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O&P Community Rallies Support for Katrina Victims
By Sherry Metzger, MS Houston Evacuee Survey Reveals Sobering Statistics
 In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, many
in the O&P field have offered financial assistance,support, and
relief to the victims of what has been called the greatest natural
disaster the US has ever faced. In the past several months, the
public has been inundated with media reports of horrific conditions
in the New Orleans Superdome, rancid floodwater-drowned streets,
poor and elderly victims trapped in attics, and animals, including
cherished pets being left behind to fend for
themselves.
Heroes have emerged, rescues have inspired, and
tales of unbelievable courage and compassion have resounded. What
are the stories of the disabled, the O&P clinics,
manufacturers, and professionals? Reports of heroism, generosity,
compassion, and caring within the O&P community also
abound.
The Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Family
Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health randomly
surveyed 680 New Orleans evacuees living in Houston, Texas,
shelters with the goal of capturing the evacuees' experiences and
attitudes from September 10 through 12. "The
Post-Kaiser-Harvard poll suggests these evacuees will
start their lives with virtually nothing," wrote Washington
Post staff writers Richard Morin and Lisa Rein (The
Washington Post, Sept. 16, 2005, pg. A01).
Face-to-face interviews revealed, "seven in ten currently do not
have a savings or checking account. Just as many have no usable
credit cards. One in eight was unemployed when the storm hit. Seven
in ten said they have no insurance to cover their losses. Fully
half have no health insurance. Four in ten suffer from heart
disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and/or are physically
disabled." In addition, 14 percent reported a family member,
neighbor, or friend died in the storm or flooding, while more than
half reported that they continue to be separated from missing
members of their immediate family.
O&P Listservers Unite Needs, Resources
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Believed to be out of New Orleans, this family rests in the Houston Astrodome. Photographer: Daniel Cima/American Red Cross/The News Market |
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In light of the apparent needs, O&P
professionals from around the country offered products, supplies,
and services on AMP-L and OANDP-L listservers, in response to a
request to unite their efforts posted on AMP-L@u.washington.edu, a site for amputees
started in 1995. "It was good to use the resources available to
gather information and spread it to those who might benefit,"
commented Wayne Renardson, AMP-L moderator.
The offers were generous and varied from donations of shoes to
post-mastectomy bras to counseling services. One supplier posted,
"[we are] willing to provide any of our materials for the victims
of Katrina at no cost." A woman offered to donate 18 prosthetic
feet; a collection from her son's growth over the years. Others
posted the names and locations of their practices and offered:
"Anything we can do to assist."
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Houston Astrodome |
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The American Academy of Orthotists and
Prosthetists (the Academy) issued this statement: "The Academy is
making an effort to contact all of our members who were working in
states directly impacted by hurricane Katrina and the Academy's
president has told them we are looking at how we can work over the
next year to make sure that we channel our energies into helping
those O&P practitioners, their families, and their
patients."
The Academy, the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association
(AOPA), and the American Board for Certification in Orthotics and
Prosthetics (ABC) have joined in offering a website to connect
persons, companies, and other organizations wanting to help with
those needing help. The site can be accessed from AOPA at www.aopanet.org/opcc/ and from oandp.com at www.oandp.com/resources/katrina/
Aetrex Worldwide, headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, donated
7,000 pairs of shoes, 250 of those to Southern Prosthetic Supply
(SPS), Alpharetta, Georgia. Amoena, Marietta, Georgia, provider of
breast forms, partial symmetry shapers, specialty textiles,
swimwear, and accessories for women after breast surgery, donated
5,000 bras to the Texas "Drop Yer Drawers" organization. Dee Smith,
operations director for the Salvation Army, recipient of the
donations said in a press release, "For many who have lost
everything, new underwear is symbolic of a new start."
Orthotic & Prosthetic Group of America (OPGA), headquartered
in Waterloo, Iowa, offered to coordinate the distribution of
donations directly to members providing care to Katrina survivors,
stating, "Immediate short term needs are as basic as shoes and
socks for diabetics. For amputees, stump socks, liners, and sleeves
for those whose prosthesis made it out in workable condition. Stump
shrinkers and lamb's wool will also provide options for those in
the situations that have no prosthesis that is wearable until care
is obtained."
Out on a Limb (OOAL)-Memphis, Tennessee, Area Limb Loss Support
Group facilitator William Samuels stated, "The biggest concern
expressed to us by the Red Cross is about amputees who either
during the hurricane, or when evacuating, developed dangerous
infections in residual limbs and are being treated with tissue
grafts/revision surgery."
OOAL, in conjunction with the Amputee Coalition of America
(ACA), is making an effort to locate amputees and people facing
amputation in the Memphis area; Mississippi; Baton Rouge,
Louisiana; and northeastern Arkansas. In addition, the ACA is
serving Texas, Alabama, and Florida. OOAL provides amputees with
information regarding medical, prosthetic, and mobility
providers.
Ohio Willow Wood, Mt. Sterling, Ohio; Southern Prosthetic Supply
(SPS), and the Barr Foundation, headquartered in Boca Raton,
Florida, also are among the donors; a complete list can be viewed
at www.AMP-L.com or www.OANDP-L.com
Houston Practitioners Provide Services, Supplies
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Hurricane Katrina: Biloxi, Mississippi. Gene Dailey/American Red Cross/The News Market. |
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Near the Houston Astrodome, where more than 12,000
hurricane evacuees are being housed, Joe Smith* is one of many
practitioners providing free rehabilitation, adjustments, and
prosthetic supplies in association with the Barr Foundation, SPS,
and the Houston, Texas, Police Department (HPD). "It has been
heartwarming to see how our community rallied in support," Smith
commented. "Every place I contacted said they would help; people
are giving up office space, some are offering [professional
services]." Responses resulted from the request he posted on AMP-L
and OANDP-L. Smith humbly said, "I really didn't do anything.
