7 minute read
Member Spotlight
by AOPA
On-the-Job Training
A new facility owner learned the ins and outs of his business during the early months of the pandemic
IF GRANT ESPY HAD seen the future, he might not have bought an O&P practice 13 months ago. But the pandemic in the United States was still a few months away, so Espy and his wife, Kelly Espy, and silent partner, Powell Fulton, took over the reins of Walker Orthotics & Prosthetics in Rome, Georgia, a facility founded in 2002.
Espy hailed from the banking arena, but as a resident of Rome, he was familiar with the facility’s owners. “I was ready for change and knew that the previous owner was interested in selling,” Espy says. “It was a good business, fully staffed, and I decided it was the thing to do.”
He plans to continue the Walker name for the time being. The facility’s six employees include clinician David Baggett, CPO; two fitters, one of whom is certified in therapeutic shoes; one technician; and two administrative staffers. Espy also plans an important new hire: his wife, Kelly, who is a physical therapist.
Walker O&P has four exam rooms, a prosthetic room, and a fabrication lab. The location is ideal, according to Espy, since it is situated near major hospitals and the largest clinic in northwest Georgia.
Espy learned a lot about his new business when the coronavirus began spreading and fewer patients visited the office. “The pandemic set us back for six weeks in March and April,” says Espy. “We sent more than half our staff home, including both our admins. I got a lot of my Walker Orthotics & Prosthetic staff
FACILITY:
Walker Orthotics & Prosthetics
OWNERS:
Grant Espy, Kelly Espy, and Powell Fulton
LOCATION: Rome, Georgia
HISTORY:
18 years (one year under new ownership)
Grant and Kelly Espy
administrative training that way, sitting in the office by myself for six weeks! I didn’t enjoy it at first, but I got great on-the-job training.”
Today, everyone wears masks in the facility, which is regularly scrubbed and disinfected. Patients are screened for COVID-19, and only a limited number of patients are permitted in the lobby. Such precautions have been successful so far, says Espy.
Walker O&P’s business divides roughly evenly between orthotics and prosthetics. While clinicians see all types of patients, 90 percent of prosthetic cases are lower limb, often due to diabetes complications. About 70 percent of lower-limb prosthetic patients have below-knee amputations, and 30 percent have lost their limb through or just above the knee. Espy says the facility treated its first patient from a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital recently and hopes to expand that portion of its business.
According to Espy, he has found many ways to increase his knowledge of successful O&P intervention over the past year. He observes patient care in the facility’s prosthetic room and sits in on lab procedures. “It’s all valuable on-the-job training,” he explains. And his AOPA membership has been helpful: “We signed up to go to the virtual conference. It was very educational for me. Joining AOPA gives me access to classes, clinician webinars, and information on Medicare and Medicaid,” he says.
While business is slightly down from 2019 as a result of the pandemic, Espy looks forward to solid growth. Once Kelly Espy comes on board as a physical therapist, patients will be able to access services in one place. Eventually, Espy would love to add another office or two in nearby counties because several current patients drive in from the surrounding community. But for now, he says, “we have to continue to refine our services and make sure this single office is running the way it should.”
Espy is pleased with his transition from banking to O&P. “We do have competition in the area, but we are the only locally owned small clinic, and I take pride in that. Like other small businesses, we do focus on service, which means we will see you as many times as you need. We spend an extraordinary amount of time pre- and post-service. I give my cell number to people, and we do 24/7 service to hospitals.”
Espy’s favorite part of the business is watching someone move from a wheelchair to walking. “We get emails that we have changed someone’s life,” he says. “It’s so gratifying.”
Deborah Conn is a contributing writer to O&P Almanac. Reach her at deborahconn@verizon.net.
Manufacturing Milestones
International orthopedics company celebrates 50-year anniversary in 2021
JUST ONE YEAR AGO, Össur was looking forward to its 50th anniversary in 2021, celebrating a half century of providing innovative technologies in orthotics and prosthetics. And then, of course, the pandemic appeared.
“I’ve been the chief executive officer of Össur for more than 20 years,” says Jon Sigurdsson, “and I never thought we’d be facing an existential threat to the company. In the first few weeks of the pandemic, when everything was shut down, our sales dropped 50 percent, and at that rate, we couldn’t survive for long.”
Fortunately, essential businesses—like healthcare— reopened, and the situation improved. “The year 2020 was not a good one by any means,” says Sigurdsson, “but I think we can say that the O&P industry has fared well compared to a lot of others.” Össur adapted many of its operations to meet production needs safely. Those who can, work from home. Some employees, particularly in manufacturing and distribution, are unable to work remotely, so the company has severely limited the number of people who can be in the same room at one time and instituted double shifts to keep up with demand.
The company was founded in 1971 by Össur Kristinsson, a prosthetist who developed the Iceross, a silicon liner for prosthetic sockets. Since then, the company has become an international leader in noninvasive orthopedics, with approximately 4,000 employees operating in more than 25 countries. It acquired the German company Medi Prosthetics and the UK firm Touch Bionics, an
Jon Sigurdsson
COMPANY:
Össur
OWNERS: Publicly held
LOCATION:
Worldwide presence, with headquarters in Reykjavík, Iceland
HISTORY:
50 years
upper-extremity prosthetics company, in 2016. More recently, Össur signed an agreement to acquire College Park Industries, in Warren, Michigan, and re-inked a collaboration with the Alfred Mann Foundation to explore mind-controlled prosthetic devices. In 2019, Össur celebrated 20 years as a publicly traded company.
Össur Americas is headquartered in Foothill Ranch, California, with a service network extending from Mexico to Canada and a manufacturing center in Tijuana, Mexico. The company’s slogan, “Life Without Limitations,” underscores its commitment to patients. In 2019, Össur began to feature on its website stories of those who pursue their dreams regardless of physical challenges. Athletes, teachers, hikers, and dancers describe their journeys as people with limb loss.
The Össur Academy opened in 2014 in Orlando as a center for clinical education and research and development (R&D). The pandemic has halted in-person classes, but a wide range of online practitioner courses are available, many of which confer continuing education credits. Other resources include reimbursement news and support, the Women’s Leadership Initiative for women O&P professionals, and Empower, an online platform for inventory management, reimbursement, and consulting services.
The company prides itself on its strong approach to corporate responsibility, including environmental and social measures. “We expect to be carbon neutral in 2021,” says Sigurdsson. In addition to taking advantage of Iceland’s country-wide geothermal energy, the company is focusing on reducing emissions from business travel and freight as well as choosing safe, recyclable materials whenever possible. The company has made a commitment to gender equality, achieving an even gender split among employees, and aims to increase the number of women in management positions. Accompanying that is an effort to encourage greater diversity and inclusiveness in the industry.
Össur sponsors elite athletes through Team Össur, providing advanced devices and support to an international roster of competitors, who in turn provide valuable feedback to the R&D team. The Össur Ambassadors program represents a diverse group who present a public face of the company at trade shows, amputee clinics, and other community events, demonstrating how Össur innovations help them achieve their goals.
According to Sigurdsson, Össur’s R&D efforts have been ongoing throughout the pandemic, although the testing phase of some products has had to be postponed. Nevertheless, he hints at the release of “exciting new developments” in 2021.
Through it all, Sigurdsson credits the success and longevity of Össur to its close contact with its customers. “That is our backbone. Working together, we are always striving to help even more people live life without limitations.”
Deborah Conn is a contributing writer to O&P Almanac. Reach her at deborahconn@verizon.net.