Maggie Baumer and 2022 Fellows visit O&P facilities on July 21,2022

On Thursday, July 21st, NAAOP President, Maggie Baumer, traveled to Washington, DC to meet with our 2022 George and Dena Breece fellows, Lucas Deluca and Nikki Grace-Strader. Each summer, part of the fellowship itinerary includes a visit or visits to local orthotic and prosthetic clinical care settings so that our fellows get the opportunity to see the world of O&P through a provider lens. During this year’s visit, the two fellows accompanied Maggie to the National Rehabilitation Hospital to meet with CPO and NAAOP member, Austin Davids, at the Hanger Clinic location within the hospital. The group was able to attend an AFO casting appointment with a long-time patient who had suffered from a stroke. Both fellows are people with limb loss or limb difference and currently utilize prosthetic limbs for mobility, so they are keenly aware of prosthetics from the patient point of view. However, neither wears an orthosis, nor had attended an orthotic patient appointment before. Both remarked on the complexity and skill required of the orthotist, as well as the importance of the orthotist-patient relationship and the particular empathic quality that Austin exhibited with his patient. In addition to visiting this unique setting within a rehabilitation hospital, the fellows also visited the Hanger location at 1133 21st Street NW, Suite 150 downtown to see a more typical O&P practice in a city environment. Each location highlighted unique aspects of O&P clinical settings. Special thanks to Austin Davids for hosting our fellows and to Ben Higgs, Area Clinic Manager, DC at Hanger Clinic for setting up the visit.