The world of O&P is made up of people who share their skills, interests, and knowledge in any number of ways. Many of them will be presenting, moderating, or attending sessions at the AOPA National Assembly. Hugh Herr, PhD, known for his pioneering prosthetics work, will be giving the keynote address and delivering the lifetime achievement award on Thursday morning. A few other well-known names can be found in the program.
Scott Williamson, MBA, CAE (ret), is moderating sessions as part of the Business Education Presentation Panel. Topics include building relationships in the clinic and with referral sources and building the next generation of O&P managers. Another session about social media and strategic planning includes “The Digital Handshake: Leveraging Social Media to Bridge the Gap Between O&P Clinicians, Referrers, and Patients, and “10 High-Impact Actions for O&P Leaders.”
Joanna Kenton, MHA, CPO/L, FAAOP, program director for the Century College O&P program, will be part of several technical programs. She’s moderating an O&P materials technical presentation panel, a session about technical standards in orthotic manufacturing, and the session about runners with Gailey mentioned previously.
Paul Prusakowski, CEO, founder of OPIE Software, will be speaking at a roundtable session about how AI can transform sales, recordkeeping, compliance, and clinical care. He’s also participating in a roundtable comparison of O&P practice management systems.
Phil Stevens, PhD, CPO, FAAOP, is the moderator and one of the speakers in a session called “Understanding and Addressing the Global Health Burdens of Lower Limb Orthosis Users.” He’s joined by Hanger Clinic and Hanger Institute representatives Kathleen Carroll, MS, MSPO, CPO, FAAOP; Jason Meints, PT, DPT, for a session addressing physical function, activity, pain, and fall risk in this population.
Bob Gailey, PhD, PT, FAPTA, is presenting a pre-show workshop on Wednesday with Össur’s Kurt N. Gruben, CPO, MSBE, called “Evidence Based Amputee Rehabilitation for Lower Limb Prosthetic Training.” (Don’t forget to preregister for pre-show events to attend.) Gailey is also a symposium speaker on a joint clinical-technical program about considerations for runners with prosthetic feet, and as a roundtable moderator in a session about integrating outcome measures into an O&P practice.
Nicole Ver Kuilen is attending as part of the Amputee Coalition Community Day panels, and speaking in two sessions. One session is about shared decision-making in patient care using the Universal Athlete philosophy, and another is about the So Every BODY Can Move initiative.
You can read more of their work in our archives with EDGE Advantage.
If you’re attending, be sure to look for Kathleen and Betta from The O&P EDGE while you’re there. Don’t hesitate to pitch them ideas for stories or talk about digital and print advertising.
