Heritage Medical Equipment, LLC

Newberry, PA boy pushes for prosthetic-fitting licensing

By JEFF FRANTZ
Daily Record/Sunday News

Updated: 04/16/2009 11:32:57 PM EDT

Sean Brame received a new pair of legs in March, and they still don't fit quite right.

His prosthetist has been working to adjust the sockets in the 13-year-old Newberry Township boy's prosthetic legs, and the tweaking process, Sean said, takes a while.

He explained that Thursday to the state House's Professional Licensure Committee at a hearing in Wilkes-Barre.

Sean, who lost parts of all four limbs after a sepsis infection when he was 9, was testifying in support of a bill that would require anyone who fits prosthetics or orthotics to be licensed by the state.

Currently, the bill's backers say, Pennsylvania law doesn't recognize a difference between specialists who have years of training and someone without that training working at a medical supply shop.

One reason why Sean has been able to live like a normal 13-year-old -- playing soccer, swimming, active in the Boy Scouts -- is the attention he's received from his prosthetist dating back to before his amputations, his mother, Carol Brame, said.

Everyone, she said, should be entitled to that type of care, since prosthetic limbs are complex devices in need of maintenance.

The bill's primary sponsor, Rep. Mario Scavello, R-Monroe County, said current law leaves a large, unregulated gray area.

"People getting fitted for a prosthetic need to be fitted properly," Scavello said in a phone interview Wednesday. "If not, there's no place they can go and complain."

Prosthetists and orthotists who have gone through years of schooling suffer by having to compete with those who have not, said Jeff Brandt, founder and CEO of Gettysburg-based Ability Prosthetics and Orthotics.

Beginning in October, Medicare will require anyone who is billing prosthetic work and does not have a state license to carry a surety bond, Brandt said.

Licensing, he said, would improve the quality of care for Pennsylvania amputees.

"It's to really try to shut down all the fly-by-nighters," Brandt said. "A lot of these guys that do (prosthetic work) on the side don't do it well."

jfrantz@ydr.com; 771-2062

Pennsylvania - Handicapped Parking Permit/Plates

Individuals with permanent or temporary disabilities or severely disabled veterans may apply for Handicapped Parking Placards or Handicapped Registration Plates. Applications may be picked up at your local police department, or click here to download forms from the PA Department of Transportation web site.

Upon completion, forms will need to be signed by a physician (or, in some limited cases) a police officer.

Completed forms should be mailed with applicable fee to:

PA Department of Transportation
Bureau of Motor Vehicles
P.O. Box 68268
Harrisburg, PA 17106-8268