My career, and my life, have been significantly influenced by a devastating knee injury that occurred my freshman year of college. Like many others I have encountered in the O&P industry, it is interesting how injuries and other unexpected events in your life can alter your journey.
I was introduced to the O&P industry in 1985, after my second knee surgery, when a certified orthotist in the Los Angeles area fit me with a Townsend knee brace. It was a new product on the market. Ironically, a year later my career took me to the city (Bakersfield, CA) where the brace was made, and a decade later I went to work for Townsend. After 25 years as an executive and CEO for the company, I was excited to pursue a new venture – O&P Boost.
Ready to boost results
I’ve had a successful career, initially in the hospital industry, and the past 25 years at Townsend. Before I end my career, I’m excited to have this opportunity to work with clients who know me, or who have heard about me. O&P Boost gives me a simple platform for helping boost the results of businesses that enhance the quality of life for patients who experience limb loss or injuries and conditions that impact mobility and function. My perspectives, and the services I’m offering, are the result of my experiences as orthopedic patient, healthcare professional, business leader, educator, and board member.
O&P Boost has only one employee. That makes things pretty straightforward for me and my clients. I’m an external resource, ready and able to supplement a company’s internal expertise. I want to help push forward initiatives that boost the success and value of businesses that deliver O&P patient care. I also want to help boost the success of manufacturing businesses that sell products to O&P clinics and distributors. And I hope to work with sales representatives who work as an independent contractor for companies that target the O&P market.
Every business has different needs. They require customized strategies and tactics to incrementally improve performance. I’m very pragmatic. I ask a lot of questions. I want to know how stakeholders experience my client’s business. From there, we get to identify opportunities, define strategies and formulate plans. Then we work together to implement specific initiatives (with methods for measuring results).
I know the O&P market
Over the past two decades, I’ve had the privilege of hosting dinners in my backyard for more than 1,000 O&P clinicians and business owners (who attended Townsend’s education seminars). I have gained valuable insights from one-on-one and group conversations with clinicians and the owners/leaders of small and large businesses.
My current service on the Board of Directors for the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA), and past service on the board of the California Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (COPA), has also helped shape my perspectives about the O&P industry. I’ve been an active participant in AOPA’s annual Policy Forums and Leadership Conferences, and served as a committee member for AOPA’s Orthotics 20/20 initiative. I’ve co-chaired AOPA’s national assembly three years in a row. And I’ve had the privilege of being a guest speaker at state, regional, national and international O&P meetings.
My clients can count on me to be fair, transparent, ethical, frugal and passionate. I will also always strive to demonstrate integrity in my personal and professional life.