MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
New Horizons Orthotics and Prosthetics
Community Services
New facility caters to patients in a small Nebraska town and surrounding areas
I
F HE HAD KNOWN what was
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JUNE/JULY 2021 | O&P ALMANAC
New Horizons Orthotics and Prosthetics an office manager, Jo Cook, and a business manager, Sandi Olson, as well as a part-time technician. Jo Cook Much had changed since LOCATION: Quick last ran his Kearny, Nebraska own facility in the early 2000s, mainly OWNER: with insurance. One Brandon Quick, CP, Sandi Olson change in particular BOCO has made care more difficult: “If a patient has had anything, from an ankle support orthosis to a full custom ankle-foot orthosis, in the past five years, they’re not eligible for another brace,” he says. “It’s a big hurdle, and we’ve had to Brandon Quick, CP, BOCO appeal just about everything.” New Horizons uses computer-aided design (CAD) for HISTORY: all above-knee prostheses, but 18 months Quick and his technician still hand-craft below-knee devices. “I can’t get the results I want with CAD,” he says. “We’re pretty old school around here. I’m a fan of hand craftsmanship. You get that personal touch and the ability
FACILITY: New Horizons Orthotics and Prosthetics
to put your spin on it. Even with CAD/CAM, subtle differences appear that shouldn’t be there.” Working in a small town— Kearny has a population of about 30,000—allows Quick to develop personal relationships with patients. “We see them on the street; we know their families; we’ve been in their homes.” The practice also draws from nearby Nebraska communities, such as Grand Island and North Platte, serving much of the western half of the state. While many of his patients have diabetes, Quick says he has seen an increase in trauma cases. He suspects it may have something to do with pandemic. “People are getting cabin fever and doing [foolish] things,” he suggests. Quick has a history of O&P missionary work, particularly in St. Lucia, and hopes to resume these activities when the pandemic subsides and international travel ramps back up. While he does not advertise that he is an amputee, Quick finds that patients respond well and that it gives him an underlying connection to and empathy with his patients. He hopes to expand his facility, both by adding another practitioner to the office and by opening an additional location. The snag, Quick says, is finding qualified clinicians in central Nebraska. “I think our compensation and benefits package is great,” he notes, “but it’s difficult to attract practitioners who want to live in a small town.” In the meantime, Quick will continue to serve his community, offering the quality patient care and neighborly attention he is known for. Deborah Conn is a contributing writer to O&P Almanac. Reach her at deborahconn@verizon.net.
PHOTOS: New Horizons Orthotics and Prosthetics
coming, Brandon Quick, CP, BOCO, would not have chosen to open his new facility in January 2020. Nevertheless, New Horizons Orthotics and Prosthetics managed to thrive during the pandemic. “It was pretty hairraising,” says Quick. “But it forced us to become inventive in marketing our services.” Because of COVID-19, Quick was not able to meet directly with referral sources, so he assembled marketing materials and sent them along with patients to share with their physicians and therapists. “We’d invite doctors to Zoom meetings,” he says. “They would sit with their patients and get me on the line, and we were able to accomplish the goal.” His marketing efforts were successful, and the facility began to pay for itself within only four months. Quick was originally drawn to O&P by his personal experiences with the profession. He lost his leg below the knee in 1986 as the result of a hunting accident, and was so impressed with the two prosthetists who worked with him that he decided to become a practitioner himself—and later became business partners with his former clinicians. Certified in 2001, Quick and his prosthetic partners opened a small facility, Nebraska Orthotic and Prosthetic Services. When the business sold to Hanger, Quick continued to work there for 10 years, and then decided to set out on his own again. He soon opened New Horizons in Kearny, Nebraska, where he is a sole practitioner. He is assisted by
By DEBORAH CONN
