Five Questions for Preston K. Watts Jr., CPO

Preston Watts Jr., CPO, owner of Alabama Prosthetics and Orthotics Inc. in Montgomery , was a truck driver in Memphis, Tennessee, when he decided he wanted to do something else with his life. With two previous years of college study, he found that Shelby State Community College in Memphis offered a short-term course in orthotics and prosthetics. (The course is no longer offered.) "I went and talked with them and found that O&P involved working with people and helping them-and that got me interested in O&P." Watts began working in O&P in Memphis. After he was certified, he moved to Birmingham, Alabama, in 1986 and then to Montgomery in 1988.

1. What has motivated/inspired you in your life and/or professional pursuits? What mentors have encouraged you?

I worked for Ronney Snell for about three years. Ronney enjoyed helping people. He would go the extra mile to help patients achieve their goals, not only with his skills, but also at times financially as well. [ Editor's note: Ronney Snell, CPO, FAAOP, now deceased, was owner of Central Fabrication Inc. (CFI), Memphis. He served as president twice for the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA). He also served as president of the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists (the Academy) and the American Board for Certification in Orthotics and Prosthetics (ABC) now the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics. He received AOPA's Lifetime Achievement Award and the Academy's Titus-Ferguson Award.]

2. How has your career progressed?

My career has been great-I enjoy helping and encouraging people to get back to a more active life. But the business has been worse because of the payers. When I worked with Ronney, we were paid half at casting and the other half at delivery, so we didn't have to deal with insurance payers. It was up to the patients to collect their insurance themselves. However, since Medicare has been setting fee schedules, and since under the Freedom of Information Act, any insurance or individual can obtain that schedule, payers are saying, "This is what you're accepting from Medicare, so we're not going to pay you more than that."

3. What advice would you give to someone just entering the O&P/rehab profession or starting his/her own business?

Be an owner in the long run, not an employee. When you are the owner, you can decide whether or not to help someone financially and what should be done [clinically] to help the patient. When you work for a big corporation, often there are parameters around what you can and cannot do.

4. Please describe your approach to patient care. What are your top priorities/goals when working with a patient?

We really listen to them. Then we can understand what their goals are and how we can best help them. This also helps your business grow [by providing better service].

5. What aspects of your career do you consider as your most important accomplishments?

I'm proudest of being able to financially help people obtain care who are unable to do it themselves and to help people achieve their goals. We had a patient who is a transtibial amputee that we helped get through firefighter training with his prosthesis, and he is now a firefighter. We've also had a couple of upper-extremity amputees who we were able to get involved with people who helped them to be able to hunt and fish again.

Five Questions for Preston K. Watts Jr., CPO

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