A B C. in Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics, Inc. Donald Deane Doty, Jr., CPO Named ABC President M A R K O F M E R I T N E W S L E T T E R

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1 A B C M A R K O F M E R I T N E W S L E T T E R December 2009 The American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics, Inc. ABC Calendar of Events December th-12th: Orthotic Practitioner Clinical Patient Management (CPM) Exam January th-9th: Prosthetic Practitioner Clinical Patient Management (CPM) Exam February th-27th: American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL March st: Certification Exam Application Deadline for May Exam May th-15th: Certification Written Exam June st: Certification Exam Application Deadline for August Exam 4th-5th: Prosthetic Clinical Patient Management (CPM) Exam 11th-12th: Orthotic Clinical Patient Management (CPM) Exam August nd-7th: Certification Written Exam September st: Certification Exam Application Deadline for November Exam For further information on these events, please visit or contact us at Donald Deane Doty, Jr., CPO Named ABC President Donald Deane Doty, Jr., CPO, assumed the role of President of the ABC Board of Directors on December 1. As part of ABC s annual leadership transition, Doty takes over the presidency from Robert S. Lin, CPO, FAAOP of Wethersfield, Ct. Lin continues to serve ABC as immediate past president of the board. I have complete confidence that with Cathy Carter at the helm and Deane Doty assuming the presidency, our tradition of excellence will continue, said Lin. Deane brings a wealth of exam, committee and board experience in the role and his commitment to the ABC mission is evidenced by over 20 years of dedicated service. Doty joined the board of directors in 2005 and since has played a role in creating many of ABC s current policies. He brings with him almost 30 years experience working in the orthotics and prosthetics profession. Mr. Doty has been involved in ABC activities for a number of years, and has provided numerous hours of volunteer time to our programs and board of directors. I look forward to working with Deane as he directs the board agenda for the upcoming year, said Catherine Carter, ABC s Executive Director. Doty first learned about the O&P profession while in college. Following a baseball related knee injury, a visit to an O&P facility for an orthosis sparked his interest in the profession. Finding the work interesting, Doty began working for his brother-in-law s facility. Soon after, he made the decision to pursue a career in O&P. I liked the idea of working in a family business involved in taking care of people, using a combination of artistic skills, technical science and business, Doty said. Doty received his Bachelor s degree from Loma Linda University and attended Northwestern University for his orthotics and prosthetics training. He obtained his ABC CPO certification in While going through the exam process for his credentials, Doty was impressed by the dedication of the volunteers. Feeling as though he also wanted to give back to the profession, he began volunteering as an orthotic examiner in As soon as I became eligible to be an examiner I applied for the opportunity, and professionally it was the best move I ever made. The quality of the people working with ABC was outstanding and working with them was inspiring, he said. Over the next year Doty plans to continue to protect the integrity of the ABC brand and the interests of the individuals who have earned ABC credentials. He will also focus on improving the credentialing and accreditation programs while looking for new opportunities to expand ABC s influence within the healthcare industry. Doty continued on back page...

