Reply To: discussion forum 6

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PTForall is an NGO serving the Southern California region of the United States. It has connected individuals who have completed an application for services, with clinics willing to provide the services at no cost. This is a small scale organization meeting the niche population in a specific location with the potential to scale up to wider populations. The United States has services, but it also has people without access to them and more needs to be done to bridge that gap.

The US is not using the WHO Guide to Action.

As a health care provider, I advocate regularly for my patients to get access to health care, rehab and AT. One case that I distinctly remember was the result of the events of 9/11. On that day, I was working as a PT in lower Manhattan. One of my inpatient rehab patients in the week following sustained a leg amputation when she was a pedestrian hit by a car leaving the chaos, pinned against a bus stop for a period of time. The first responders in the area were all heading further downtown to the World Trade Center and it took her longer to receive pre-hospital care. Perhaps this influence the outcome of her leg being amputated. Regardless, she had very little financial means and insurance. She was not “eligible” for the prosthesis that the team recommended for her. During her weeks of rehab, I advocated that she benefit from the multitude of funds that were set up to assist 9/11 survivors. Ultimately, we prevailed and she had her prosthesis financed through one of these funds. The take home lesson was that health care providers need to be engaged with the patient and access all resources possible to help someone in shock from injury and perhaps less fluent in resources available.