ACA Board Chairman and Ossur

[James Street]

I'm probably being really naive, but isn't this the way everything is run in
America?  None of this bothers the super rich who are in control, because
they can buy anything they want.  It tells you something when the top 1% of
the population owns 40% of all the wealth and the "bottom" 50% own only 3%
of all the wealth.
The rich eat fois gras and the poor eat MacDonald's while the middle
classes, who do most of the work and keep the country going, gripe and fight
each other.  I'm not a socialist, I'm just stating what seems to me to be
the facts.  The eye gouging and testicle kicking is being done by a class of
people who don't know that their self-interest is to work together.  The
working class lost its unions and dumped a huge portion of its population on
the streets by not understanding how to work for its own self-interest and
keep the unions going.  End of sermon.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "rodgerole" <rodgerole at mail.ev1.net>
To: "Amputee Information Network" <amp-l at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Saturday, August 16, 2003 7:59 PM
Subject: Re: ACA Board Chairman and Ossur



On Second thought,I'd hate to condemn a man without knowing what's in his
mind and heart.  He may truly be the best man for the job???????

Ole rak 01/02


Wayne,  That leaves a terrible taste in my mouth and is difficult to
digest,but then,I guess it's a war out there.  No holds barred,eye gouging
and kicking in the testicles is allowed.  It's a shame the motive for most
prosthetics manufacturers is merely the "bottom line".  The folks who will
be the eventual losers in this war are the amputees.  I really think we
deserve better than that.
I know the ACA is mainly supported by prosthetics manufacturers,but why
would they ( the ACA) allow him to hold such a position when his objectives
are definitely suspect?

Ole rak 01/02
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> OANDP-L with permission of Mr. James Addams, Prosthetist

My momma would call this a conflict of interest. I have no idea what
ACA (they represent amputees and not the industry--indeed) might call
it.

Wayne Renardson
----------------------

Back to the Ossur debate. For those of you waiting for the smoking
gun to prove that Ossur is and will be attempting to take your
patients away from you, here it is.

Ossur has just sent out invitations to patients to attend an Amputee
Mobility and Performance Clinic 2003. These clinics are being held in
Nashua, Chicago, San Diego and Kansas City.  These free one-day
clinics are being taught by Robert Gailey and Kurt Collier.

There are three aspects of the brochure that I find extremely
distressing:

First: one of the claims made in the brochure, and this is a direct
copy of the text.

"Prosthetic Components-make the right Choice. Learn about design and
functional difference among available components and learn how these
options may benefit you."

Second:  this brochure was brought to me by one of my patients who
informs me he has NEVER contacted Flex Foot or Ossur. In fact, he
wanted to know why he was receiving this junk mail from Ossur and
concluded that I must have sold his name to Ossur. The only way Ossur
could have accessed this patient's address is from the warrantee
card. There is no other explanation.

Third: Kurt Collier, a previous employee of Ossur and one of the
presenters for the seminar, is promoted as being the current Chairman
of the Amputee Coalition of America.  Looks like Ossur is using their
money to purchase all the patient contacts and influence they can in
our industry.

Are you ready to have an Ossur representative and Chairman of the ACA
evaluate your patient at these seminars and then tell them what is
wrong with the prosthesis you made and then recommend that they be
fit with an Ossur product from an Ossur facility?

What Ossur is doing is dead wrong. It is bad for patient care, it is
bad for our industry, and it is bad for our reputation.  If you are
still supporting Ossur by using their products, stop and take a good
long look at Ossur business practices, They are about pushing Ossur
product and pushing Ossur sales. They do not appear to care about
patients or the industry as a whole.

Call Ossur and ask for a copy of the brochure so you can see for
yourself, or better yet, ask one of your patients. I am sure they
will receive a brochure very soon from Ossur.

James Addams
Prosthetist