Spring Hawes, Regional PLEX Engagement Liaison
Spring Hawes is the Regional PLEX Engagement Liaison at the Praxis Spinal Cord Institute. Spring has 18 years of lived experience with a C-6, AIS-A injury, as a result of a terrain park injury in 2005.
At Praxis, Spring works with the SCI community, Canadian SCI networks, provincial, national and international SCI groups and associations, research teams, and funders to build strong partnerships and networks that will work together to improve the lives and the health of people with SCI.
Spring serves as co-chair of BC’s Provincial Accessibility Committee, helping to advise the government on the implementation of BC’s new accessibility legislation, which aims to identify, remove, and prevent barriers to accessibility for all British Columbians. She is also a board director for Interior Health, with a strong commitment to patient and family centered care, improving health equity, and to a safe and inclusive workplace.
Spring is especially interested in research with an equity lens, prioritizing lived experience, knowledge translation, and improvement and innovation in medical devices including wheelchairs. She hopes to support the creation of a national pressure injury network, increased understanding of SCI in the medical and rehab community, and patient-driven research that leads to better care and support of people with SCI and other disabilities.