APRIL NEWSLETTER 1. RESEARCHERS LINK ASPIRE EVENTS TO BAD WEATHER!!!
2. ASPIRE'S APRIL RUNNING CLINIC
3. KOEHLER CROWNS KING'S PARK COURSE
4. IT'S ALL DOWNHILL FOR CALLAHAN
5. REINERTSEN RUNNING TO CALIFORNIA
6. BOSTON IN JULY
7. A STEP AHEAD DEVELOPS NEW SKIN SYSTEM!!!
8. COVER YOURSELF!
9. DO YOU WANT TO PLAY GOLF WITH TIGER WOODS?
10. IMPORTANT A STEP AHEAD OFFICE DATES
11. UPCOMING SUPPORT GROUP MEETINGS
12. DON'T PANIC! ALL IS WELL!
13. THE FEDS WON'T GET US! RESEARCHERS LINK ASPIRE EVENTS TO BAD WEATHER!!! In a startling discovery, researchers at Cal-Berkeley have established a scientific link between ASPIRE running events and heavy precipitation. The phenomenon was first noted back in November, when heavy rains prompted the cancellation of that month's ASPIRE Running Clinic. The trend continued throughout the winter, in which the heaviest snowfall corresponded directly with ASPIRE-scheduled events. The head of the Running Clinic, David Balsley, sought to break the chain of causation by scheduling the March Running Clinic on a Sunday, as previous studies posited a link between precipitation and Saturdays (the only day running clinics had been held on in the past). However, the events of that weekend, with a driving rain and plunging temperatures on Sunday disproved the now-defunct "Saturday Hypothesis". Dr. Henry Terwilliger, the lead advocate of the currently-in-vogue "ASPIRE Hypothesis" points to this past Saturday's ASPIRE Annual 10K Road Race as the definitive link between ASPIRE events and bad weather, as runners braved sub-40 degree temperatures and a steady drizzle for a free long-sleeve t-shirt. A Step Ahead Running Club members acquitted themselves nicely, with Tommy Koehler (BK) leading the way with a finishing time of 48:19. Lauren Peters (BK) clocked in at 53:34 (approximately 5 minutes faster than her time last year), and Sarah Reinertsen, the sole AK participant, finished in just over 1:11:00. Special congratulations to Ray Esser (BK), who with no training, finished the full 10K course on his first try, with a time of 1:44:24. A Step Ahead also wants to thank Lori Penesis, who despite a leg injury, walked the full course (on her birthday, no less) with Ray. Great job everyone! A Step Ahead will be making a donation to ASPIRE directly in these individuals' names. Next on the calendar? Gear up for the Ocean-to-Sound-Relay in September! We want you! ASPIRE'S APRIL RUNNING CLINIC Undaunted by Professor Terwilliger's research, ASPIRE will forge onward with a new running clinic on Sunday, April 27th at 10 AM. Taking over for David Balsley this month will be his colleague, Phil Kreuter, a highly-regarded physical therapist who has been working with amputees for more than a decade both in initial rehabilitation and athletic training.When told of the link between ASPIRE events and bad weather, Kreuter remarked that everyone should run more not only because it has definite health benefits, but also because slimmer people can dodge raindrops much more easily than heavy people. KOEHLER CROWNS KING'S PARK COURSE Tommy Koehler successfully completed the King's Park 15K Road Race on May 23rd. He finished with a time of 1:30.02 (9:40 per mile average) a strong showing given the fact that the King's Park course is one of the toughest on Long Island. Koehler has previously completed the New York City Marathon and ran more than 10 miles of last September's Ocean-to-Sound Relay. When not putting one foot in front of the other quickly, Koehler is cycling and swimming, as he trains for his first triathlon. IT'S ALL DOWNHILL FOR CALLAHAN Actually, to be technically correct, it's all giant slalom and slalom for Patrick Callahan (AK), who recently competed at the U.S. Skiing Nationals at Winter Park Colorado in the Junior Division. Patrick placed third in the giant slalom and fourth in the slalom with minimal training due to the absence of mountains in Ohio. With the snow now melting, Pat focuses his sights in the spring on his golf game. Great job, Pat! REINERTSEN RUNNING TO CALIFORNIA Well, she's not exactly running in a technical sense. More accurately, she is hurrying out to California, because she has become the new Program Manager for The Challenged Athletes Foundation, located in Del Mar. CAF is a unique not-for-profit that provides grants for disabled athletes so that they can purchase equipment and train for competition both nationally and internationally. CAF has raised over 2.7 million dollars and directly assisted 875 challenged athletes world-wide. A small endowment fund has also been created to ensure challenged athletes will always have a place to go for funding. In her new position, Sarah will assist in developing new mentoring and community outreach programs that will better serve CAF's mission. She will oversee all challenged athlete grantees, manage all appearances, and pursue additional sources of funding to support this initiative. Besides being a world-record holder in the 100m, 200m, and marathon, Sarah notes that with this move back to California, she is also pursuing the record of most-trans-continental moves in the shortest period of time. To learn more about CAF, visit its website at http://www.challengedathletes.org/caf/index.asp. BOSTON IN JULY Don't forget to set aside the first