Dankmeyer at 65!

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Yes, 2019 marks the 65th birthday of Dankmeyer, Inc. Started September 29, 1954, Dankmeyer has been in prosthetic and orthotic patient care since just after the Korean War.

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Dankmeyer Inc. was founded to provide prostheses and orthoses to patients in Maryland and nearby communities. The practice developed and has maintained an excellent reputation throughout the community and has relationships with all of the medical teaching institutions in the area as well as most of the private hospitals and insurers. The practice was founded on the principle of being sensitive to the needs of the community and providing services to meet those needs. We were founded by Charles “Herb” Dankmeyer, himself a bilateral below the knee amputee. Dankmeyer, Inc is now the largest provider of orthoses and prostheses in the State of Maryland.

Dankmeyer can claim a number of “firsts" in its lengthy service, both nationally and regionally:

  • Proportional switch control of upper limb prostheses

  • Single control site, multiple joint control upper limb prostheses

  • Powered shoulder system for upper limb prostheses

  • Total contact above knee suction sockets

  • All plastic sockets

  • Total contact below knee sockets

  • Hydraulic knee control systems

  • Pneumatic knee control systems

  • Variable friction knee control systems

  • Self suspending below elbow prostheses

  • Immediate postoperative prostheses

  • Preparatory prostheses

  • Self suspending below knee prostheses

  • Articulating partial foot prostheses

  • Myoelectric controlled upper limb prostheses

  • Endoskeletal lower limb prostheses

  • Natural skin finishes on lower limb prostheses

  • Plastic lower limb orthoses

  • Plastic upper limb orthoses

Dankmeyer staff, some of whom have been a part of the company for forty years, continue to serve the community in four office locations, and in a number of clinic environments. We continue to incorporate new techniques, train new residents and interns, teach new students at a variety of educational institutions, continue individual professional education efforts, and support a number of community events by sponsorship and volunteering.

We are committed to enriching the lives of all those in the communities we serve.

Welcome to Dankmeyer, Dawn Miranda!

Please join us in welcoming Dawn Miranda to the Dankmeyer team!  Dawn comes to us from San Antonio, Texas, where she worked as a prosthetics and orthotics patient care advocate for the past two and a half years.  Dawn is fulfilling a new role at Dankmeyer as a Prosthetist Assistant.  Her many years in healthcare – both in patient care as a licensed practical nurse and in administration - make her a valuable addition to our clinical staff.

Dawn also brings a unique set of skills and knowledge to the team, as she is a left below knee amputee.  She is a very active adaptive athlete - participating in 5k running events, hiking, mountain biking, downhill skiing and horsemanship. She is a two-time survivor of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and active in online support groups to help other amputees as well as cancer survivors.  Dankmeyer will also take advantage of her education and experience in marketing as part of our marketing team.  Originally from upstate New York, her family relocated to Maryland to be close to their grandchildren.  She is already enjoying the more moderate weather, and looks forward to experiencing winter again!

Sheryl Sachs, CPO on NCOPE Board

Dankmeyer would like to congratulate Sheryl N Sachs, MSPO, CPO, as she has become a board member for the National Commission for Orthotic & Prosthetic Education (NCOPE)!  Her current term will run through the end of 2020 and she may be reappointed for additional multi-year terms. NCOPE is responsible for supervision of education within the O&P profession, including developing standards for accreditation for the school programs, and development of standards for, and accreditation of residency education and pedorthic education. Dankmeyer is proud to work with NCOPE on our residency program.

If that wasn’t enough, starting this December, Sheryl will also be a member of the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association’s (AOPA) Government Affairs Committee. In recent years, Sheryl has found a passion in working with AOPA on policies in our industry and is looking forward to serving on this committee.

Dankmeyer will start accepting applications for its residency program starting on September 4th, 2019.  Please visit us on our Residency page for more information on our residency program and for a link to the NCOPE website.

Welcome and a Congratulations!

