prior to case management, I worked in vocational evaluation, school-to-work transition and return to work in both front-line and management positions.

I was a founding board member of the Canadian Chapter of the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals and was a committee member with the Canadian Association of Rehabilitation Professionals (now known as the Vocational Rehabilitation Association).

Over the years, I have written educational material focused on the auto insurer with respect to vocational rehabilitation. I have been a presenter at conferences and community colleges in Ontario.

In 2020 and 2021, I was nominated for an Award of Excellence in Brain Injury Rehabilitation as Case Manager of the Year.

As a case manager, I am dedicated to building strong, collaborative, goal-oriented and client-centered teams. I am committed to developing positive relationships with the clients requiring services, their family/support system/community, professionals and rehabilitation colleagues to assist clients through their recovery, rehabilitation, and to adjust to living with an acquired brain injury and to achieving their goals.

This year has been a challenging and rewarding one, again. Despite the changing parameters of insurance benefits, healthcare cutbacks and social services upheavals, I’ve held fast to my core fundamental values of helping people and genuinely improving their quality of life – whatever it takes. Case management has been my “raison d’etre”. To be able to be a part of clients’ lives, to feel like I have genuinely made a difference in their lives, the lives of their families, and to be able to work with a community of rehabilitation professionals who are absolutely committed to these goals remains a powerful and a rewarding experience.

My passion and dedication to serving clients over the years is so much part of my life that when the time comes for me to retire (still a few years away) and leave the profession I will greatly miss the personal and professional satisfaction that comes with being a case manager. It will leave an unfillable void.

Thank you again for this nomination.