Options for Greater Sudbury residents who require prosthetic and orthotic services have increased with the opening of Sudbury Prosthetic and Orthotic Design, which joins the Sudbury Regional Hospital and Northeastern Amputee and Orthopedic Supply Centre in providing care to the region.
An orthosis is a custom designed device made to help restore someone's function and mobility, prevent deformity and provide support and protection for an affected limb. A prosthesis is a custom designed device to help restore function, mobility, and improve cosmetics for an amputated extremity.
Sudbury Prosthetic and Orthotic Design does things a little differently than southern Ontario clinics, Daniel Mead said. He owns the company along with his wife, Leslie.
"We appreciate that clients are often traveling from greater distances to come and see us," Mead said. "We'll usually spend more time with them to get further along in the process, in order to try and reduce the number of visits it takes to have the prosthetic or orthotic device completed."
Leslie has family in the city and grew up in nearby North Bay. Having family in the city was one reason the couple chose to open up shop in Greater Sudbury.
Greater Sudbury is underserviced in the area of prosthetic and orthotics, Mead said. That was the ultimate reason why he and his wife chose to open their shop in Greater Sudbury.
The company has assisted more than 20 clients since it opened Nov. 4. These clients have been fit for devices such as foot orthotics, knee braces, night splints, and ankle foot orthotics.
According to Sean Barrette, Sudbury Regional Hospital's media relations officer, the Sudbury regional hospital treats patients from an area ranging from Parry Sound to Kapuskasing/Hearst, North Bay, and Sault Ste. Marie. About 30 per cent of the hospital's patients come from outside of Greater Sudbury.
Wait times for this kind of service are not tracked, Barrette said, but he noted that wait times seem relatively low. Patients have to wait for a multi-disciplinary clinic that is held every two weeks, but not all patients need to be seen in the clinic. There is prioritization process in place, so some patients can get in much sooner if they are being seen by only one staff member and don't require a team assessment.
About Sudbury Prosthetic and Orthotic Design
Sudbury Prosthetic and Orthotic is located on 1012 Kelly Lake Rd., Unit 104. Regular hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Appointments can be booked evenings and Saturdays on request.
Leslie is a certified orthotist who graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology (the science of human movement). She went on to graduate from the Prosthetics and Orthotics Program at George Brown College.
Her experience includes pediatric orthotics, custom spinal bracing for scoliosis and trauma, plagiocephaly helmets (a device used to gently correct a flat area on a baby's head), foot orthotics, and leg and arm braces. She previously worked at a private clinic in London, Ontario.
Daniel is a certified prosthetist who also graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology, and then the George Brown College program. He has practiced at Hamilton Health Sciences as a member of the amputee rehabilitation team. He provided preparatory prostheses to new amputees and also saw outpatients on a regular basis.
His experience also includes pediatric prosthetics, microprocessor controlled knees, partial foot prosthetics, and body-powered upper extremity prosthetics. Dan also currently teaches at the George Brown Prosthetics and Orthotics program in Toronto.
For more information, visit www.sudburypando.com.