2 ABC Welcomes Three New Board Members; Retires Three ABC welcomes three new members to its board of directors following the retirement of three members on November 30th. Joining the board on December 1st are Curt A. Bertram, CO, Charles H. Dankmeyer, Jr., CPO and Roy B. Davis, III, Ph.D., PE as the new public member. At the board meeting in Seattle, Wash. on September 19th, the board confirmed the appointment of the new directors and bid farewell to Michael Allen, CPO, FAAOP, Michael Brncick, CPO and Kristi Wilson-Hill, Ph.D. Curt A. Bertram, CO of Milwaukee, Wis., has been volunteering with ABC as both an orthotics examiner and as a member of the exam team for many years, and is currently the Area Practice Manager for Hanger Orthotics and Prosthetic, Inc., in Wisconsin. Having played a large role in the examination process, Bertram is excited about the future of ABC and specifically the upcoming requirements surrounding the Master s program requirement for practitioners. I m looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead of us including modifying the examination process to accommodate testing procedures for the new Master s program students, he said. Charles H. Dankmeyer, Jr., CPO of Lithicum Heights, Md., comes to the board with more than 40 years of experience in the O&P profession and currently owns Dankmeyer, Inc., which includes several facilities throughout the state of Maryland. He has always been a big supporter of ABC, including serving as ABC s President in After serving on the board, Dankmeyer continued his involvement with ABC by serving on the Character and Fitness and the Facility Accreditation Committees. Roy B. Davis, III, Ph.D., P.E. has been selected by the board of directors as a new public member of the board. Davis has spent his career researching and teaching in the engineering field and currently serves as the Director, Motion Analysis Laboratory for Shriners Hospitals for Children in Greenville, S.C. The public members of the board are full voting members and represent the interest of consumers, patients and other public groups having an interest in ABC affairs. As part of the public member s role, Davis will speak at orthotic and prosthetic events, participate in amputee educational conferences and serve as the contact for the general public. The three board retirees have spent years serving ABC and are leaving having made numerous contributions to the organization. During Michael Allen s term, he served as both a director and in 2008 he served as president. He began his service with the board in 1999 and has never shied away from his passion of orthotics and prosthetics. Mike Allen is one of the most dedicated O&P professionals I have ever met. He brought an unparalleled clarity of thought, attention to detail and impassioned style of communication 2 to ABC board activities, said ABC s President, Robert Lin, CPO, FAAOP. The highlight of Allen s tenure with the board of directors was the creation of the Director of Clinical Resources position on the ABC staff. The board approved the new position to be filled by a credentialed individual who would serve as a resource to the staff and provide insight from an orthotic and prosthetic standpoint. Although ABC has a tremendously dedicated and knowledgeable staff, the missing link, in my mind, was an individual who could offer the clinical knowledge and insight on a daily basis and real-world experience when developing programmatic changes and refinement, Allen said. Michael Brncick joined ABC s board of directors in 2005 and brought his academic perspective to the board room. He is currently the department head at the Northwestern University Prosthetic-Orthotic Center in Chicago as well as the program coordinator for the orthotics and prosthetics technology program at Joliet Junior College. Mike Brncick is a true academician and accomplished educator. His visionary perspective helped ABC see the long term challenges that await us, said Lin. One of Brncick s most memorable moments on the ABC board was the first time he met with Executive Director Carter and the staff. I was overwhelmed by the number of committees, subcommittees and other areas that ABC was involved in, Brncick said. It was a very eye opening experience and I realized how busy I was going to be as a member of the board. As one of two public members of the ABC board of directors, Kristi Wilson-Hill worked to ensure that the consumer had a voice. Kristi represented the viewpoints and interests of the public we serve with great aplomb, said Lin. Her analytical ability and communication style helped many board discussions come to consensus and closure. Wilson Hill joined the ABC board in 2005 and has always been an advocate for orthotic and prosthetic care. Wilson-Hill has dedicated herself to mentoring amputees, advocating for community-based education and promoting awareness programs. With their continued commitment, enthusiasm and dedication to the profession, Allen, Brncick and Wilson-Hill encompass everything ABC looks for in volunteers. ABC would like to extend its sincere thanks to each of these board members for their sacrifice of time and energy. ABC will forever be in debt to you for your tireless efforts. It s been an honor to serve on the board with such distinguished individuals, Lin added. ABC is very fortunate to have dedicated and hardworking volunteers such as the three members leaving the board this year. I am grateful for the leadership and guidance they have provided throughout their board tenure. Catherine Carter, ABC s Executive Director

