How Is This Company
Different?
Infants and children with a prosthetic need are widely dispersed
within our population. In fact, they make up only 5% of the
persons needing prosthetic help. For that simple reason, any
given local practitioner gets very little experience working
with the unique needs of children and their families.
The entire prosthetics profession has evolved
around the concept of a "local practice". A prosthestist
builds his or her local practice by building relationships
with the medical doctors, (primarily orthopedic surgeons),
who perform amputations, and the overwhelming majority of
those amputations are performed upon adults.
Conversely, many prosthetic fittings for infants
and children are a result of a congenital limb difference,
and in the context of a given "local population"
extremely rare.
It is little wonder, then, that the comprehensive
prosthetic rehabilitation requirements unique to infants and
children, as well as the training and guidance required by
their parents, is sorely inadequate.
Pediatric Prosthetic Inc. was founded to better
serve the kids and you parents by literally, going the extra
mile. Our President, Linda Putback-Bean, has been traveling
coast to coast for most of her years in practice, fitting
children with prosthetic arms. She has a unique insight in
how to organize and manage a National Practice, while at the
same time giving each family full access to her, as if she
were right down the street.
Linda, and the associate prosthetists she recruits
and trains, think nothing about traveling 50,000 miles a year
to "do it right"...In your home town. Nevertheless,
since day one, she has been planning for multiple regional
clinics, and planning video-conferencing networks between
them.....and you guys.
One Example of a Difference:
Children, especially very young children, cannot offer the
attending prosthetist very precise verbal cues or feedback.
For a general practitioner with a largely adult clientele,
fitting a child with a given prosthesis, and tweaking it for
comfort and utility, typically involves a number of return
visits over a period of five to six weeks . The other part
of the equation is that for reasons termed "efficiency",
prosthetists have structured their practices around that "return
visit" system.
We take a different approach...because as we all know, the
favorite question from children is: "Are we there yet?"
Realizing that children "need it now",
we focus completely upon one child at a time. In addition,
our prosthetists work with children and their parents every
day, and are attuned to their needs. (And we utilize you parents
for translators :~) We make every effort to work with your
family's normal rhythm, and at our own expense.
Result? Linda routinely completes an entire
fitting process, from initial evaluation to delivering a finished
prosthesis in only three days, and has been doing so for many
years. This fitting "process" typically requires
you and your child to be present for perhaps four hours.
Is There Anyone Else That I Can Speak With?
Linda Bean and Dan Morgan combine over 50 years of experience
working with children and their parents. Our other prosthetists
on staff have similar experience, and each of them have worked
with families from all over the western hemisphere.
Each of those families would be honored to visit
with you. As we get our private chat-room on line, you will
be welcome to join the discussions and fellowship there, and
in the mean time, we would be delighted to give you a list
of families in your area with e-mail addresses and/or phone
numbers.
We will also continue hosting "whole
family" summer camps so the kids can enjoy the company
of some really cool peers, and you parents can enjoy a great
vacation in some really cool fun places....and be sure to
bring your "big kid" toys. Our last camp was held
in Winter Park Colorado. See some neat pictures here, and
at: www.ymcarockies.org
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