Reports of an anticipated shortage of prosthetic limbs after Healing Hands for Haiti’s prosthetics clinic was heavily damaged in Port-au-Prince’s recent earthquake has prompted Orthotics & Prosthetics Labs, Springfield, Massachusetts, to partner with a local physical therapist who has ties to that country. Their goal is to send a combination of new and used components, including feet, knees, sockets, prosthetic socks, suspension mechanisms, and silicone liners, to earthquake survivors in need. These new and used components, which the company valued at approximately $100,000, were gathered on February 4 and were later prepared to be sent directly to medical professionals in Haiti who have O&P training.
Jim Haas, CO, president of O&P Labs, stated in a press release that “in the U.S., people having faced amputation soon realize that life can still provide fulfillment. This fact is greatly linked to the technology available to them. In this time of great need, if we as a company can assist in helping the people of Haiti by providing this technology, I feel a strong ethical and emotional need to do so.”
