MARCH NEWSLETTER CORRECTED ASPIRE 10K DATE Lost amidst all the merriment of our last e-newsletter was the fact that it contained the wrong date for the ASPIRE 10K race. The race is the morning of Saturday, April 5 -- NOT Tuesday, April 15. If you would like to run on the 15th, we encourage you to do so, but please note that you will be all alone. What does not change, however, is the fact that proceeds for the race are directed to ASPIRE. We encourage all of you to participate in the race (even if only for a portion of it), or short of that, come to cheer on A Step Ahead Running Club members. And remember, all participants get those cool ASPIRE 10K long-sleeve t-shirts!
Please contact us immediately so that we can make sure that your race application gets filled out and that you get a race number. In addition, circle September 14 on your calendars, as that is the date for the annual Ocean-To-Sound Relay. Please contact us if you are interested in participating in this race, as we would like to set the team well in advance. MARCH RUNNING CLINIC In the "Shall We Try This Again?" department, we have scheduled the March Running Clinic for Sunday, March 30, at 10 AM. Our last few running clinics have been canceled due to inclement weather. While no scientific link has yet been established between A Step Ahead Running Clinics and heavy snowfall, we have a team of experts analyzing the situation. As always, David Balsley, athletic trainer extraordinaire will oversee the clinic. Undaunted by the recent poor weather, Balsley is threatening to clear the track of any future snowfall by running around it "really fast" to melt the snow and ice.YOU'VE LOST YOUR PROSTHETIC HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE! "How have I lost my prosthetic coverage?" you ask. By switching to a new policy without first consulting with A Step Ahead! Over the last two months we have seen several clients switch jobs (and hence insurance policies), only to discover that their new insurance did not cover prosthetics. We have also had several clients attempt to perform policy research themselves. They have told us that they have prosthetics coverage under their new policy, only to later learn that this coverage is so limited as to be nonexistent for practical purposes. Please take the 5 minutes to call us and let us perform the research for you. We can provide you complete answers within 24 hours. Prosthetists cannot treat clients who have no prosthetic coverage! You should NEVER switch policies or jobs without first speaking to David McGill or Janet MacQueen. Anytime you contemplate such a change, you MUST call us first so that you understand the ramifications. Remember, if you have to pay for the prosthesis out-of-pocket because there's no prosthetic coverage in your health insurance policy, that "great" new salary suddenly doesn't look so great. On the other hand, that job offering slightly less money with full prosthetics coverage is worth tens of thousands of dollars per year to you! The only way to make an informed decision is to let us help you! A Step Ahead is uniquely set up to prevent you from losing prosthetic coverage, but we cannot help you if we don't find out about it until after the fact. So call! FORE! Looking to expand our sports empire beyond track and field, A Step Ahead continues its commitment to dominating amputee sports with the formation of the A Step Ahead Golf Team. A Step Ahead is a lifetime member of the Eastern Amputee Golf Association, and we will be sponsoring the team this year for local EAGA tournaments. If you are interested in becoming a member of the A Step Ahead Golf Team, please contact us. Please note that we will not be taking on team members who join simply because they want to drive a golf cart. A NEW VOICE A Step Ahead is pleased to announce the hiring of Susan Corbe, our new Administrative Assistant. Sue will be handling all patient scheduling, as well as juggling multiple administrative tasks. She has an extensive background in the insurance industry matters, having spent the last 10 years working at New York Life Insurance Company in an administrative capacity. So when you hear the new voice answering the phones here, don't hesitate to introduce yourself to Sue! A Step Ahead also wants to wish Jennifer Thomas, who previously worked in that position, the best of luck as she leaves us to seek new challenges. We appreciate her invaluable assistance and will miss her at the front desk! A STEP AHEAD PATIENT MISSES SCHOOL! But he had a good reason -- Edriss Crawley-Tate spent several months abroad last year to appear in the recently-released Tears of the Sun, starring Bruce Willis. As of the date of this e-Newsletter, we had not received confirmation of whether Edriss' scenes survived the cutting room floor, but in the movie he plays a young refugee receiving treatment from an American doctor who runs a mission in Central Africa. Sporting a prosthesis made by Erik Schaffer especially for the film, Edriss was forced to work in one of the most harsh and unforgiving environments known to man -- Hawaii. In other news, Davonni Baboolal was the subject of a recent letter to youth inMotion. In that letter, we learn that she will soon be starting drama classes. This has led to speculation that Erik Schaffer's prosthetic designs cause pediatric clients to become actors. The New England Journal of Medicine is examining the phenomenon. WIRELESS PROSTHETICS As we noted in our previous e-Newsletter, A Step Ahead is now a wireless internet access facility. Patients who have laptop computers with wireless cards can surf the net from the patient rooms or gait area. Combined with the coffee, cappuccino, and espresso that is available in the gait area, Erik and David are exploring whether changing the name of the facility to A Starbucks Ahead is viable, although initial focus group response has been negative.SPEND JULY 4TH IN BOSTON! Remember, the Amputee Coalition of America's annual convention will be in Boston the week of July 4th! In what is the only national convention targeted at consumers, this meeting is a tremendous opportunity to meet new people, talk to manufacturers, and attend educational seminars addressing topics of interest to amputees. For information about the meeting, click here http://amputee-coalition.org/annual_meeting_about.html . Remember, the ACA convention is rarely on the East Coast, so this is a tremendous opportunity for all of our clients to attend a national meeting at dramatically lower costs than if it were held elsewhere. UPCOMING SUPPORT GROUP MEETINGS It's a big month for support groups. ASPIRE will be holding its monthly meeting on Wednesday, March 26, at 6:15 p.m. at the Hospital for Special Surgery. Attending the meeting will be Researchers from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Center for Injury Research and Policy, and the Limb Loss Research and Statistics Program. The researchers are looking for input and feedback about a new program aimed at teaching amputees skills to help deal with problems related to the loss of a limb. Also present will be Amputee Coalition of America President/CEO and A Step Ahead client Paddy Rossbach. The YNCA support group, hosted by Lauren Peters, will be meeting Monday, March 24, at 7:00 p.m. Speaking at that meeting will be Dr. Greenburg, a chiropractor and nutritionist, who will be discussing (among other things) the link between diet and pain. The YNCA meeting will take place at 322 W. 57th Street, Apt. 39R (between 8th and 9th Avenues). If you would like additional information about either of these support groups, please do not hesitate to contact us.
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