Outsource Marketing Solutions blog

Alabama O&P Company Helps Girl to Fulfill Her Halloween Wish

Montgomery, AL - Oct 29, 2007
Contact: Chris Perry, Perry Associates

Beth Ruehl may not have a ship, a parrot, or even a real treasure map, but come this Halloween she will be sporting an authentic wooden "peg leg" that any one-legged pirate would envy. That's because unlike most kids who dress up like pirates to go trick-or-treating, this 11-year-old Prattville girl really is an amputee.

"You have to understand that Halloween has always been a big family tradition for us," explained Raquel Ruehl, Beth's mother. "My kids start thinking about their Halloween costumes right after Easter."

 

In June of 1999, an accident claimed Beth's leg below the knee. She was only three years old. Her mother credits the fact that Beth was so young when the tragedy occured as the reason her amputation never slowed her down. She pointed to the fact that only four months after the accident, her daughter donned a ballerina costume and went trick-or-treating on Halloween without skipping a beat. 

That little three year old ballerina has grown a lot since then, but Halloween still holds a special place in her heart. This coming Halloween, because of her adoration of Johnny Depp in his role as Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Beth decided that she wanted to be a pirate this year. So at a recent follow-up appointment with her prosthetist, Beth mentioned that she really wanted a pirate-style peg leg to wear as part of her costume.

Staff Produces Wooden Prosthesis for Costume

AAL&OS's Keith Uuro, a certified prosthetist, and Joey Oliver, a prosthetic technician, soon started discussing the girl's Halloween wish and decided that they would produce a wooden prosthetic leg to complete the pirate costume. Despite the fact that the company's professional staff is much more accustomed to designing and fabricating hi-tech prostheses constructed of space-age carbon fiber materials and sometimes even equipped with computer microprocessor componentry, the decidedly no-tech wooden prostheses did not pose any challenges. Beth received the new leg graciously with a huge smile. 

"AAL&OS has always been absolutely wonderful to us," said Raquel. "Glenn Crumpton and his staff are so open and caring. They're constantly on the search for new technology that might benefit Beth. I can't say enough about how awesome they are, but taking the time to make the leg for her costume illustrates exactly what I mean." 

So this Halloween night when your doorbell rings, you may want to pay extra attention to who's standing at your door with an open loot bag, 'cause there's been a pirate with a peg leg spotted in the area. "Arrrr...shiver me timbers!"

Straight from the New York Post's Weird But True Page

A dolphin who lost her rear tail fin to a crab trap off the Florida coast has been fitted with an artificial rubber one that is attached to her stump.

"Some people say it's crazy to do this. But if you have an animal and it's injured, why not nurse it back to health?" said Kevin Carroll, vice president of Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics.

Source

Announcement Of Ossur Hf.'s Share Capital Increase

Reykjavik, Iceland, Oct 31, 2007 - (Hugin via ABN Newswire) - - Private placement completed

Ossur hf.'s (Ossur) private placement of new shares has been successfully completed. The private placement was oversubscribed and the new shares were allocated to Denmark's largest pension fund, ATP, and selected Icelandic institutional investors.

38,059,553 new shares were sold at ISK 103 per share which is the highest price in the range published at the commencement of the placement. The gross proceeds from the private placement amount to ISK 3,920,133,959.

Ossur's board of directors has consequently resolved to increase  the Company's share capital by 38,059,553 shares.

The new shares represent 9.89% of Ossur's total issued share capital. After the private placement the total share capital of Ossur will consist of 423,000,000 shares. The new shares will be paid for no later than on 7 November.

The new shares are expected to  be admitted to trading on OMX  Nordic Exchange hf. no later than on Monday 12 November 2007.

The private placement was managed by Kaupthing Bank hf.

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium's dolphin with the prosthetic tail forges a special link with human amputees.

And, the Winter of our Prosthetic Publicity Bonanza continues...

The never ending tail of the dolphin with a prosthetic fin...

I will stop (for) now.

Source

If the Plastic Surgeons Can Piggyback On The Bionic Woman, Why Can't You?

Um, you can.

This is a press release that was sent out on the upcoming ASPS Annual Meeting.

If the ASPS can pimp out the Bionic Woman - you better believe you can too.
This is just a release about their annual meeting but whoever wrote it knows the power of the piggyback.

AND, they are honoring Scott Rigsby, bilateral BK ironman competitor, at their annual meeting - check it out.

You can write one up on any of the new "bionic" products you've got access to or are currently providing patients with - how bout them microprocessor knees?

C-Leg
Compact
Rheo
Power
Agility
Adaptive
IP

Creating the Bionic Woman: Making Nerves Spring Back to Life
Cutting-Edge Nerve Repair Discussed at American Society of Plastic Surgeons Annual Meeting
BALTIMORE, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the debut of NBC's "Bionic Woman," the notion of a bionic person is thought of as merely television fantasy. However, the bionic woman is getting closer to reality as reconstructive plastic surgeons perform quality-of-life-enhancing peripheral nerve surgeries once thought impossible. In fact, plastic surgeons are perfecting a nerve surgery that will allow humans to better interface with machines, giving amputees the ability to better move prosthetics, say presenters at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) Plastic Surgery 2007 conference in Baltimore.

