Prosthetics Outreach Foundation

POF Doctors Provide Free Medical Care in Bangladesh!

POF — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 22:03:18 +0000

In late January 2012, upon invitation of Bangladesh’s Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. AFM Ruhal Haque, a group representing POF flew to Bangladesh to visit the Nalta Hospital and volunteer their services to surgically correct severe limb deformities of children. Alongside local physicians, Drs. Robert Veith and Mark Dales (both POF Board members) and Drs. Lois Gelman and Ruth Thomas, provided orthopedic surgeries and medical treatment to 16 children.

The doctors also attended a surgical clinic at Bangladesh’s leading public orthopedic hospital, NITOR, in the country’s capital and toured the facility.

POF Executive Director Winfried Danke, Board President Mary Gladhart, Board members Ernest Burgess and Ruth Verhoff, and POF supporters Beth Rutherford and Charles Thomas participated in this trip. The group visited with amputees served by the Nalta Hospital, paid a visit to a clinic in nearby Jessore that treats young children with clubfoot through the Walk For Life Program, and had fruitful discussions with hospital staff and Minister Haque.

The Independent, a major Bangladeshi newspaper, published an article about the recent surgical project that occurred at Nalta Hospital in southwestern Bangladesh: http://bit.ly/wpJazV

POF looks forward to continuing to serve the needs of disabled children and adults in Bangladesh.

Meet Tuic!

POF — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:01:10 +0000

Farming in the mountainous regions of northern Vietnam can be very challenging. The difficult working environment is not the only challenge faced by the Do Thi Thanah family. Tuic, their 9 month old daughter, was born with bilateral clubfoot, a severe limb deformity. Her parents feared she would be denied a normal life including marriage, work and participation in the community.

Acting upon the advice of their relatives and community, Tiuc’s parents took her to the local clinic where they learned of the partnership between POF and the Son La Hospital to treat children with clubfoot using the Ponseti method. Tiuc received her first casting when she was 20 days old. After completing a series of six casts, her feet are now straight and she is wearing braces to maintain a normal foot position.

Tuic’s mother, all smiles now, can confidently look forward to her daughter’s future. Tuic will attend school and between classes learn farming and household chores.

New Emcee for Auction!

POF — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:53:58 +0000

Introducing Angela Russell from KIRO 7

POF is thrilled to welcome Ms. Angela Russell as our emcee for the 2012 Steps to Healing Auction. You may recognize Ms. Russell as the co-anchor of KIRO 7 Eyewitness News at 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. Monday through Friday alongside Steve Raible and Chief Meteorologist Rebecca Stevenson.

Her experience includes reporting on the major national and local news of the day. She covered the historic 2008 presidential race, issues on national security at the height of the War on Terror, and many more notable stories. Ms. Russell has also interviewed injured Iraq war veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

In December 2011, Ms. Russell sat down with President Barack Obama for a one-on-one interview in the White House. Traveling to the other Washington, she interviewed three of our region’s top leaders who took on roles in the Obama Administration: Gil Kerlikowske, Gary Locke and Ron Sims. In January 2010, she traveled to Haiti to cover the devastating earthquake and the people from Western Washington who helped survivors.

Her full profile is available on KIRO’s website- http://www.kirotv.com/staff/angela-russell/

Haiti Helps First Patient

POF — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:03:11 +0000

Haiti Prosthetics Workshop Fits First Patient!

More than two years have passed since the devastating 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti. For many Haitians, it is a day that will never be forgotten. In the months following the earthquake, thousands of wounded adults and children lost limbs. Since January 2010, Prosthetics Outreach Foundation (POF) along with many other organizations have sent aid to Haiti.

POF has been working diligently to create prosthetic and orthotic services in response to a great need. In partnership with The Haiti Project of the University of Miami and the Justinian University Hospital, the largest public hospital in northern Haiti, POF renovated and established a Prosthetics and Orthotics workshop in Cap Haitien. This new workshop is providing prosthetic services that have been very limited in northern Haiti.

POF’s Director of Program Quality and Emerging Programs, Raymond Pye, assisted with the selection of two Haitians, Isador Etandieu and Roadian Valcin, who will be receiving education and hands-on training as prosthetic technicians.

Additionally, Mr. Pye helped select an Orthopedic Technologist, Mahamadou Soule, for the P&O workshop. Mr. Soule is from Togo, has over 10 years of knowledgeable experience in the production of prosthetics and orthotics. Mr. Soule is mentoring and training the two prosthetic technicians, as well as establishing the prosthetic and orthotic service for the hospital’s rehabilitation center.

