North Carolina Orthotics and Prosthetics is blessed with the most skilled practitioners, an excellent support staff, and access to the best O&P fabrication facility anywhere in North Carolina.  As an organization, we have many reasons to be grateful as we reflect on 2014.  As the year comes to a close, we wanted to share a couple of the outreach initiatives that we’ve been working on this year.

First, it was a huge honor to be a part of the coordinated care effort for Hebatallah Shaheen earlier this year.  Fourteen year old Hebatallah flew from Gaza to Raleigh in September, in need of a lower-leg prosthetic that she has needed since birth.  The Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund organized transportation and located a family to care for Hebatallah while she was here.  Our very own Bill Stauffer from NCOPI Goldsboro was able to contribute, providing prosthetic care for the patient.  It is always a privilege to provide care for our patients, but the opportunity to help a teenager walk for the first time is just incredible.  We will be rooting for Hebatallah as she acclimates to a new way of living life!

We also just launched an Educational Series geared toward college students with concentrations in fields related either directly or indirectly to Orthotics and Prosthetics.  The series will consist of several on-site seminars that introduce attendees to a day in the life of an O&P practitioner.  Attendees have an opportunity to observe and interact with all aspects of our practice.  They interact with various department personnel and are led through a tour of our on-site fabrication facilities.  The sessions provide a foundation for students whose academic courses of study are in line with the skill sets needed to pursue careers in orthotics and or prosthetics.  Any students or professors in the Greater Raleigh Area interested in participating in the series, please reach out.  This is an ongoing initiative, and we would love to have you!

If 2015 is anything like 2014, it will be a great year.  We look forward to the opportunity to serve our communities in the coming year.  As always, if you or someone you know is in need of an orthotics and prosthetics expert, please reach out.  We would genuinely be thrilled to hear from you and would love to be a part of you care.