2013 Award Winners Show Their Mettle
Inspiration
Missed the conference?
Bookended by personal accounts of limb-loss and the triumphs of O&P care, the World Congress also left many reminded of the value their work has on patients and the community. “My favorite sessions were the Opening Ceremony and Rep. Tammy Duckworth’s (D-Illinois) keynote address,” says Dennis Dillard, C.Ped, CTO, Comprehensive Prosthetics and Orthotics in Peoria, Illinois. “Both were inspirational, for lack of a better word. It is easy to get lost in the daily routine and sort of lose sight of the tremendous impact the O&P profession is having on the lives of so many people. It was good to get recharged a bit.”
If you or your colleagues weren’t able to attend the World Congress in September, you can still access the wealth of information shared during the global event, including videos of the Opening Ceremony and Congresswoman Duckworth’s presentation, educational handouts, and more. Explore all of the highlights and hear feedback from attendees at http://bit.ly/1i8FHqs.
From left, Edwin and Kathryn Arbogast 2013 Award Winner Darren Bolger, AOPA President Tom Kirk, and Otto and Lucille Becker 2013 Award Winner Kier Book.
Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) gives her keynote address.
The Thranhardt Lecture Series Session. Winners of the Howard R. Thranhardt Award include Kevin Felton, CO, LO; Andrea Giovanni Cutti, PhD, and Emanuele Lettieri, PhD; Silvia Raschke, PhD, and Michael Orendurff, PhD; and Brian Hafner, PhD.
Putt-Putt for the Fun of It sponsored by Arizona AFO Giveaway Winner Erin Cammarata.
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O&P Almanac NOVEMBER 2013
The Opening Ceremony focused on patients’ life-changing relationships with their prosthetists and orthotists—including testimonials from a congenital double-amputee actress and Paralympic athlete, a bi-lateral hemipelvectomy Iraq War veteran, an above-the-knee amputee cheerleader and international athlete, and the mother of a young boy with cerebral palsy—and their gratitude toward the profession. “When I look down at my body, I see a patchwork of collaboration between people who may not even know each other and sometimes compete in the same business,” Pedro Pomento, a
Speaker Pedro Pomento at the Opening General Session.
quadruple amputee from Brazil, explained to the audience. “But in the end, they work together creating this great industry, providing patients what we deserve…the possibility to turn our disability into a mere detail that doesn’t stop us from living our lives without limits.” Similarly, Duckworth’s closing keynote address echoed that same message of appreciation and determination as she recounted losing both legs and damaging her right arm following a helicopter crash in the Iraq War. Her experience with O&P during her recovery and subsequent political life has compelled her to become an advocate for the industry, most recently as co-sponsor of the Medicare O&P Improvement Act (HR 3112). “I see my role is to be your cheerleader,” she said during her address. “I couldn’t be here today, and I couldn’t be doing the job I do in Washington, were it not for this organization and your peers.” She continued to explain how her experiences with practitioners were a “lifeline” of hope that offered her a way forward to where she is today. ”Your body should never get in the way of what you are trying to do and the life you want to live.” Duckworth also encouraged all participants to lobby their political representatives on curbing fraud and abuse in the Medicare system as well as the effects of Recovery Audit Contractor audits on the profession. ”I’m here to challenge you. It’s easy for us to meet here and tell some stories…but I need you to not let me off the hook, to not let your representatives off the hook... You need to need to be a loud squeaky wheel so that we can focus on you.” a