Dear Tom, Gary and Listserve Subscribers,
The Barr Foundation not only supports the combined efforts of ACA and the “new” Academy leaderships in scheduling training programs for the military in regard to prosthetic rehabilitation education, but we would like to offer our expertise to properly coordinate the actual prosthetic rehabilitation efforts to amputees in the regions where land mines have resulted in limb loss.
Surely our non profit organization,who has been the recipient of amputee referrals from ACA, Academy and AOPA members from our own country, as well as providing prosthetic rehabilitation to amputees of many third world developing nations, can contribute to the coordination, funding and solicitation of components required for the actual prosthetic rehabilitation to those of in need of these services, whom are located in the Mideast and Southeast Asia and Central and South America.
We offer our organization’s participation and those of our Where Hope Meets Help Donor Club Members (seen at www.oandp.com/barr ), whose donations have made over 650 amputees located world wide, “whole again “, to better ensure the actual successful rehabilitation to qualified individuals located in these regions.
Anthony T. Barr
President
Barr Foundation
www.oandp.com/barr
—– Original Message —–
From: “Tom Gorski, CAE”
To:
Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2002 9:14 AM
Subject: [OANDP-L] Academy News: Academy to participate in Campaign for Military Readiness to Respond to Traumatic Amputation
> Last week, the Academy was invited to attend a meeting
> with the Amputee Coalition of America and the Uniformed Services
> University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland to discuss the
> development of a health care provider training program to ensure
> military readiness to respond to war-related injuries, specifically
> traumatic amputations.
>
> The meeting was attended by Academy President Gary A.
> Lamb, CO, FAAOP, high-ranking officials from across the government,
> the military, industry and not-for-profit community, including:
> Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
> National Institutes of Health,
> National Navy Medical College,
> Walter Reed Army Medical Center,
> Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences,
> Amputee Coalition of America, and
> American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association.
>
> As you may know, landmines were responsible for 34% of
> casualties in the Persian Gulf War; 33% of U.S, casualties in Vietnam;
> 284 casualties in the UN peacekeeping and NATO operations in Bosnia;
> and the first U.S. soldiers to die in Bosnia and Vietnam were killed
> by landmines. The U.S. State Department estimates that fewer than one
> in four landmine amputees are fitted with a proper prosthesis.
>
> In Afghanistan and the Middle East, as with any war or
> peace keeping operation, military personnel can sustain injuries, many
> of them the loss of one or more limbs. It is imperative, therefore,
> that the medical staff caring for them have the benefit of the most
> up-to-date information on amputations, including, surgical
> interventions, rehabilitation techniques, prosthetic care, and
> emotional support.
>
> Over the past year, the Amputee Coalition of
> America–led by CEO, Paddy Rossbach and Medical Advisory Board
> Director, Doug Smith–has been teaching a health care provider
> education course entitled “Principles of Care for Amputees.” The ACA
> envisioned taking the principles of this course to our troops and
> providers in the U.S. military. The Academy looks forward to working
> together with the ACA and other partners on a day-long training
> program for military health care providers to ensure the best outcomes
> for military personnel. In the longer term, the Academy believes this
> course could be delivered on a larger scale and have far-reaching
> impacts for the military and the civilian populations.
>
> More details on the training program will be announced
> at the Academy’s Annual Meeting in Orlando March 20-23.
>
>
> Posted by
> tom Gorski, CAE
> Executive Director
> American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists
>
