First hurricanes, now the greedy emerge............

First hurricanes, now the greedy emerge............

Brian Moore

Hello everyone,
 I am sure some people will see this as a venting exercise,but I must express
to those unknowing,what is actually going on in the effected regions of the
Gulf Coast. I am not a native of the Gulf Coast and I believe that makes me as
non -partial as one could be.
 I made a recent move into the New Orleans area to find myself in the
middle of hurricane alley. I got my first glimpse into life during a hurricane and
unfortunatley,life after the storm. The relief of region C by medicare has
sparked an epidemic of ambulance chasers and boot leg O&P services. Patients are
being cornered in shelters and promised a free leg or brace as long as they
get it now ....and oh by the way,don't tell your prosthesist.
 O&P personell are going to Red Cross shelters and evacuee sites conning
anyone with insurance into getting something. I know this isn't a new story ,but
call me naive to think that people should be actually trying to help one
another rather than capitalizing on a situation. This is why we are always having
trouble with audits and inquiries. The honest few(each day it seems to be less
and less of us) are punished by the greedy intentions of the rest.
 I understand times are tough and right now no ones future is certain. This
is not the way to provide the care that patients require. My area has too many
people that actually need replacements and new supplys that floated away with
the storm. I will not lower myself to working out of my garage and going door
to door dropping off legs with a six pack of beer.
I have patients that desperately need assistance but the VA is no where to be
found ,so I do the work out of good faith. I call other VA's and they say
make the patient drive afew hundred miles to get sub-rate service just so I can
adjust it later. This is the enviroment on the Gulf Coast right now. No help
and even less integrity.
I suppose that most people will say the abuse is isolated and I am just
focusing on the negative. I would buy that if I didn't live it everyday. This is
truly a devastated area and the people of the Gulf Coast live in a world of
chaos. I can attest that this disaster will take a long time to heal. We don't
need the abuse that so many are willing to dish out just to make quick buck.
Right now ,we need all the help we can get. The road to recovery is long and
no sugar coating insight. I hope that this rant might help shed some light on
a problem that will rear its ugly head soon enough for everyone to see.
For now, I will strive to provide excellent patient care and hold close to
the value of integrity...while the rest steal and push the honest people out of
business.



-Brian Moore CPO