People contacted me and offered to help."
When one of his patients, an HPD member, repeatedly rescheduled
his appointments, it occurred to Smith to ask him what the HPD's
needs were. The result was a collaboration of efforts within the
Astrodome and the surrounding O&P community.
Faced with devastation and loss, many evacuees were least
concerned about their prostheses. "At first we didn't see as many
people as we thought we would," Smith explained. "[Survivors] are
initially concerned with their family's safety and getting
situated. They were just coming in to get crutches for the time
being. They didn't have time to get new prostheses." He continued,
"Now that things are settling down from [Hurricane] Rita, we are
starting to see more people trickle in."
At a rate of about four to eight a week, most of his new
patients have lost or ruined a limb in the process of getting out
of the flood. Smith recalled a man that had been wearing a
two-year-old liner and an old, cracked leg he had found in the back
of a car. One man, living with 28 members of his family in one
house, doesn't have time to go see him. It is "the resiliency of
these people" that most surprised Smith. "Most people are coming in
and they're thankful that nobody died. Mementos are the things they
think about. One man hopes to find his Little League picture from
25 years ago," he recounted. "The mood is really upbeat and
somewhat philosophical," he added.
As Rita threatened Houston, another practitioner, John Gibson,
LP, CPO, became an evacuee, boarded up his home, and drove out of
the city. He experienced "unbelievable stress" and a sobering
anxiety that his house may not be there when he returned. Though
his home was spared, his patients, some who lost everything after
Katrina, comforted him. "One man told me, 'Not many people are
given a second chance at life. I've got nothing to hold me back
now,'" he recalled, adding, "It's been an eye-opening experience
for me. It's made me re-evaluate what's important in my own life;
family, friends, and my fellow man."
*Name has been changed to accommodate practitioner's request
to remain an anonymous provider.
Young Spearheads Recovery Operation
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Mark Young, MD |
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Mark A. Young, MD, MBA, FACP, chair of the
International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine
(ISPRM), Exchange Committee, in collaboration with Mathew Lee, MD,
medical director of the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine,
New York, New York, organized "Operation Functional Recovery." As
part of the Katrina Rehabilitation Humanitarian Project, "a
nationwide effort to establish rehabilitation teams to meet the
emerging disabilities and functional deficits that will surface
post-Katrina," they have assembled an interdisciplinary team of
more than 500 volunteers, including orthotists and prosthetists,
from around the country and internationally. "We're trying to unite
the entire rehabilitation community with a common good--to address
the functional needs of Katrina survivors," Young commented. Those
needs may include "limb amputation, pain management, traumatic
injuries, and anoxic injuries.
"There are a large number of evacuees with pre-existing
conditions, such as peripheral vascular disease and diabetes, as
well as de novo wound infections that have developed due to [the
flood] conditions," Young explained. "Due to poor sanitary
conditions and lack of public utilities, severe medical conditions,
such as vibrio cholera and acute diarrhea are seen. Our number-one
goal is to meet medical needs, limb salvage prevention,
compassionate skin management and [to ensure] those with
preexisting amputations continue with rehabilitation."
For more information or to volunteer, contact:katrinarehab@gmail.com
Helpful DMERC Information
Those who are currently seeing Katrina-affected patients, or
those who have facilities in the affected regions, will benefit
from the following information:
After the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA)
requested that Medicare temporarily suspend auditing of facilities
in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, Region C agreed to cease
auditing, and expedite and release money from existing claims. AOPA
stated, "Our request [was] aimed at ensuring that O&P
practitioners in the affected region will have an adequate funding
stream to repair and/or rebuild their patient care facilities."
Durable Medical Equipment Regional Carriers (DMERC) staff will
provide "special handling of disaster claims when they are
submitted as paper claims (no electronic claims will be treated as
"disaster claims") and when "DISASTER CLAIM" is written in the
upper right-hand corner. Situations that may qualify are: 1) Your
patient records have been destroyed. 2) You are treating a patient
from an area affected by Hurricane Katrina and neither you nor the
patient has appropriate documentation (for example, earlier patient
notes, prescriptions, etc.) 3) Your patient has lost his/her device
as a result of the hurricane and you are simply replacing it,"
posted AOPA.
Though the O&P community can be a competitive environment at
times, many have united their efforts; together offering aid in
Katrina's aftermath. "It has been heartwarming to see how our
community rallied in support," Smith concluded. Sherry Metzger, MS, is a freelance writer with degrees in anatomy and neurobiology. She is based in Westminster, Colorado, and may be reached at metzgerfive@hotmail.com 
Table Of Contents - December 2005
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O&P Community Rallies Support for Katrina Victims
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, many in the O&P field have offered financial assistance, support, and relief to the victims of what has been called the greatest natural disaster the US has ever faced.
Feature
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Prosthetist/Orthotist Rescues Animals from Katrina Disaster
A well-known member of the O&P community, Ronnie Graves, CO, BOCPO, LPO, RTP, heroically assisted in the rescue of hundreds of animals in Mississippi.
Feature
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Pedorthics: Helping People Get Back to Work
Not every pedorthist faces a first-time workers-compensation case like this one!
Stepping Out
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Natural Disasters: Can Your Practice Survive?
Legal EDGE
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Karl Fillauer: Passionate about O&P
Industry Leader
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Hans Richard Lehneis, PhD, CPO, Passes
Industry Insight
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Got FAQs?
Got FAQs?
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Luci Busch, RTP
Profile
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Please Don’t Shoot the Messenger
Perspective
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From the Editor: New Managing Editor Joins The EDGE
Viewpoint
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