Amputee Empowerment Peer Visitors and Hanger

Amputee Empowerment Peer Visitors and Hanger

William Lifford, CP

1/15/2013

Hello Colleagues,

     Have any of you out there had troubles with amputee peer visitors
or representatives from EmpoweringAmputees.org or Amputee Empowerment
Partners misrepresenting that they are not affiliated with Hanger Clinic?

     Recently one of these amputee peer visitors came to see a new
patient that had been referred to our office by the patient's surgeon.
The peer visitor was a young woman, a transtibial amputee, and she was
visiting with the patient when we got to the facility. The rehab
director told the prosthetist, a girl from your office just came by to
see this patient, she's probably still here. Which was news to us,
because we don't happen to have any young women amputees on staff at the
moment.

     So the prosthetist from our office introduced himself to the peer
visitor. She said she was from Amputee Empowerment Partners and did not
mention that her primary employment is with Hanger as a Business
Development Associate. She gave the prosthetist from my office her card
and mentioned only that she was from Amputee Empowerment Partners, and
that she was there to give advice and guidance to amputees everywhere.
She did not say that her goal was to make sure the patient was fitted by
Hanger Clinic and not by the prosthetist who the surgeon referred the
patient to. She's certainly not going to explain to the amputee that
they have choices and can go to whomever they wish, right? Not when her
job requires that she develop business for Hanger?

     I think this is sneaky on Hanger's part. Only on her business card
did it say that her email address was [her name]@hanger.com
<mailto:name]@hanger.com>. Nowhere on the card did it mention that
Amputee Empowerment Partners is a Hanger-affiliated organization. The
director of the rehab facility had no idea she was affiliated with
Hanger; in fact, he thought she was working for our office, and the peer
visitor did not expend any effort towards making sure the rehab director
knew where she was coming from. Her LinkedIn profile clearly states
that she works for Hanger as a Business Development Associate for Hanger.

*Is this ethical behavior? I am troubled by this. How is it okay to
misrepresent who you really work for? Does ABC approve of this kind of
action?*

     I say this because our area has had trouble in the past with other
amputee 'peer visitors' acting unprofessionally. Any of you in the New
York area will know exactly who I'm talking about.

     I'm all for competition in business. We think our facility is one
of the best because we provide top-quality products and services to our
patients quickly, professionally, and ethically. We're up for a fair
fight anytime. In the interest of full disclosure, I am not an owner in
the practice I work for, though I care about it as if I was. I simply
think these sneaky marketing tactics (disguised as helpfulness) by
others do not constitute healthy fair competition between quality O&P
practices. There are several O&P practices in our neck of the woods for
whom we have great respect, because they are ethical and professional at
what they do. But I can't respect people or companies who misrepresent
the truth.

     There should be a recurring thread on OandP-L called Examples of
Unprofessional or Unethical Behavior. Please, all of you out there who
do a good job of serving the amputee population and who do it ethically
and professionally, let others know about the shenanigans of those who
would try to undercut your professionalism in the name of making a quick
buck.

Thanks for letting me sound off on this issue. I hope others will share
their experiences as well.

William Lifford, CP
Progressive O&P, Inc.
(a company that is tired of putting up with unethical behavior by others)
Albertson, NY

--
William Lifford, CP
Progressive O&P, Inc.
1111 Willis Avenue
Albertson, NY 11507
516-338-8585
www.ProgOandP.com