Meet Our Staff
Anna Wan, MSOT, OTR/L
Anna received her Bachelor of Science degree from Arizona State University. She went on to earn her Master’s degree from A.T. Still University in 2016. She has a background working in inpatient rehabilitation, acute care, and outpatient lymphedema before pivoting into hand therapy. She joined the team in August 2021 and is working on becoming a Certified Hand Therapist. In her free time, she enjoys paddle boarding, playing tennis, and trying new recipes. She also loves to travel and has been to 29 countries.
Christine Altamirano
Christine is a Connecticut native who moved to Arizona in first grade. She received her Bachelor of Elementary Education at Arizona State University. She went on to earn her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from A. T. Still University. Christine began working as a therapist at DHPT in April 2021 as a full-body therapist. She has a passion to get her patients back on their feet. In her free time, Christine loves to spend time with her husband and goes to every Cardinal’s home game. She also has a four-year-old son and enjoys building Lego sets together. She is excited to welcome a new baby girl to the world this year!
Payten Smith
I was born and raised in Huntington beach, California where I achieved my bachelors in Sports psychology, Kinesiology at Cal State Long Beach. I then went on to complete my masters in occupational therapy at west coast university, Los angeles. From here it has been a goal of mine to obtain my CHT in the near future, which has brought me to Arizona for my first time. In my free time I love spending time outdoors adventuring and weightlifting.
Regan Liss, MOT, OTR/L
Regan joined DHPT in 2024. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Health from the University of Iowa and earned her Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) from Midwestern University.
Regan loves being an occupational therapist because it allows her to help patients achieve their functional goals and return to their daily activities. Her career goals include becoming a certified hand therapist (CHT) and one day becoming certified in upper extremity lymphedema.
She is a member of both the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) and the Arizona Occupational Therapy Association (ArizOTa).
In her free time, Regan enjoys reading, baking, learning new topics, and spending time with friends and family. Her favorite life motto is: “She believed she could, so she did.” – R.S. Grey.
Richard Standage, PT, MPT, CHT
Richard has been practicing in the east valley for over 20 years. After graduating from ASU with his Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science, he attended NAU where he earned a Master’s Degree in Physical Therapy, graduating with honors. He discovered his passion for treating the hand and upper extremity early in his post-graduate studies and started with Desert Hand Therapy as an intern in 1999.
Immediately upon graduating in 2000, he began practicing in the area he grew up. He has shared his experience with multiple other therapists, mentoring them to become Certified Hand Therapists.
Married almost 30 years, he and his wife, (Gayle) have 3 daughters. He loves vacationing with his family but also enjoys long motorcycle trips in the summers with his brother. His other interests include golf and playing ping pong.
Reviews
Wanted to thank the team at the Chandler location especially, Anna, Carlos, Cisco, Trent and Barbara! I came in reluctant and frustrated with my situation but they did such a great job of getting me motivated by their great sense of humor and tailoring my plan to my individual needs. Highly recommend for hand therapy.
I needed some therapy for a CMC joint , thumb, right hand. We were going to winter in Arizona so I looked for a therapist here and found Desert Hand and Physical Therapy. The ladies upfront, Barb and Gina were wonderful at finding appointments, helping with the referral process, checking in etc. So kind and professional. All of the staff in the therapy department were knowledgeable, considerate and efficient. I have seen improvement in the use of my thumb and appreciate their thoroughness and push to get rid of the stiffness and ‘uselessness’ of my thumb??
After having surgery on my wrist, I new I had to find the best Hand PT place to gain my hand motion back. Payton was my therapist and I highly recommend her! Her expertise and care are exceptional, she is attentive and very respectful when working on your hand, announcing every time what she will do next. Her dedication to improving my hand mobility made all the difference. I couldn’t be happier with the results after only 9 weeks! Thank you Payton and thank you to all the staff at Desert Hand in Chandler!
I went from a tendon laceration and subsequent surgery to therapy with Richard Standage and his team. When I began therapy, I was unable to use my thumb at all. After two months of therapy, I was ablee to do most things again. I am grateful for the expert guidance, encouragement, and congenial atmosphere offered. Thank you all.
2195 W Chandler Blvd Suite 180 Chandler, AZ 85224