week in July for the Amputee Coalition of America's Annual Convention in Boston! Heather Mills McCartney will be a featured speaker at the event, which is a tremendous opportunity for amputees and their families to keep abreast of the latest relevant issues and technologies. A Step Ahead will be displaying its products and services at the convention, and a number of our clients have already informed us that they also plan to be in Boston. Take advantage of this opportunity to meet amputees from around the world, hang out with your fellow A Step Ahead clients, and attend educational seminars that focus on issues of importance to amputees. For registration information, go to http://amputee-coalition.org/annual_meeting_about.html. A STEP AHEAD DEVELOPS NEW SKIN SYSTEM!!! A Step Ahead is pleased to announce that Glen and Sue, our resident skin mavens, have created the most lifelike full-body skin system ever! They are now the proud parents of an as-yet-unnamed baby girl, who graced them with her presence on April 1st. When asked about why she selected April 1st as the date of her birth, The Baby Formerly Known As Just A Twinkle In Her Daddy's Eye commented: "I liked the juxtaposition of a joyously grave event (my birth) against the absurdity and mirth that characterizes the first day of the fourth month." When asked his thoughts about the April 1st date, Glen incoherently rambled something about his general lack of preparedness for fatherhood, and then walked into the wrong hospital room to check on Sue. COVER YOURSELF! Please, please, please, NEVER switch insurance coverage without first speaking to us! Switching jobs, moving from one plan to another, graduating from college -- all of these are events that could result in you coming here for treatment only to be met with the dreaded words, "Your insurance provides no coverage for prosthetics!" You never want to hear the dull "thud" of someone's heart dropping through the bottom of their chest, particularly when it's your own. We have staff uniquely qualified to protect your insurance interests. However, we cannot perform our job after you have already made the switch. Take the 5 minutes to call us so that we can help you! DO YOU WANT TO PLAY GOLF WITH TIGER WOODS? If you do, we strongly recommend that you join the PGA tour. The next best thing, though, is joining the A Step Ahead Golf Team! A Step Ahead is a lifetime member of the Eastern Amputee Golf Association, and the 14th Long Island Amputee Classic is coming July 19-21. We will be sponsoring the team for this tournament, so if you want a few days of quality golfing, let us know! IMPORTANT A STEP AHEAD OFFICE DATES Erik Schaffer will not be in the office April 30--May 2, as he will be traveling to Iceland to participate in a Pediatric Focus Group organized by Ossur. In addition, as noted above, because we will be at the ACA Annual Convention in Boston, Erik will be out of the office July 3. UPCOMING SUPPORT GROUP MEETINGS The YNCA Support Group will be meeting on April 28. Lauren begs the indulgence of her male patients, as this month's meeting will be focusing on issues affecting female amputees, and is thus an all-female meeting. Lauren Zwick, Director of Outreach/Customer Relations for the MTA will be the guest speaker at the ASPIRE Support Group meeting on April 30. The meeting takes place at The Hospital for Special Surgery. For more information about either of these meetings, please do not hesitate to contact us. DON'T PANIC! ALL IS WELL! Prosthetic fit issues can sometimes present with symptomatology similar to that of other, more serious conditions. Your unique medical background can understandably give rise to heightened concern when this happens. While we want all of our clients to be vigilant and take all necessary steps to protect their health, we also want them to live without fear of impending doom. Accordingly, please make sure when you have problems that could be socket-related that you contact us and speak to Erik. A quick evaluation here may save you unnecessary stress! THE FEDS WON'T GET US! The Federal Government requires health care providers to have measures in place to protect their client's protected health information from disclosure both inside and outside of the office. The legislation ("HIPAA"), which takes effect this month, mandates (among other things) that providers disclose to their clients how protected health information can be used, and requires providers to have security measures in place to protect that information. Consistent with HIPAA's guidelines, A Step Ahead will be providing all clients with a sheet detailing how their protected health information is utilized. As a practical matter, the only time we use such information is when we correspond with either your physicians or your insurance companies. In addition, we do not process any claims over the computer at the present time, so on-line security is not an issue. A Step Ahead also has a firewall-protected server to make sure that no third-parties "hack" into our system, which contains additional password protection for all patient-related files. If you have any questions about HIPAA, don't hesitate to speak to David McGill during your next visit here!
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