PEOPLE & PLACES PROFESSIONALS ANNOUNCEMENTS AND TRANSITIONS
Two employees of The van Halem Group, a division of VGM & Associates, recently joined the boards of two different associations that serve the home medical equipment industry. Kelly Grahovac, general manager, was named to the board of directors for the South Carolina Medical Equipment Services Association. Wayne van Halem, president, was named to the board of the Georgia Association of Medical Equipment Suppliers. VGM has sponsored events for both of these associations, and both Grahovac and van Halem have been regular speakers at their association meetings. IN MEMORIAM Ronald F. Altman passed away Dec. 7, 2020, after a battle with Lewy body dementia. After losing his right leg at age 9, Altman chose to pursue the O&P profession. As a Peace Corps volunteer, he built the O&P facility at the Suva Crippled Children’s School in Suva, Fiji. Over the course of his long O&P career, Altman served as an examiner for the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics, and Pedorthics (ABC), chair of the National Examination Committee, a member of the Board of Directors of ABC, president of ABC, and vice chair of the National Commission on Orthotic and Prosthetic Education. In addition, he conducted O&P facility evaluations in Mozambique, Uganda, and Vietnam as a consultant for US AID. In 2005, four years after retiring from clinical practice, Altman was recognized with the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists’ Clinical Commitment Award. Memorial gifts may be made to the Lewy Body Dementia Resource Center or the ISPO Global Development Fund.
BUSINESSES ANNOUNCEMENTS AND TRANSITIONS
Ability Prosthetics and Orthotics has announced it will open four new offices in Pennsylvania this year: one in Harrisburg in January, one in West York in March, and offices in Lancaster and King of Prussia later in the year. The Board of Certification/Accreditation (BOC) was recognized as a Silver Winner of a www.bocusa.org 2020 Golden Bridge Award® in the “Company Rethinking of the Year” category. This category recognizes companies that have demonstrated resiliency and creativity 12
JANUARY 2021 | O&P ALMANAC
in adapting their business models and customer service offerings Contingency Planning During the COVID Pandemic during the COVID-19 pandemic. BOC was acknowledged for introducing tools and technoloT gies to support customers during the pandemic with a focus on safety, efficiency, and customer service—including publishing an article in an issue of AOPA’s O&P Almanac magazine. BOC added COVID-19 resources to its website; offered live, online, remotely proctored exams for certification candidates; conducted virtual site surveys for facilities seeking BOC accreditation; and contributed the Compliance Corner article, “Contingency Planning During the COVID Pandemic” in the October O&P Almanac. “COVID-19 continues to present a wide range of challenges for healthcare professionals and durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies facilities. The BOC team is focusing on our customers’ needs and opportunities to be innovative to support them,” said Claudia Zacharias, MBA, CAE, BOC’s president and chief executive officer. “Like many organizations, BOC has embraced the opportunity to rethink and adapt. We are honored to be named a Silver Winner of this prestigious award.” COMPLIANCE CORNER
By MATTHEW GRUSKIN, MBA, BOCO, BOCPD, CDME
COVID-19 teaches us that emergency preparedness goes beyond regulatory requirements
CE Editor’s Note: Readers of CREDITS Compliance Corner are now eligible to earn two CE credits. After reading this column, simply scan the QR code or use the link on page 40 to take the Compliance Corner quiz. Receive a score of at least 80 percent, and AOPA will transmit the information to the certifying boards.
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HE WORLD IS QUITE a different place now than it was a year ago. COVID-19 has impacted lives and workplaces in ways that were once unimaginable and, without a doubt, has tested the preparedness plans we built and intended to rely on during times of crisis. As we continue to navigate uncharted territory, the need to be flexible and innovative—while maintaining compliance to regulatory standards—has underscored the importance of contingency plans that allow us to continue caring for patients who rely on us every day, pandemic or not. Like many other healthcare professionals, orthotists and prosthetists have made some critically important decisions and adjusted to “the new normal” since the onset of COVID-19. Fortunately, every accredited O&P practice has a contingency plan on file, as required by Section 1 of the CMS Quality Standards. Ideally, the plan helped provide much needed guidance and direction as the COVID-19 virus rapidly spread. More likely, the plan lacked the level of detailed guidance needed during a global pandemic, and instead served as an outline for important discussions and decisions.
During the plan’s initial implementation phase, many O&P practitioners recognized the need to expand contingency plans, adding details and outlining new and revised procedures to guide operations during the pandemic. Now is the time to reassess what we put (or didn’t put) on paper, as well as what we’ve learned from COVID-19. Preparing now for future coronavirus surges, or any other crises, can help safeguard the health and safety of our employees, patients, and businesses.
Challenges Presented by COVID-19
Without a doubt, COVID-19 changed the way we think about crisis management and the steps that healthcare providers must take to be prepared. Prior to 2020, most contingency plans were designed in anticipation of things like tornados, hurricanes, workplace violence, or security breaches—specific events, each with an identifiable beginning and end, followed by a period of recovery. Most practitioners never considered the possibility of a global health pandemic that would impact operations for weeks, months, or even years.
OCTOBER 2020 | O&P ALMANAC
Coapt has moved into a new space for its Chicago headquarters. The new address is 303 W. Institute Place, Ste. 200, Chicago, IL 60610.
THE LIGHTER SIDE
