Jeff Erenstone, CPO; Jim Landon, RN; and Gary Guerra Briseño, Ph.D (abd), have founded a nonprofit organization, Operation Namaste, to provide O&P services in Nepal following the earthquakes that occurred in April and May. The group established a three-phase plan for providing care.
Phase one is a needs assessment to determine the number of cases and level of care needed in urban and rural areas of Nepal. Phases two and three will utilize connections within the Nepalese government and the medical institutions to provide the necessary postoperative, fracture, contracture management, and limb care to those identified in the needs assessment. The group also plans to develop an educational program to provide sustainable services in Nepal. Phase three will continue the education and services to provide continuing care, according to the Operation Namaste website.
“One month ago I was in Nepal setting the groundwork for future orthotic and prosthetic humanitarian efforts,” Erenstone wrote in an OANDP-L listserv posting about the organization. “However, because of the recent earthquakes, Nepal’s long-term needs have become a short-term crisis. With the guidance of Paul Prusakowski, [CPO/L, FAAOP], and members of USISPO [U.S. National Member Society of the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics], we have now solidified our plans to help [during] this crisis.”