3 ABC Honors Frank E. Friddle, Jr., CO, FAAOP with the William D. Beiswenger Volunteer Award In September, ABC awarded the William D. Beiswenger Volunteer Award to Frank E. Friddle, Jr., CO, FAAOP. Friddle was chosen by the board of directors to receive the Beiswenger Award for his extraordinary volunteer work supporting ABC s mission and for embodying the spirit of the award. Friddle received the award at the American Orthotics and Prosthetics Association (AOPA) National Assembly in Seattle, Wash. on September 21, The William D. Beiswenger Volunteer Award was established in 2000 to honor William Beiswenger, CPO, FAAOP, of Colorado Springs, Colo., for his outstanding record of volunteerism and his commitment to the ABC mission. The award was created to recognize volunteers who demonstrate dedicated service to ABC and the promotion of its mission to provide the highest standards of excellence in patient care. Frank has given countless hours of assistance to the exam process, served in leadership roles and taken time away from his personal, corporate and financial objectives for the good of ABC. He truly epitomizes the spirit of the Beiswenger Volunteer Award and his continued work with NCOPE speaks to his dedication to the O&P profession, said Robert Lin CPO, FAAOP, President of ABC s Board of Directors. Friddle began his service to ABC in 1983 as an examiner for the technician and CPM examinations. He was chosen to serve on the ABC board of directors in 1999 and served for eight years including a term as president in Currently, Friddle serves as an Orthotic Certification Examiner, the Candidate Liaison on the Orthotic Exam Committee and the Logistical Coordinator for the Technician and CPM examinations. In 2009, Friddle joined the board of directors for the National Committee on Orthotic and Prosthetic Education (NCOPE). He also served three terms as the president of the South Carolina Society of Orthotists and Prosthetists and was President of an AOPA region in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I m extremely humbled to be associated with this award. I am personally close to the previous recipients of this award and to be considered in same realm of volunteerism as them is very humbling, said Friddle. I am blessed to have a family that allows me to volunteer my time since the commitment takes me away from them a good deal of the time. I m a third generation practitioner and this profession has been very good to my family, so the more I can give back the better I feel. The Beiswenger award has only been given out three times since its inception. Previous recipients include Steven R. Whiteside, CO, FAAOP (2002) and William Teague, CP (2005). ABC Fulfills Commitment as CMS Mandatory Accreditation Deadline Passes The ABC Facility Accreditation department tested its mettle with an unprecedented influx of applications and surveys due to the mandatory accreditation imposed by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for post-mastectomy, pedorthic and durable medical equipment. This was an enormous undertaking but with the help of all ABC staff members, each facility that applied by the deadline received a decision by October 1. From December 2008 to September 2009 ABC processed 2,676 applications and surveyed 2,713 facilities in order to get accreditation decisions out to all of the facilities who applied by the January 31 application deadline. This represents an average of over 300 facilities per month. We met the accreditation deadline head on, said Catherine Carter, ABC s Executive Director. This deadline tested our surveyors, staff and volunteers, but we were overwhelmingly successful in this undertaking. In December 2007 CMS announced that post-mastectomy and durable medical equipment patient care facilities were on Medicare's list requiring mandatory accreditation. Medicare's list requiring mandatory accreditation. Pedorthic facilities were added to the list in December The CMS mandatory accreditation deadline for all post-mastectomy, durable medical equipment and pedorthic facilities was September 30, Any of these facilities providing patient care services must have been accredited by this date in order to continue to bill Medicare. As CMS contemplates announcing another group of facilities requiring mandatory accreditation, the ABC staff is well prepared to once again meet the challenge. 3

