Time for a Tuneup at our Sinai Office!

Spring is springing, and temperatures are warming up (soon we hope!) and maybe you would like to join us in our Sinai office for a spring tuneup.  This is an opportunity for you to come in, free of charge, and get an assessment of the current state of your prosthesis.  If it has been a while since your last visit, don't be a stranger.  You can call and make an appointment at 410-542-6500. or feel free to just stop in! 

Sheryl and Jeanne will be most happy to see you, and you might even find a treat waiting.

• Wednesday, April 13, 20168AM - 12PM
• Thursday, April 14, 2016 1PM - 4PM

Pigs and Glam! Dankmeyer Techs Enter Contest

UPDATE:  Shree Thaker takes 6th and Art Ross takes 9th in contest.

Dankmeyer technicians are very creative folks - not just in their every day work in fabrication of our patients’ devices, but in the design and development of other projects - like the Feet First Prosthetic Footshell Decorating Contest!

Now, what is foot shell, you may ask? Well, a foot shell is a cosmetic covering that looks like a foot.  The prosthetic foot fits inside the foot shell, and then that fits into a shoe.  There are many types of prosthetic feet, which are designed to meet the needs that fit the lifestyle of the patient.  

The Orthotic and Prosthetic Activities Foundation (OPAF) & The First Clinics asked for entrants into a contest to decorate a foot shell.  Fifty shells were donated by Kingsley Manufacturing, which entrants could request by January 8 and then decorate and return to OPAF by February 15.  These entries will be displayed at the OPAF booth at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists March 9 - March 12, 2016 in Orlando, FL.  These entries will be voted on at the meeting, with online voting March 1 - March 5.  After the winners are announced at the meeting, they will be auctioned off to support OPAF & The First Clinics.

VOTE HERE:https://feet-first.typeform.com/to/ttJhWg

Let's take a look at what our artists submitted:

Art Ross submitted his entry titled “This Little Piggy; Heavy Medal Edition”. In his video, he explains his inspiration.  His grandson likes to pull his socks off, and hear the nursery rhyme This Little Piggy. So, Art put little piggies on the foot shell, and also incorporated his own love of heavy metal music into the design.

Shree Thaker submitted her entry titled “Royal Glitz and Glam.” Shree saw a picture of a doll that a parent had disassembled to create a miniature prosthetic leg for his amputee daughter. This led her to think about adding a little glitz and glam that young girl amputees might like, so she took it to a bigger scale on the foot shell.  The result is a regal/royal take on a Greek style sandal.

Dankmeyer welcomes Kristen and Kevin to the team!

Please joins us in welcoming two new members to the Dankmeyer patient care team!  Kristen Beltran and Kevin Hughes recently joined Dankmeyer in different capacities.

Kristen is our new Resident Prosthetist Orthotist.  Kristen first became interested in P&O in high school, where she had a soccer coach who wore a prosthesis. While working in the therapeutic recreation field in Denver, CO, Kristen worked with adaptive sports and recreation programs. She comes to us after completing her Master’s in Prosthetics and Orthotics from Northwestern University.  Like all Residents, she will spend some time refining her fabrication skills before you see her in the exam room!

Kevin is our Patient Navigator, a newly-created role that will help to facilitate our Long Term Patient Care initiatives. Kevin is the go-to person for Dankmeyer's patients. He helps guide our patients through all phases of their care plans, providing assistance and connecting our patients with resources, to ensure the timely delivery of their treatments and follow-up care. Kevin also administers patient education to ensure a thorough understanding of the use and care of orthotic and prosthetic devices and to increase health literacy for our patients with chronic conditions.  Kevin is grateful to refocus his attention on a rewarding mission of patient care, after a long term consulting career with Fortune 100 companies.

White House Responds to "We the People" Petition

In August of this year, Dankmeyer asked for patients, friends, family and other interested parties to protest a new proposal for Medicare coverage of lower limb prosthesis wearers.  As part of that movement, we asked that you go and sign a WE THE PEOPLE Petition in protest. If 100,000 people signed this petition in one month’s time, then by law, the White House would have to respond.  Over 100,000 signatures were received in two weeks time - a record by some accounts.  That in itself caused some to sit up and take notice.

In the meantime, AOPA (American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association) organized a patient rally of 150 amputees at Health and Human Services headquarters. A meeting of Medicare top officials, AOPA and other stakeholders followed to discuss the areas of concern. Four AOPA representatives gave statements at the Medicare contractor’s open meeting. Over 350 news stories nationally were generated from these efforts! Your support was essential to this success.

Since that petition was submitted, we have been waiting to see just what the White House response would be.  And finally, on November 2, we got a response.  From the AOPA article:

“The White House just announced that CMS “will not finalize” the July 16, 2015 Draft LCD. That may be clarified further when comparable announcement text from both CMS and from the DME MACs are released and can be analyzed.  The White House report appears to confirm the information that AOPA shared at the recent San Antonio National Assembly that O&P could be confident that the July 16 proposed LCD for Lower Limb Prosthetics would not be enacted in anything close to its proposed form.

Unfortunately, there are aspects of this document which raise concerns…”.  For the full text of the article and analysis, click here.

We had all hoped for the Medicare contractors to completely rescind the policy.  This did not happen.  However, the response can be regarded with some optimism as a partial win.  What does happen next?  AOPA will continue to work with other professionals to monitor the situation and advise on any action that must taken to protect the interests of our patients.  We will keep you informed, and thank you for your contribution to the fight.

(For more much more detail about the policy, you can scroll through our earlier news here and click on a variety of links.)

Charles Dankmeyer in Washington Times

We have been posting all kinds of information about the proposed new policy regarding patient eligibility and reimbursement for Lower Limb Prosthetics which Medicare contractors recently sprung on the amputee community.  You can scroll down below to read previous news items on this issue, where there are a number of links to documents and action items.  While some constructive meetings have been held between the interested parties from both sides, the fight is not over and the proposed policy has not been changed or rescinded.  The debate continues on a number of levels.

Charles Dankmeyer, former CEO of Dankmeyer, Inc.  was recently featured in a editorial in the Washington Times.  His father, the founder of Dankmeyer, was an amputee and who worked tirelessly on behalf of amputees and changing the way they were regarded in society.  Charles, a Certified Prosthetist Orthotist and currently President of the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA), has been in the thick of the work against the policy.  He writes:

"It is very difficult to imagine any other aspect of American health care where millions of people would be denied available and appropriate treatment and devices that can speed their return to the fullest and most active possible life. Even worse, there is no medical or scientific justification for these unreasonable and inappropriate hurdles that would reverse advances in care for amputees. In fact, quite the opposite is true. There is medical and scientific evidence supporting today’s standard of care." ......

"The millions of people at risk deserve the standard of care they have now and the dignity it affords them. They have today what my father never had — and all fair-minded Americans should be intent on not letting Medicare turn back the hands of time."

For the full text of his article September 6, 2015, please click here.