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Good Afternoon
I had the privilege to meet Dr. Childress while I was a student of O&P at Northwestern University in 1980 and 1981. Dr. Childress's life time achievements and accomplishments for our profession as outlined by Dr. Garrick in a previous email were truly remarkable however, there is one accomplishment that many may not have known about. In 1997 I was President of the Florida Association of Orthotist's and Prosthetist's and directing one of the nation's first licensure act bills through our state legislature that required a Bachelor's degree and CAAHEP standards as the minimum requirement for licensure as Orthotist's and Prosthetist's.

At that time there were no precedents in other states we could use and we faced an uphill battle. Through various contacts in our association , we contacted Dr. Childress and asked if he would come to Tallahassee and testify on the senate floor to the senate health care committee hearing regarding the need for highly educated practitioners / Senate bill #496. I was there when he gave this speech, I am enclosing his documented presentation to the Florida Senate committee supporting high educational standards for our profession. He delivered an amazing convincing speech one that is still pertinent and resonates today.
After many such subsequent hearings in various other committees our Bill passed the Senate unanimously and went 110 to 1 in the Florida house of representatives to become the first licensure law in the United states requiring that level of education and training. He helped us get it done , I am forever grateful for his commitment to our profession, may God bless him and he rest in peace,
To see his speech go to the web link below.
Sincerely Ron Gingras B.S LPO,cpo

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