Amputee Awareness 5K

Nina Bondre, CPO and Barbara DeLorenzo, Accounting Manager,  attended the 3rd Annual Amputee Awareness 5K held by Adventist Healthcare on April 28, 2018. The event was held at Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, MD. Participants of all ages gathered to walk, run, or wheel the 5K in the beautiful 75 degree weather that day.

Barbara and Nina were on hand with Gatorade to keep the participants hydrated and energetic. They also had a chance to share about our 3D printed fellows, 3DPO and Digit, with the many children that stopped by to play with them. 3DPO and Digit were excited to attend again, as they had such a fun time last year!

Dankmeyer was one of the many sponsors for this event, with several other orthotic and prosthetic companies in attendance to show their support. Barbara and Nina also brought a few orthotic and prosthetic demos to show to the participants, to further educate them on how orthoses and prostheses work. Those that stopped by the Dankmeyer booth were most excited about learning more about orthotics and prosthetics, and in particular learning about 3D printing. We were so glad we could help to sponsor this event!

Amputee Coalition Hill Days 2018

Jeanne Smith, Dankmeyer Patient Services Representative, attended the Amputee Coalition Hill Day on April 17, 2018.   On behalf of Dankmeyer, Inc., she was there for the second year in a row to speak up and advocate for the limb loss community.  Along with other medical professionals, amputee family members and amputees, Jeanne met with US Senators’ and Representatives’ staff members to discuss insurance fairness, funding for research, and changes to the local coverage determination process for better access for prosthetic and orthotic care. 

We thank the following Senators’ and Representatives’ staffers for meeting with Jeanne during her visit: Cody Knipfer - Office of Representative Anthony Brown, Marc Broady - Office of Representative Elijah Cummings, Lauren Jee - Office of Senator Ben Cardin, and Alyssa Penna - Office of Senator Chris Van Hollen.  

Please visit the Amputee Coalition website www.amputee-coalition.org to learn more about the organization and their advocacy efforts and education.  After visiting the site to learn about the efforts, please take a moment to call, write or email your Representatives and Senators to AMPLIFY your voice.

 

 

 

RAND Corp Study Says Advanced Prostheses Have Much to Offer

A recent study by the RAND Corp, "Economic Value of Advanced Transfemoral Prosthetics", (for the full study click here) shows what prosthetists have known for some time.  Microprocessor-controlled knees, commonly referred to as MPK's, substantially improve physical function and incidences of falls and osteoarthritis compared to non-microprocessor-controlled knees.  

Mark Hopkins, PT, CPO, MBA and CEO of Dankmeyer, Inc. writes:

We are constantly looking to improve the value of the services and prostheses we provide to our clients. That includes prostheses that are durable and allow for long term improvement in the client's quality of life. We have known for some time that microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee joints are a value added product and that they improve safety and quality of life for our clients with limb loss at and above the knee. It is nice to know the science has finally caught up with our clinical intuition! Please take a look at this simple graphic display of some recent good news coming from the scientific literature. As always, please feel free to contact us with questions. We are here to help.

There are a number of prosthetic suppliers who have MPK's.  Dankmeyer uses products from several of these well respected innovators.  You can click on the links below to visit their websites for pictures and technical details of MPK's, as well as their patient stories.  Please contact us if you are interested in more information at 800-879-1245 or, email info@dankmeyer.com and we will be happy to assist.

Otto Bock and the Genium

Ossur and the Rheo 3

Freedom Innovations and the Plie 3

Endolite and the Lynx

We congratulate...... Rob and Nina and Megan!

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We love sharing congratulations and this month we have three accomplishments to celebrate!

First up we have Robert Tyler, who passed his prosthetic board exams and is now a Certified Prosthetist.  Rob came to Dankmeyer in 2016 for his 18 month residency in prosthetics and orthotics. He completed that course of study this past December and now Rob is a Certified Prosthetist. If you would like to read more about Robert Tyler, CP Board Eligible Orthotist, click to visit our Clinical Staff page.  Congrats to Rob from all of us at Dankmeyer!

Next up we have Nina Bondre, CPO.  Nina was featured recently in the O&P Edge Magazine as a recent graduate, prepared to make her mark!  Nina completed her combined residency in prosthetics and orthotics in January 2017.  The Edge article highlights several young O&P professionals and describes the challenges they face in the ever changing healthcare world.  You can read the article by clicking here.  If you would like to read more about Nina, you can click here to visit our Clinical Staff page.

We are very proud of the accomplishments of all of our staff.  But Dankmeyer also has partners in research.  The American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists had their annual meeting in New Orleans this February. Dankmeyer clinicians Nina Bondre, CPO and Kelsey Kasten, CPO attended the symposium. Megan Hodgson, from Infinite Biomedical Technologies (IBT), presented a poster at the meeting. Megan has been working with Mark Hopkins, CPO and CEO of Dankmeyer, and other Dankmeyer staff on this project.

Please join us in congratulating all three for accomplishing their goals and making their marks!