With the casting of the first patient at the workshop in January 2012, children and adult amputees in Cap Haitien now have an opportunity to be fitted with a custom-made prosthesis. Their mobility will be restored! With our partners in Haiti, POF is bringing much needed hope to Haitians. Please support this life-changing work and our continuing efforts to provide critical prosthetic services to amputees in Northern Haiti. Give the gift of walking and donate today!

The opening of this facility assists the Haitian government with provision of decentralized, locally produced, sustainable prosthetic services.

Meet Sapal Kumar

POF — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:12:30 +0000

Once a Performer; Always a Performer

Some people simply work at their jobs, while others live their jobs. Sapal Kumar is the latter; Sapal is a performer. During an interview while in rural Bangladesh, Sapal described the infection that led to the loss of his lower leg. He did not just describe the process, he told the story with the skill of an expert stage actor. Even before the translation, the interviewer knew through Sapal’s gestures and expressive body language exactly what he was saying.

When asked if his artificial limb hindered his career, Sapal replied, “Not in the slightest!” At that point he set-up his instruments and proceeded to entertain the interviewer and his impromptu audience. With joy and enthusiasm he played and sang songs from his professional repertoire. His performance ended only when, holding back tears, he thanked Prosthetics Outreach Foundation for giving him not only a new limb, but the mobility to continue his career.

Vietnam, Clubfoot Update

POF — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:53:09 +0000

Vietnam National Clubfoot Program

Nha Trang, Vietnam – On November 5, 2011, the Prosthetics Outreach Foundation hosted the launch of the Vietnam National Clubfoot Program, which resulted in the formation of a Vietnamese-led Steering Committee to oversee the new nationwide treatment initiative. The initiative unites all of the major clubfoot treatment clinics in Vietnam and promotes the Ponseti method to treat clubfoot in young children. The meeting featured presentations by several Vietnamese Ponseti practitioners, and provided a forum to highlight successes and discuss program implementation challenges.

POF will support this nationwide treatment initiative by offering supplemental clinical training, and program evaluation. POF will also provide assistance to promote the program within the Vietnamese healthcare system and to the public in order to increase the number of children reached by the new national clubfoot program. POF will also work with implementation partners to strengthen the patient follow-up system to ensure that children complete the casting phase and wear the corrective shoe braces as recommended.

POF and the Vietnam Ministry of Health look forward to the successful implementation of the program in 2012 and a continuing partnership.

Above: Dr. Nguyen Quang Trung, Director of Orthopedics—Rehabilitation Institute, Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs; Winfried Danke, Executive Director, Prosthetics Outreach Foundation; Dr. Ngo Van Toan, Head of Orthopedics-Trauma Department of Viet Duc University Hospital; Jessica Dyer, Program Officer, Prosthetics Outreach Foundation; Mrs. Rose Hong, Country Manager, Prosthetics Outreach Foundation; Professor Tran Trong Hai, Public Health Medical University; Dr.Trinh Quang Dung, Head of Rehabilitation Department of the National Hospital for Pediatrics; Dr. Luc Van Huu, Head of the Rehabilitation Department of Son la Hospital.

2011 Fall/Winter Newsletter

POF — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:42:41 +0000

Successful Walkathon!
Meet Lo Thi Xon
Nationwide Clubfoot Training
Progress in Haiti
10 Years of Surgical Missions to Vietnam

Make a Difference & Give Hope!

POF — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:21:07 +0000

Change a Life

Providing mobility is not only life-changing, it is life-giving. And, it can only be done with help from generous donors like you!
A gift at any level can truly make a difference in the lives of children and adults who struggle with mobility.
Your gift will bring smiles and much-needed care to people in Asia, West Africa and the Caribbean.

Give Hope, Mobility and Freedom.

Support POF and help a child or adult walk today!

Fall Interns

POF — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 20:45:09 +0000

Eileen Smith is currently finishing her degree in Business Administration/Finance at the University of Washington. Eileen’s intention is to use her new found skills towards creating an improved environment for both current and future generations. She chose an internship with POF because it is an organization that truly encompasses the values that she holds dear. Eileen takes great pleasure in having the opportunity to work with the individuals at POF and looks forward to continuing her work in the non-profit community.

Owen Fitzpatrick is a recent graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, where he studied Psychology and Design. He is interested in new technology and how it can help people through prosthesis and industrial design. He has lived in Korea for three years and traveled to South America during his year off after high school. He speaks some Spanish and Korean and in his free time, he enjoys music, camping, rock-climbing and glassblowing. Owen is very excited to learn more about the Prosthetics Outreach Foundation and to help contribute to their mission.

2012 Auction

POF — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 18:00:24 +0000

Prosthetics Outreach Foundation

cordially invites you to…

the Steps to Healing Dinner Auction Gala

Saturday, March 24

Tickets $100 per person before December 31st

New Location…

Downtown Seattle Sheraton Hotel

Event Website