4 ABC Publishes 2009 Practice Analysis of Orthotic and Prosthetic Technicians Over nine months in 2009, ABC s Practice Analysis Task Force (PATF) and Executive Director, Catherine Carter, worked with the Professional Examination Service (PES) to create and implement a practice analysis of orthotic and prosthetic technicians. The assessment included a validation study which was used to identify priorities unique to the delivery of prosthetic and orthotic care. The goal of the practice analysis was to find current trends in the provision of prosthetic and orthotic services by technicians. We wanted to get an idea of what the modern technician looks like in order to meet the ever changing needs of the profession, said Anthony Wickman, RTPO, Chair of the PATF. We need to know what to expect of the technician and see that they are receiving the best education out there. In 1999 ABC preformed its first technician practice analysis and validation study and in 2009 the technicians were resurveyed to identify changes related to the delivery of services and today s technology. The overall return rate was 34.5%, which is a very positive return rate for this type of survey. The technicians who participated in the survey have provided a great service to their profession, said Carter. Only those working within the profession can give us a comprehensive and contemporary look into their specific knowledge and skill sets. ABC will use the results of the practice analysis survey to assure that its technician credentialing exams are continually relevant for orthotic and prosthetic technicians entering the profession. The results will also be used to identify specific topics for in-service and/or continuing education programs as well as provide guidance for education providers in regard to curriculum review and/or program self-assessment. As a result of the survey we ll be able to provide the National Commission on Orthotics and Prosthetics Education (NCOPE) and the schools with pertinent information on what technician students need to learn and what information to disseminate, said Wickman. The ABC PATF included: Wickman; William Beiswenger, CPO, FAAOP; ABC's Director of Clinical Resources, Stephen B. Fletcher, CPO; Chris Harrigan, RTP; Timothy E. Miller, CPO; and Steven Whiteside, CO, FAAOP. A copy of the Practice Analysis of Orthotic and Prosthetic Technicians is available at ABC Makes a Splash at AOPA National Assembly ABC exhibited and presented a facility accreditation workshop at the American Orthotics and Prosthetics Association (AOPA) National Assembly in Seattle, Wash. from September at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. The conference allowed ABC to debut its new materials, including the Practitioner, Pedorthist and Fitter Book of Rules and Candidate Guides, exam candidate applications, Accreditation Frequently Asked Questions brochure and the Facility Accreditation Survey Checklists. While exhibiting, ABC gave away free ABC branded goniometers to University of Washington orthotic and prosthetic students who attended the event. During the Assembly, ABC s Director of Facility Accreditation, Scott Williamson, along with Dave Edwards, CPO, FAAOP, an ABC surveyor, sat down with 13 facility owners for hour long one-on-one consultations about accreditation. Each owner was able to ask questions about accreditation and receive the help they needed to start the process or to help prepare for their onsite inspection. Williamson also presented a seminar on accreditation and how facilities can comply with the standards. He spoke in detail about the real meaning of the orthotic and prosthetic standards and gave examples of how to apply the accreditation standards to everyday practices. ABC Registry Goes Green ABC has converted its annual Registry and Reference Guide to an easy to navigate online Directory of all of its accredited facilities and certified individuals. The Registry has continued to grow in size over the years due to ABC s growth, topping out this year at 755 pages. We felt it was important to both meet the needs of the Registry user for an up-to-date directory and be more environmentally conscientious at the same time, said Catherine Carter, ABC s Executive Director. The best way to do that was to go completely green and stop printing the hard copy entirely. ABC will no longer publish the Registry and Reference Guide and encourages individuals and facilities to use the online Directory for the most up-to-date information available. By accessing the ABC website at certified individuals are able to login and edit their contact information, including their address, telephone number and . Any changes to an individual s contact information will be posted in the online Directory within 24 hours, providing users with an up-to-date Directory. Along with the online Directory, certified individuals will have the opportunity to pay annual fees and track their continuing education credits using the ABC website. 4

5 ABC Becomes Corporate Sponsor of ACA Paddy Rossbach Youth Camp ABC joins other industry leaders as a corporate sponsor for the 2010 Amputee Coalition of America s Paddy Rossbach Youth Camp. ABC and its board of directors wanted to give back to the community that its certified practitioners serve and felt that sponsorship of this important program offered an excellent opportunity to do just that. The five-day camp provides youth with limb loss or limb difference the opportunity to learn about leadership development, nutrition and physical fitness at no cost. The camp also provides kids with a chance to discover new sports and activities, gain higher self-esteem and start a support group. ACA started the camp in 2000 and it was created to provide programming for its youth members. ABC is proud to be a sponsor of this activity and excited about the opportunity to help more children participate in this excellent program. To learn