Source

CMS Pilot Projects Address Fraud

CMS held a briefing last week to review three two-year demonstration projects aimed at combating fraud and abuse in the Medicare system with regard to durable medical equipment, prosthetics and orthotics supplies (DMEPOS), home health and infusion therapy.

The DMEPOS project will require suppliers to reapply for qualification in order to maintain their billing privileges in order to weed out fraudulent suppliers. The home health demonstration project will also require reapplication for Medicare billing privileges within 60 days.

If the providers do not respond, CMS will begin the process of revoking their billing privileges to identify those acting as fronts for fraudulent activities. The infusion therapy project will include more beneficiary outreach and institute a dedicated fraud hotline.

Source

Ohio State Board of O&P and Pedorthics

State Board of Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics:   

Orthopedic or physical rehabilitation physicians preferred. The board meets approx five times per year in Columbus. Most meetings are conducted in the afternoon or early evenings. Members are uncompensated, although expenses necessary and related to meeting attendance are reimbursed.

Terms are for three (3) years and members can serve two (2) consecutive terms. For more information click here.

As Far As I Know, Orthotist is Spelled the Same in Canada as it is in the United States

But you wouldn't think so if you read "State of the Art" Treatment of Osteoarthritis.
It's right there on the front page!

"Orthoses
For OA of the toes, insoles are more effective and safer than any drug treatment. A good relationship with a professional orthotics fitter ('orthoticist') or an occupational therapist is needed. If the orthotics are not helping, ask the orthoticist to try to modify them. Wedged insoles can also assist in knee OA. Bracing helps OA in one specific area or 'compartment' (mainly medial) in the knee, but good braces are expensive. Again, knowing who is good brace fitter (physiotherapists do this) in your community is important. Taping can help pain in the patello-femoral (knee cap) joint. A well made splint helps with thumb OA (the first 'carpometacarpal')."

"Orthoticist" is not a real word.
PLEASE stop trying to make it a real word.

It's Orthotist.

From OandPCare.org's glossary.

CO (Certified Orthotist) - Orthotist who has passed the certification standards of The American Board of Certification in Orthotics & Prosthetics, and maintains certification through mandatory continuing education program and adherence to the Code of Professional Responsibility.

Be like Nike...

O&P Business News, November 1, 2007
Cover Story

Diabetes and Niche Marketing
Be like Nike and communicate that you are aware of, and have designed your products and services to meet, the needs of certain patients.

By Elizabeth Mansfield

© 2007/DigitalVision/Getty Images

On Sept. 25, Nike unveiled what it said is the first shoe designed specifically for American Indians, an effort aimed at promoting physical fitness in a population with high obesity rates. The Air Native N7 is designed with a larger fit for the distinct foot shape of American Indians, and has a culturally specific look. The N7 name is a reference to the seventh generation theory, used by some tribes to look to the three generations preceding them for wisdom and the three generations ahead for their legacy.

The design features several “heritage callouts” including sunrise to sunset to sunrise patterns on the tongue and heel of the shoe. Feather designs adorn the inside and stars are on the sole to represent the night sky.

I would call this a great example of micro-niche marketing. I would also call it a brilliant publicity move by Nike.

Biggest niche market ever

Why not be like Nike?

Diabetes and the diabetic population could be considered one of the biggest niche markets today. Everyone and their grandmother is jumping on the diabetes marketing bandwagon. On www.monster.com and www.careerbuilder.com, there are job openings specifically listed as “diabetic marketing managers.” The diabetic market overall is booming.

But what about the niches?

Customer relationships

The American Marketing Associations’ definition of marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.

Health care providers are stakeholders in the care of their patients with diabetes. They are also your customers. Create, communicate and deliver value with your niche marketing efforts.

Who are two primary stakeholders? They are diabetic nurse educators and primary care physicians. Did you know that primary care physicians are the number one provider of diabetic care, managing 90% of care? If the stakeholders are convinced of the value you are offering, you have succeeded. The publicity or awareness generated by successful communicating can be worth its weight in gold.

Case in point. Stakeholders in the Native American community had this to say about Nike’s Air Native N7 shoe.

Kelly Acton, MD, MPH, director of the national diabetes program for Indian Health Services, said she was dubious of working with a corporation at first but said she was delighted with the result, saying Nike “‘bent over backwards’ to design a shoe and respect public health needs.”

John Dickson, a member of the executive council of the Native American Leadership Alliance in Washington, D.C., said in a news report on www.yahoo.com, “The reason I like it is that, even if there is not a big Native American market, it gives people the impression there is a constituency that deserves attention.”

Financial opportunity

According to Nike, the company anticipates selling at least 10,000 pairs and raising $200,000 for tribal programs. At $42.80 wholesale, it represents less of a financial opportunity than a goodwill and branding effort.

Nike gets it. They realize that there are other markets out there similar to the Native American market, like say, the worldwide diabetic market. Don’t be surprised if, after they have ridden the Native American wave, Nike debuts a diabetic sneaker.

Niche and grow rich, right?

Source

MuscleMorph Update

This medical startup, which took first place in 2006, wowed judges with an artificial muscle tissue that looked to be a standout in the growing prosthetics industry. Since then, founder and Stanford Ph.D. candidate Rodrigo Alvarez has lost his Wharton MBA teammate but continues to seek $1.3 million from angel investors to back this extremely challenging technology.

Source