The Hero Arm & Hero Flex now join VA prosthetics list!
11th November 2024
11th November 2024
Two veterans were approved – a Hero Arm and a Hero Flex. Here’s what you need to know about getting your device approved by the VA.
This month we worked directly with the VA to ensure two veterans we worked with received full coverage for their chosen devices.
Here is how it happened and what the veterans thought of the process and their new devices.
Here at Open Bionics, we are excited to announce that we are now official vendors with the Veterans Administration, and those with VA benefits can now receive a Hero Arm directly from the Open Bionics Clinics.
Our process toward becoming official vendors began when Ret. Navy Chief Petty Officer Michael Tindall contacted us with interest in receiving the Hero Arm. Tindall had his left arm amputated below the elbow in 1991, and has been an avid prosthetic user in the 33 years since that time. He has used both body-powered and myoelectric prostheses in the past, and came to us when his old myoelectric prosthesis was not living up to his expectations. He was interested in the ease of operating the Hero Arm, and asked if he could use his VA benefits to receive one. At the time, we were not vendors with the VA, but we began the process to be able to provide services directly to veterans, and were approved in less than two months.
Mike has been working as a professional Santa for the past 15-years and wanted the Hero Arm to help not only with the day-to-day but spreading festive cheer.
Around the same time, former Army Paratrooper Aldo Bolliger reached out with interest in the Hero Flex, our activity arm. Bolliger had his arm amputated in 1989 when osteosarcoma was discovered in his lower arm after suffering a broken bone. He has also utilized a wide range of prosthetic devices, and was drawn to the Flex because of its lightweight design and reduced perspiration collection in the arm compared to other prosthetic devices he has utilized in the past. Bolliger is highly active, and wanted a device that could keep up with his weight training, swimming, kayaking, and all of his other numerous activities, both in and out of the water.
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Personally calling and emailing the VA prosthetics department can ensure that the authorizations are sent to Open Bionics quickly. Thanks to Tindall reaching out to them personally, we received his authorization less than 3 weeks after becoming official vendors, and had successfully placed the order for his arm less than 2 weeks later.
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For veterans to receive any type of prosthetic care, the first step is to visit with their local VA prosthetist. The VA prosthetist needs to evaluate the veteran to determine their prosthetic needs, and from that point, veterans have the right to choose any prosthetic provider that is a VA vendor. For Tindall, this meant visiting with his local Memphis VA prosthetist to tell him that he was interested in the Hero Arm, and that he wanted to travel to the Austin Open Bionics clinic for it. For Bolliger, he first visited with the Bay Pines VA prosthetist and said that he would like to receive the Hero Flex from the Orlando Open Bionics clinic. In both situations, the VA prosthetists evaluated the patients to ensure that the devices were suitable for their needs, sent authorizations to Open Bionics, and we were then able to cast and fit these veterans with their custom Hero devices.
When asked if there was anything in particular that he noticed helped with the process to receive a Hero Arm or Hero Flex, Tindall said that what he found to be the most important part was to be diligent about communicating with the VA prosthetist himself to help speed up the process as much as possible. Personally calling and emailing the VA prosthetics department can ensure that the authorizations are sent to Open Bionics quickly. Thanks to Tindall reaching out to them personally, we received his authorization less than 3 weeks after becoming official vendors, and had successfully placed the order for his arm less than 2 weeks later. Bolliger stated that he is extremely excited that Open Bionics is now an approved vendor because he hopes that other veterans will follow in his footsteps to receive a Hero Flex. He is hopeful that this partnership will allow other veterans who want to maintain an active lifestyle following an amputation.
If you, or a veteran you know, are interested in receiving a Hero Arm or Flex, please do not hesitate to reach out to any of the Open Bionics clinic locations so we can help direct you through the process! We look forward to providing prosthetic services to as many of our military members as possible.
