FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 23, 2004
Contact: Julie Besaha
(202) 223-2878
FIRST SWING CLINIC TO BE HELD ON LONG ISLAND
Every golfer knows about the unique, friendly atmosphere found on the golf course and the sense of personal achievement that comes from the game. Did you know that First Swing Program of the National Amputee Golf Association (NAGA) brings adaptive golf techniques to all people with physical disabilities so they too can enjoy this timeless sport?
The Orthotic and Prosthetic Assistance Fund, Inc. (OPAF) is proud to cooperate with NAGA in the announcement that, on June 30, 2004, Brunswick Hospital will bring the First Swing Clinic to Amityville, NY.
The first half of the Clinic demonstrates the basics of the game of golf to O&P practitioners and physical/recreational therapists, as well as others who are interested in teaching golf to individuals with physical disabilities. Practitioner participants are invited to swing a club – standing on one leg, sitting in a wheel chair or from a single rider golf car, or using only one hand – to appreciate more completely the new demands that will be made upon their educational training as they teach others.
The second half of the Clinic is devoted to the newly-instructed practitioners and therapists instructing participants with physical disabilities under the guidance of the NAGA instructors.
The First Swing Clinic is FREE for participants with physical disabilities. This opportunity is made possible through grants received by NAGA from the PGA Foundation and the Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust. Practitioner/therapist and golf professional participants will be eligible for CEU credits.
For more information or to register for the First Swing Clinic, contact Carol Chamoff at 631-789-7333, via fax at 631-789-7265 or via email at cchamoff@brunswickhospital.org.
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Brunswick Hospital’s Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation division is a 66-bed acute inpatient rehabilitation hospital serving adults with a variety of diagnoses including stroke, head injury, orthopedic injuries, neuromuscular diseases and amputation. They have been providing outstanding rehabilitation services on Long Island since 1968. This will be the seventh year that Brunswick Hospital has hosted a First Swing Golf Clinic.
NAGA (www.nagagolf.org) is a 501(c)(3) public charity that began its mission of providing rehabilitation through the sport of golf to amputees in 1954. As access to the game became more available, and recognizing the need to provide instruction to enable golf to be used as therapy to those with any physical disability, the First Swing program began in 1987. Since then, thousands of therapists and a like number of individuals with physical disabilities have learned that to play the game, all one has to do is “hit the ball.”
OPAF (www.opfund.org) is a 501(c)(3) public charity, the official philanthropy of the U.S. orthotics and prosthetics community. As a community-focused nonprofit organization, OPAF aims primarily to enable individuals with physical disabilities-especially those served by members of the orthotics and prosthetics community-to enjoy the rewards of personal achievement, physical fitness, and social interaction.
OPAF’s cooperation with NAGA in this announcement is an extension of OPAF’s longstanding partnership with NAGA through the OPAF Fit for Life Program.