more about the ACA s Paddy Rossbach Youth Camp see coalition.org/youth_camp.html. 5 ABC and PFA Collaborate on Pedorthic Career Brochure We did it together ABC and the Pedorthic Footwear Association (PFA) have teamed up on a joint project to boost interest in pedorthics as a career. What is a Pedorthist and How Can I Become One? provides information on the pedorthist s role in health care, how they can be part of the health care team, where they practice and information on education and training. The brochure was introduced to the profession at the PFA Symposium in November. A copy is also available at This was a great project for ABC and PFA to collaborate on, said Catherine Carter, ABC's Executive Director. Career awareness is crucial to the future of any profession and we think this information will be very helpful to those interested in a career in pedorthics. The brochure will be distributed by PFA to high school and college students interested in health care careers and will be sent by ABC to all newly certified therapeutic shoe fitters as an opportunity for them to consider pedorthics as a future career path. We both recognized that there was a huge need out there to educate the public of the pedorthic profession and we were looking for a way to entice people to get into the profession, said Brian Lagana, PFA s Executive Director. ABC is very excited about working with PFA on this project and look forward to working together in the future to help promote the pedorthic profession. ABC Participates at PFA Symposium and Exhibition ABC participated in the Pedorthic Footwear Association s 2009 Symposium and Exhibition at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Conference Center in Grapevine, Tex. from November This conference is the largest single event dedicated strictly to the practice of pedorthics. During the symposium, ABC had a booth in the exhibit hall which gave them the opportunity to introduce the new What is a Pedorthist? brochure along with a new Pedorthic Exam Candidate Self Assessment Checklist. This checklist was created to give applicants applying for ABC certification guidelines for the areas that they should be focusing on and the amount of time they should be spending in each area while earning their 1,000 hours of pedorthic experience. A copy of the checklist is available at On November 20, Scott Williamson, ABC s Director of Facility Accreditation, and chief surveyor Ted Markgren, CO, took part in a panel discussion on facility accreditation. The panel reviewed the current regulatory environment related to facility accreditation and provided updates to attendees about new information regarding facility accreditation.

6 The American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics & Pedorthics, Inc. 330 John Carlyle Street, Suite 210, Alexandria, VA ABC STAFF Cathy Carter Executive Director Heather Harris Director of Continuing Education Scott Williamson Director of Facility Accreditation Debbie Ayres Director, Public Relations and Marketing Steve Fletcher, CPO Director, Clinical Resources Samlane Ketevong Manager, Credentialing Programs Roxanne Bobb-Semple Database Manager Tammi Richards Manager, Facility Accreditation Christine Michael Facility Accreditation Assistant Carolyn Wright Facilities Accreditation Assistant May Phoummithone Certification Program Assistant Jamie Moran Certification Program Assistant Brooke Smith Continuing Education Assistant Katherine Schaefer Communications/PR Specialist Joan Dallas Receptionist/Administrative Assistant Julie McMahon Office Administrator Doty continued from page 1 I look forward to the challenge of implementing our plans and working towards accomplishing our past, present and future goals. I am grateful for the opportunity to work closely with the very talented staff at ABC, led by Cathy Carter, Doty said. Doty and his wife, Jeanine Doty, CPO, CFo, RN, currently work for their sons ABC accredited facility, Active Life, Inc. Spencer Doty, CPO, MBA, and Ryder Doty, CFo, purchased the facility from the Doty s in Deane Doty now serves as the Clinical Specialist for the Albuquerque, N.M. facility. ABC Reaches Out to O, P & P Schools ABC has made it a priority to reach out to National Commission on Orthotic and Prosthetic Education (NCOPE) approved practitioner, pedorthic, fitter and technician schools. Discipline specific candidate guides, informational flyers and ABC branded materials are being sent to the schools and ABC staff and volunteer speakers are traveling to as many of the schools as feasible to talk to the students about ABC certification. ABC is also developing a DVD for those schools that can t physically be visited as part of this outreach initiative. Through this initiative, ABC continues its commitment to exposing potential certifees to the benefits of choosing the ABC certification while they are still in the education phase of their chosen career path. ABC plans to continue the school outreach program indefinitely with the goal of increasing the number of students who choose ABC for their credentialing board and to support the schools that are so vital to the future of this profession. The Strength & Stability of ABC... Over 60 Years of Setting the Standard for O&P. For further information, please visit or contact us at