Outsource Marketing Solutions blog

USS Brashear

"One of the Navy's newest Military Sealift Command dry cargo ships will be named after the service's first black deep-sea diver, the secretary of the Navy announced Monday....

Retired Master Chief Petty Officer Carl Brashear, whose life was depicted in the 2000 movie "Men of Honor" starring Cuba Gooding Jr., died in July 2006 at the Navy hospital in Portsmouth. He was 75...

In 1966, shortly after locating a nuclear weapon lost off the coast of Spain, Brashear injured his leg so badly it had to be amputated below the knee.

The Navy wanted to retire him. Brashear wanted to still serve. After enduring more than a year of tests, Brashear marked another first — the first amputee to return to active duty in the Navy. He retired in 1979 as a master chief petty officer, the first black master diver..."

Source

Do Not Fuggadaboutit

On Sunday, Sept. 9, James Gandolfini, star of the HBO series "The Sopranos," made his debut as an executive producer for his own Attaboy Films with the documentary "Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq." The title refers to the soldiers' "alive day," the date on which they were injured but lived.

Gandolfini interviewed 10 soldiers, including those with amputations, traumatic brain injuries and severe post-traumatic stress disorder. READ MORE
Source

Hollywood and O&P, again

From The Huffington Post:

The press releases have gone out. A cast is being signed for the Bryan Singer-directed film. And a crew is being rounded up. According to the Internet Movie Database, one of the first members of the crew who's been secured is a prosthetics expert.

That's because by the time Cruise's character in "Valkyrie" -- a Nazi general under Hitler's command -- is in full throttle on screen, he's already lost an eye and a couple of limbs.

And from MSNBC.com:

Cruise had not intended to star in the project, however, during subsequent meetings, the project’s director, Bryan Singer, became intrigued by the notion of Cruise as a central figure in the story and offered him the role. Cruise signed.

Production is scheduled to begin early this summer. MGM will distribute. Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander wrote the script. Singer and McQuarrie previously teamed on the Oscar-winning thriller “The Usual Suspects.”

Tom Hanks Seeks Irish Male Amputee

 From the Irish Post online:

"HOLLYWOOD superstar Tom Hanks is on the look-out for some unusual extras for his new movie to be filmed in Belfast.

The Forrest Gump star is making City Of Ember - a film version of Jeanne DuPrau's children's science fiction adventure.

The $50million film is being made by PlayTone which is owned by Tom Hanks.

The producers are seeking a serious cyclist, a female jockey, a very athletic or agile child or a man with an artificial limb...."

Bare Hands and Wooden Limbs

"Bare Hands and Wooden Limbs" is a documentary film about former Khmer Rouge Commander Touj Souerly, and Chhem Sip, a Khmer-American who fled Cambodia after years of forced labor under the Khmer Rouge, and their unique collaboration to improve the lives of a village of landmine survivors.

Partially funded by McMahan Center Abilities Activists.  "Redefining what people of differing abilities are able to achieve."

Who's your competition?

It may not be who you think.

Back in the day - the local video store's competition was Blockbuster.
They both rented videos from a bricks and mortar building.
(The local ones were cheaper too, so it wasn't about price!!!  I used to rent videos for 99 cents!)
Anyway, today Blockbuster's competition is no longer bricks and mortar - they don't really worry - or at least I hope they don't - about Hollywood Video or any of the other video rental locations.

Their competition?

It's online downloaded movies - Movielink.com

Movies from your cable company  Dish Network's Pay Per View

And...movies in the mail via  NetFlix and their new plan - an  online movie delivery service that will allow subscribers to watch 1,000 movies and television shows on their PCs at no additional charge.

Netflix's  streaming movie plan was developed to counter Blockbuster's Total Access plan.

Innovative products/services and delivery methods.   

O&P?

Don't think for two seconds that your competition is other ABC or BOC certifiees, national O&P chains  or your fellow AOPA members. 

Competition is not just about the product or service  - it's also about the delivery method and access to the target markets - reputation and innovation (real or perceived.)

Chiropractors - 100,000+ (and they add approximately 5000 new doctors a year.)
"First, chiropractors are de facto back pain/spine doctors seeing a limited proportion of the population, today. That is, as chiropractic is currently practiced it is entirely dependent on back pain/spine care for its economic survival. Second, the back pain market is enormous and can provide, by itself, a sufficient patient base to support the entire profession... The state of mind regarding the profession that (they) would like to make is: Go to a DC for your spinal health and prevention as you would go to your dentist for your dental health and prevention." from Chiropractic & Osteopathy
(This would be a positioning statement!)

Podiatrists -   There are about 13,320 doctors of podiatric medicine actively in practice in   the United States. There is an average of one podiatric physician for every   20,408 people and they receive more than 60 million visits a year from people   with any number of foot ailments.

Athletic trainers - held about 15,000 jobs in 2004 and are found in every part of the country. Most athletic trainer jobs are related to sports, although many also work in nonsports settings. About one-third of athletic trainers worked in health care, including jobs in hospitals, offices of physicians, and offices of other health practitioners.

I didn't mention orthopedists, physician assistants, cast techs, physical therapists, OT's, Staples (yes, Staples - they sell wrist braces) CVS, WalMart, online sales...

My own personal observations (if you're patient care, then who will be your Netflix?) - podiatry and chiropractic.

Podiatry = Diabetes foot, ankle and ???? care - check out their website
Chiropractic = new certification.  Certified Chiropractic EXTREMITY Practitioner = bracing

It's about access to target markets.  (It's not about licensure and restricting access to care.  We have a global diabetes epidemic.  More providers, not fewer providers.)

What's your prediction?

"Beyond the Call"

Review of the indie documentary Beyond the Call from the Cinemania blog

"...And while the filmmakers get some remarkable footage in places as far-flung as Afghanistan and the Thai-Burmese border (where we witness the most remarkable footage of soccer-playing amputees)..."

Description from the Palm Springs International Film Festival catalog:
In an Indiana Jones-meets-Mother Teresa adventure, three middle-aged men, former soldiers and modern-day knights, travel the world delivering lifesaving humanitarian aid directly into the hands of civilians and doctors in some of the most dangerous yet beautiful places on Earth, the front lines of war.

"Grindhouse"

“Grindhouse,” a double feature from Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino.

If you haven’t seen the trailer yet, you can see it on YouTube.

Any movie featuring an amputee who has a machine gun as her transfemoral prosthesis...