Physical Therapy News!

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Physical Therapy (PT) is a very important part of the clinical care team for those with limb loss or limb difference.  Mark Hopkins, Dankmeyer’s CEO, first practiced as a physical therapist before becoming a Certified Prosthetist Orthotist, and maintains his PT license.  Mark is a longterm member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), and is excited to share news about a new special interest academy which has been proposed at APTA.  

Limb difference, which includes limb loss and limb absence, affects millions of Americans today.  It is a national epidemic that needs focused, evidence based and lifelong management.   The new Academy would be devoted to the standardization and advancement of care for persons with limb difference, and professional development for physical therapists working in this field.   The Academy of Amputation and Limb Difference Physical Therapy will support the development of professional standards in amputation and limb difference care. These standards will span entry level education and training standards for PTs and PTAs, advanced training standards, development of training platforms and integration of a multidisciplinary team for optimal patient outcomes.

The Academy of Amputation and Limb Difference Physical Therapy (AALDPT) would join other special interest groups in the APTA.  Consolidating PT’s who work with amputation and limb difference into a group that can facilitate the sharing of information, clinical practice and education will serve to benefit all members of the patient’s clinical care team.  Mark has been a strong advocate for education in prosthetics and orthotics as for physical therapists, teaching a number of different practicing PT’s and PT students at the University of Maryland and the University of Delaware several times a year.  This educational thrust is part of Dankmeyer Academy, which is devoted to fulfilling Dankmeyer’s strong educational mission.

Mark encourages APTA members to join over 200 current and active APTA members who have already indicated they will be members of the new academy.   Click here to learn more and support the petition for the new Academy which has been submitted to the APTA board for consideration.   He looks forward to participating in AALDPT, sharing his in depth knowledge and experience with PT’s from his practice as a CPO for over 25 years.

 

-Submitted by Mark Hopkins, CEO, PT, CPO, MBA

 

Dankmeyer Team Care

What is self care? This is a term we often hear in the media today and it evokes visions of things we do for ourselves as something special - to reward ourselves for some stressful encounter or relieve the stress of current circumstances. Psychology Today says self care in essence is the mindful taking of time to pay attention to you, not in a narcissistic way, but in a way that ensures that you are being cared for by you.

At Dankmeyer we are very committed to taking care of our patients every day in a safe and secure environment. As we negotiate this pandemic, this has become more layered. This involves increased PPE and rigorous cleaning, social distancing, and Telehealth. Patients tell us that they appreciate everything we do as we care for them. Some patients have been asking us how we are doing, and so we thought we would share some of the things we do as a team behind the scenes to take care of each other.

Just like everyone else, we are trying to make it through every day with our families. Some have moved elderly parents home, others are coping with all the confusion and stresses of school for their children. Some are navigating not seeing their loved ones for long periods of time. Sometimes there is more than one member of the household working at home, so keeping out of each other’s hair can be a challenge! (Me. That is me!) As a team we see what our coworkers are dealing with, and so we try to support each other while we do the same for our patients, referral sources and all the communities we come into contact with.

Early on we designed and printed T-Shirts that we could wear as a team on Fridays to show the strength of our bond with each other and as proud Maryland citizens. Adrienne Castle (Patient Services Coordinator) coordinated getting cloth masks printed with names and logos for those that were in the back office. Art Ross, Fabrication Technician, designed and fabricated a tool to provide relief for wearing certain types of masks long term. In the early days of the pandemic, we had a team at our Linthicum office sewing cloth masks for staff and members of the community. We had two sewing stations in our front office going all day, every day.

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Members of our leadership team were surprised before the holidays to find handmade posters on their office doors. These posters were created by the staff to provide support and encouragement. They were accompanied by a few sweet treats! I am sharing my poster with you here so you can see what fun they were! Tears were shed. I’m not saying by whom….

Members of the leadership team reciprocated by sending handwritten thank you notes to each member of the Dankmeyer team. These expressed gratitude for all the hard work and commitment every member of our team puts in every day.

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Mark Hopkins, our CEO, is a marathon runner and has used the analogy of the marathon process to describe making our way through the pandemic. It is a marathon, not a sprint, and pacing is very important in getting to the next milestone. Many marathoners have the experience of “hitting the wall” at some point toward the end of the 26.2 mile course. This usually means running out of energy - both physically and emotionally - which makes it more difficult to continue the race. As as distance runner, I know that this point can come at varying times for any individual race and person. COVID is nothing if not a long distance/time experience. Along any race course, there are aid stations - this is where runners can get water and fuel. The longer the run, the more types of fuel may be available at a station - lots of sugar and carbs to provide calories to burn for the next push. We decided to create our own custom pandemic aid station bags for everyone to help with the stress of continuing the fight to the COVID finish line.

As healthcare providers, we are eligible for vaccinations in the early stages of roll out and we are getting vaccinated as soon as we can. Some staff members have been sharing their vaccination “shots”. We will continue to find fun and interesting ways to support each other, now and beyond the pandemic. Who knows what will come next!

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- Rebecca (Becky) Snell, Director of IT & Marketing

Congratulations to Michelle Forbus, CPO!

We are happy to congratulate Michelle Forbus for completing the last step in her professional certification, which awards her the letters CPO - Certified Prosthetist Orthotist. Michelle, who is originally from Crofton, Maryland, relocated to the Eastern Shore when she came on board to head Dankmeyer’s Easton Office. Michelle did her undergraduate work at McDaniel College in Westminster, MD, majoring in Exercise Science and completed her Master of Science in Prosthetics and Orthotics at Baylor College of Medicine Orthotics and Prosthetics in Houston, TX. She was happy to return to Maryland and work close to friends and family.

Please join us in congratulating her on this professional milestone!

Welcome to Dankmeyer, Karen Randall!

Please join us in welcoming Karen Randall, who is joining Dankmeyer full time as a Patient Services Representative at the Linthicum office.  This is the lady who first greets visitors – behind the glass and a mask in this time of COVID!  A native of Maryland, Karen joins us with 40 plus years of working experience in specialties including but not limited to the field of Administrative Assistance.  Her passion for helping others was the greatest influence in pursuing health care and human resources over the span of her career (which started at age 14!)  She devotes herself to delivering an A-rated level of premier customer service skills. 

When she is not working, she enjoys reading, arts and crafts of many kinds.  Karen says, “I have a true love for butterflies and their metamorphic process.   I see my life evolving as such in the same manner.  I enjoy attending live music events - Jazz being my favorite genre.  I am pursuing my own ministry around Unity.  Planning family events or any other is also something I enjoy. Just spending time with those that I love most is what makes me who I am.  I hope to someday begin traveling to see other places in and outside the U.S.”   She has a large family to plan around. She is one of six siblings, and has two sons and five beautiful grandchildren.  Karen says, “Being a grandparent is simply an awesome and fulfilling lifestyle.”

“I’ve had the pleasure to have served and continue to serve at large many communities across the state of Maryland in my roles.  I plan to continue making a difference in the lives of others and being the best citizen of this country that I can be. I passionately love people, purple and living my life’s journey with an intentional purpose!”

Welcome aboard, Karen!