Please join us in welcoming the newest addition to our clinical staff, Orthotics Resident Rebecca Frost. Rebecca comes to Dankmeyer as a Board Eligible Prosthetist. She got her first exposure to the field of Prosthetics and Orthotics through a shadowing opportunity at Dankmeyer summer of 2015. Immediately, she was inspired by the ability to combine patient care, science and art. Since then she has earned a BS in Kinesiology from the University of Maryland, College Park and a Master of Prosthetics and Orthotics degree from the University of Washington, Seattle. Rebecca comes from a large family and loves to travel and try exotic foods with her loved ones. Her hobbies include anything outdoors, including activities like hiking, wakeboarding, snowboarding, mountain biking, and volleyball. Rebecca has studied prosthetics primarily within active duty and retired military populations and volunteers with organizations that encourage people with all types of abilities to stay active and participate in adaptive sports.

We also congratulate Rochelle Dumm, CO, for completing her Prosthetics Residency at Dankmeyer. Now a Board Eligible Prosthetist, Rochelle will be studying for those board exams! We are very happy she has decided to stay with Dankmeyer after completing her residency.

Welcome Rebecca and congratulations Rochelle!

Dankmeyer Coming and Going.....

Summertime is a busy time of year and also can be a time for change. Some change jobs, graduate from school, go on vacation, and some grill outside, swim and boat, enjoy baseball (Go O’s!), and count the days until football starts again. 

Dankmeyer is no exception to change and as a result, we are seeing some staffing changes this summer. This summer, we welcome two new Summer Interns, welcome back a familiar face, say goodbye to an intern and a practitioner.

Summer Interns: Noah Rogofsky and Kamilla Miller

Every summer, we welcome a few summer interns. These college students are interested in being immersed in day to day prosthetics and orthotics business operations. In the two months they are with is, they shadow clinicians, come to understand some fabrication techniques, learn about business operations and more. This summer, Noah and Kamilla are creating a suite of videos for Dankmeyer that we can use on our website and YouTube channel - exploring care and use instructions, basics on prosthetics and orthotics, and fabrication.

Kamilla is a senior at Towson University. She is planning to apply to O&P schools by the end of summer. She feels this internship experience at Dankmeyer is an incredible opportunity to learn about the daily responsibilities of a practitioner, while also being able to better understand the dynamic of patient and office interaction.

Noah Rogofsky is back for a second internship, as he was at Dankmeyer two years ago. Noah is a junior, majoring in mechanical engineering at the University of South Carolina. His goal at Dankmeyer is to gain some understanding of prosthetic patients and fabrication. He wants to eventually work in prosthetic design.

Tyler Treff is Back!

We also welcome back Tyler Treff - back for his 3rd summer with Dankmeyer. Tyler is Patient Services Coordinator Cindy French’s son. He will be working in the shop again this year stripping casts, sewing straps, making prosthetic socks and doing clean-up. He will be a Senior at North County High School this coming school year - a member of the Class of 2020! Tyler is planning on pursuing a career in the Coast Guard.

Tyler’s first summer job was at Dankmeyer, so he is a familiar face!

But, sadly, we also have a few goodbyes.

Michelle Forbus

Michelle’s last day with us as part of her residency program was the end of June. Michelle is part of the unique prosthetics and orthotics program at Baylor in Houston, TX. The Baylor College of Medicine Orthotics and Prosthetics graduates are eligible to sit for both Orthotics and Prosthetics board certification exams upon completion of their M.S. degree. As part of this program, Michelle will go to several different prosthetic and orthotic practices to do 3-6 month residency rotations. She has been with us at Dankmeyer for six months and has moved on for the next part of her training. We will miss her!

Nina Bondre, CPO

Nina Bondre, who has been with Dankmeyer since 2015, is leaving us at the end of June. Nina's first exposure to orthotics and prosthetics was during a high school internship at Dankmeyer. She completed her BS in Neuroscience at Duke University and then her master's degree in Prosthetics & Orthotics from Northwestern University. She came to Dankmeyer to complete her residency and has stayed with us since then - spearheading our Dankmeyer Academy education program on top her work as a clinician. Nina is leaving to pursue a job as a Clinical Educator with Cascade Prosthetic and Orthotic Supplies.