Congratulations to Dankmeyer's Nina Bondre! Our Resident of the last eighteen months is now a Board Eligible Prosthetist Orthotist. Nina joined the Dankmeyer team in 2015 and is originally from San Jose, CA. She completed her BS in Neuroscience at Duke University and then her Master's in Prosthetics & Orthotics from Northwestern University. Nina's first exposure to orthotics and prosthetics was during a high school internship at Dankmeyer. She was inspired to work with the Range of Motion Project in Ecuador, a non-profit organization that provides orthotic and prosthetic care to those who cannot aford it. In her spare time she enjoys weight lifting, cooking, and baking.
The puppy formerly known as Autumn.....
We first introduced our new little puppy prosthetic patient to you last month. At the time, this little girl English Setter mix was being fostered after being rescued from a local shelter. Her rescuers contacted Dankmeyer to see if we could make her a prosthetic device, as her left hind leg is missing a foot. We started the process and now she is waiting for the delivery of her device. In the meantime, applicants were welcome to apply to adopt the seven month old puppy.
The Charles and Jeanne Smith (Dankmeyer Patient Services Representative) Family is proud to announce the adoption of the puppy who has been renamed Moxie. She was officially named Moxie through a voting process by her extended Dankmeyer family. Moxie means courage, determination, energy and pep - all of which describe Moxie well. Jeanne reports on their new family member:
“Her personality shows her to have a mild temperament and love for attention. The partial loss of her hind leg does NOT slow her down. She loves to run, play and has become cleverly adaptive to her environment. Climbing stairs is achieved with leaps and bounds; however, descending stairs is accomplished by sliding on her belly until she gets halfway down - then she proceeds to run to the bottom!”
Moxie is working with her prosthetist, Jed Newhardt, CPO, and the creative staff at Dankmeyer, to design and fabricate her a prosthetic foot. We will continue to post updates and pictures of Moxie's journey and experiences.
Autumn is not just a season....
And who is this precious little seven month old puppy? This is Autumn, who is an English Setter mix who also happens to be missing her left hind leg below the knee. Autumn was found by a local rescue organization at Howard County Animal Control. The rescue contacted us to see if we would be interested in providing her with a prosthesis. We were very eager to give it a try. Jed Newhardt, CPO, who has some prior experience from his time in Seattle, Washington with dog prosthetics, is leading the Dankmeyer team to fit Autumn with a device. We are just in the beginning stages of this effort, and will keep everyone posted with more details as we progress - with pictures and video!
Coffee with Dankmeyer At our Sinai Office
Last week, on Thursday 10/27/16, we hosted one of our Coffee with Dankmeyer events at our Sinai office. Located in the Morton Mower building on the Sinai Hospital campus in Suite 107, we invite all Sinai professionals to drop in, see our facility and become familiar with our services. Since we were so close to Halloween, that was our theme, and Sheryl Nathanson CPO, Jeanne Smith from Patient Services and Practice Liaison Toni Robinson played hostess to a number of guests. Here are some fun pictures to share.
No Tricks! Just Treats!
Dankmeyer offices will be hosting some Fall and Halloween fun next week, October 24 - October 31, Halloween day. Each office will have a few events sure to bring a smile to patients and families - like this guy is smiling! Well, maybe not so scary - we are very friendly folks at Dankmeyer. This is one of the pumpkins from last year's employee pumpkin carving contest - and we welcome your votes for this year's contest! The pumpkins will be on display Thursday and Friday 10/27 and 10/28 in the Linthicum office. And, if they don't disappear over the weekend, they will still be there on Halloween. Winners of that contest will be posted on our Facebook page.
If pumpkins are not your thing, except maybe in some pie - you could guess how many candy corns are in a jar - and submit your guess in order to win a prize. Each office will have a $25 Visa card waiting for the patient who comes in and makes a guess closest to the number of candies in the jar. Those winners will be announced on November 1, 2016. So, don't be bashful, like this guy, and take a guess. If you didn't see this one last year, this was another entry in the pumpkin carving contest.
We will also have some sugar free candies for anyone who feels like they might like to pop something into their mouth while they are in the office - like this character. Yes, you guessed it - another creative carving from last year! We will have some fun trivia on the display board in the Linthicum office, and employees might be disguised themselves on Halloween day. And, if a patient or family member comes into any office on Halloween day in costume, we have a special treat for you!