Dankmeyer in Space!

Rebecca Frost and Sofia Barrueco Lopez

Dankmeyer CPO Rebecca Frost recently had the opportunity to work with local high school sophomore Sofia Barrueco Lopez on her “Cubes in Space” (CiS) project.

Sofia was inspired to participate in this extra-curricular program from the website "Cubes in Space". This is the only global STEM program for 11-18 year olds providing suborbital flight project opportunities on NASA missions. The students pick a project focus and get the opportunity to send their project, packaged in a cube, on a suborbital rocket launched by NASA.

Sophia decided to study how radiation exposure during the space launch will impact the materials used to make prostheses, specifically to see if the materials become harmful. She came to Dankmeyer for the day on May 30 to see the fabrication and clinical processes as well as to collect and shape the materials to fit into the designated 1”x1” cube. Dankmeyer staff was very excited to learn about her project, and provide assistance to put prosthesis parts in the launch!

There is an article about the program on NASA’s Wallops website. (Click here.) It states, “Students develop and design their unique experiments to fit into clear, rigid plastic payload cubes, each about 1.5 inches on a side. Up to 80 of these unique student experiments are integrated into the nose cone of the rocket.”

The rocket launch occurred on 6/20 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, VA. The payload (including Sofia’s cube!) was successfully returned to Earth. Sofia will analyze the results of her experiment with Dr. Cynthia Tope Niedermaier's group and their Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer. This rocket’s flight path was suborbital, but depending on the results of the experiment, Sofia’s project may be selected for a future NASA project that will go into orbit.

We look forward to hearing Sofia’s report on the outcome of her experiment! - Rebecca Frost, CPO.

Congratulations to Claire and Cole!

Congratulations to Dankmeyer practitioners Claire Vallery and Cole Branche, who have recently passed Orthotics and Prosthetics certification exams! They obtained new certification titles:   Claire Vallery, CPO and Cole Branche CP, Board Eligible Orthotist. CPO indicates an American Board Certified (ABC) Prosthetist Orthotist, and CP indicates a Certified Prosthetist.

What does this mean?   Those titles represent a lot of hard work.

Each of our practitioners complete a rigorous post-baccalaureate or Master’s Degree in Orthotics and/or Prosthetics at a National Commission on Orthotic and Prosthetic Education (NCOPE) accredited university.   After school, students transition into an 18 month or 2 year residency program. After completing residency requirements, there are several written exams and an in person Clinical Patient Management exam to pass to receive certification.

Dankmeyer is an American Board Certified facility, and all our practitioners are ABC certified or working toward their certification via our residency program.

To learn more about ABC, please click here.

To learn more about NCOPE, please click here.

We look forward to seeing Claire and Cole continue to develop their clinical roles here at Dankmeyer.

-Mary Reedy, CP, Clinical Director

Welcome to Dankmeyer, Candice Lane!

Candice joined the Dankmeyer team in February and works in the front office area in our Baltimore-Washington office. Candice brings over 16 years of healthcare experience to Dankmeyer, working in various roles from hospitals to insurance companies. This has allowed her to learn a myriad of skills and focus her path on helping people. Candice places a high value on family, which includes her dogs. Candice is an incredibly creative person; she is an avid crocheter (who makes some of her own clothing) and has been a licensed cosmetologist for more than 10 years.

When you see her at Check Out, please say Hello!

Maryland Proclaims April Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness Month!

For the past several years, Dankmeyer has been at the forefront of working with the Governor of Maryland’s office to proclaim that April is officially recognized as Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness month. This year is no exception.

This year the effort was spearheaded by Jesse Yingling, Dankmeyer’s Purchasing Agent and part of our Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness Month event planning team. Jesse put in a request to Governor Wes Moore’s office during the early winter. Sheryl Sachs, CPO, who has been deeply involved in the So EveryBody Can Move (SEBCM) program with the Maryland Legislature, joined with Jesse to continue to promote and monitor the status of the proclamation. We received it yesterday, and here it is!

Sheryl, as part of her SEBCM efforts, has spent a lot of time with members of the Maryland Legislature - hosting visits at our Dankmeyer Baltimore Washington office, educating them and their staffs about limb loss and limb difference, working with various orthotics and prosthetics lobbyists, and other organizations and practices to bring about this powerful legislation - which was voted on and headed to the Governor to sign. (You can read more about SEBCM on our SEBCM website page here). Working on this legislation brought about an unexpected bonus, when during the floor session on April 3 for the Maryland House of Delegates, SEBCM House Bill sponsor, Delegate Martinez, announced that April is Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness Month to his colleagues. See the video here.

Thank you to Jesse and Sheryl for their hard work in making these things happen. Everyone in the limb loss and limb difference community benefits from the education and dedication of the people they have worked with. You can read more about events in the Maryland community for Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness Month on our website by clicking here.

Welcome to Dankmeyer, Claire Vallery, CO, Board Eligible Prosthetist

Claire Vallery is a Certified Orthotist and Board Eligible Prosthetist who joined Dankmeyer in 2024. She is currently a PhD Student at the University of Delaware in the Delaware Limb Loss Lab with a focus in clinical outcomes research. 

She earned a BS in Biomedical Engineering and a BA in Spanish from North Carolina State University. After she was introduced to the field during a summer spent with the Range of Motion Project in Guatemala, she attended Northwestern University for her Master of Prosthetics and Orthotics, completed her orthotics residency at the University of Michigan Orthotics and Prosthetics Center, and her prosthetics residency in North Carolina. 

When Claire is not seeing patients at our Baltimore Washington office, or working on new research as part of her PhD studies, she enjoys reading books, trying new sports, and hanging out with her husband and puppy. In college, she was on the club rowing team and continues to enjoy anything related to the water.

We are so happy to have Claire join our team. Say hello when you see her!