Welcome Michelle Forbus to Dankmeyer!

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If you see a relatively new face at Dankmeyer’s Eastern Shore office, say hello to our newest clinician, Michelle Forbus, Board Eligible Prosthetist Orthotist. Michelle spent six months with Dankmeyer as a resident in 2019 and recently completed the prosthetics and orthotics program at Baylor in Houston, TX. The Baylor College of Medicine Orthotics and Prosthetics Program is described on their website as “the only academic program in the nation in which the dual clinical residency requirements are included. Program graduates are eligible to sit for both Orthotics and Prosthetics board certification exams upon completion of their M.S. degree.”

Originally from Crofton, Maryland, Michelle did her undergraduate work at McDaniel College in Westminster, MD, majoring in Exercise Science. She is happy to return to Dankmeyer and Maryland to work close to friends and family. We are really happy to have her back, so say hello and welcome back when you see her!

Dankmeyer's Rebecca Snell New OPAF Board Member

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Congratulations to Dankmeyer's IT & Marketing Director, Rebecca "Becky" Snell, who is a new member of the Orthotics and Prosthetics Activity Foundation's Board of Directors. OPAF is celebrating its 25th year of providing activity "firsts" to the mobility impaired. First Swim, First Dance, and First Climb are among the many activities that OPAF runs to encourage discovery of new physical activities, or rediscovery for those who are trying favorite activities under new circumstances.

Snell, an avid runner, cyclist and hiker, is very excited to be working with the group. At the Amputee Coalition's summer convention, she attended a First Dance where Adrianne Haslet (the professional ballroom dancer who lost her leg in the Boston Marathon bombing) taught a room full of amputees how to salsa. "I am embarrassed by my own dancing, and I have full mobility. Adrianne made me feel like I could salsa and Texas Two-Step along with everyone else who was having so much fun! There is a first time for everything!" You can visit the OPAF website for more information about the organization and upcoming activities.

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Dankmeyer at the Maryland STEM Festival

Art Ross ready to assemble a device.

Several Dankmeyer staff members participated in the day long Maryland STEM Festival on November 7, 2019. STEM is the shorthand for a Science Technology Engineering Math education concentration. Six hundred excited middle school students attended this great event at the Bioscience Education Center at Montgomery College. The room was full of energy as the first group of three hundred students entered the conference center. Art Ross (Fabrication Technician) and Becca Frost (Board Eligible Prosthetist, Resident Orthotist) joined Dawn Miranda (Dawn Miranda, Prosthetist Assistant) to represent Dankmeyer, Inc. at the festival to inform students about the field of Prosthetics and Orthotics.

Art Ross shows a student some components.

The students came full of questions and were eager to try all of the prosthetic components we brought for them to take apart and put together. Each student had an opportunity to see what our daily jobs entail. They could have the experience of an upper limb amputee by using a manual below the elbow arm with a hook that they could put on and then try to pick things up by manipulating the hook. They also could wear an Iwalk 2.0 device to get the feel of how someone with below the knee limb loss has to balance and step. These devices gave the students a better awareness of how an amputee feels in the beginning when they are new to wearing a prosthetic arm or leg.

Dawn shows a student an IWalk device.

A variety of other vendors was present to teach the students about many other STEM related fields they could study and work in. The students saw demonstrations on how to field dress limbs (not real ones!) and save lives (the Army trauma response team), presentations from agriculture groups, and the ever popular experiments that helped kids make slime and understand the chemical properties of the materials involved. The animal awareness group had tarantulas, a Leopard Spotted lizard, Bearded Dragon lizard and various exotic bugs to let everyone touch. These activities demonstrated how science plays into our animal ecosystem.

This event was a great time for all and I think students and vendors alike learned so much from each other. It will be a pleasure to attend next year!

Please enjoy a little slide show of our interactions with the students! If you have any questions about any of the devices, or want to understand better limb loss or the need for orthoses (braces), or how to become a prosthetist, orthotist or a fabrication technician, then email info@dankmeyer.com and we will be happy to answer!

  • Dawn Miranda, Prosthetist Assistant


Congratulations, Rochelle Dumm, CPO!

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Please join us in congratulating Rochelle Dumm on passing her board examinations to make her a Certified Prosthetist! Rochelle had completed her orthotic residency at another facility, and came to Dankmeyer to complete her prosthetic residency. Along the way, she passed her boards for orthotics and became a Certified Orthotist. Now she is a CPO! We are so happy to have her as part of the Dankmeyer family. Well done, Rochelle!

Welcome to Dankmeyer Mike Miranda!

Please join us in welcoming Mike Miranda as the newest addition to the Dankmeyer family! Mike will be working in Shipping and Receiving. He comes to us with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering as well as an associate’s degree in architecture. He has many years of mechanical equipment sales and service as well as equipment maintenance and repair. Mike is also bilingual - as he is fluent in Spanish - and will lend his translation skills wherever he can. Originally from Spencer, Massachusetts, Mike is a recent transplant from San Antonio, Texas along with his wife, Dawn Miranda, who recently joined Dankmeyer as a Prosthetist Assistant. He is looking forward to having the four seasons back and spending time with his grandchildren. Mike’s hobbies are mountain bike riding, fishing, hunting and archery.