Lessons from Clinical Practice Abroad Inform Practice at Home

Kinsey Herrin is a Senior Research Scientist in the Woodruff George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Human Interface Design, Development and Engineering Lab. She has an M.S. in Prosthetics and Orthotics from the Georgia Institute of Technology and completed her orthotics residency at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and prosthetics residency at the University of Michigan O&P Center. Her research focuses on the development and testing of new and existing advanced exoskeletons and prostheses for real world community mobility. She is passionate about improving mobility and independence for people with physical challenges.

Katie Marie Leatherwood, CPO is from Texas, USA. She worked professionally as a Prosthetist and Orthotist in USA since 2009, before moving to Latvia in 2015. Katie is the director of SIA Designed to Live Ortopēdija in Cēsis, Latvia. Since 2022, she has implemented additive manufacturing (3D printing) and digital design as her primary prosthetic design and fabrication method. She is known internationally for her successful and scaled use of 3d printing in prosthetic care. Katie is the director of Designed to Live, a non-profit organization that supports the provision of prosthetic care for patients both in Latvia and Ukraine. She has unique experience in providing prosthetic care to post-war trauma amputees and in less-resourced countries, providing care in Latvia, Ukraine, Kosovo, Kenya, and Jordan.

Ana Groff, CPO, MSPO, PT, DPT is the director of prosthetic and orthotic services for a non-profit, Fundacion Teleton, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. In partnership with Teleton, she is also contracted with the university UNITEC for the development of an accredited Prosthetic and Orthotic Program to initiate the career and title in Honduras. She is a certified prosthetist and orthotist (CPO) as well a licensed physical therapist with a focus in providing rehabilitation and training for patients with amputations. She is a graduate of the Georgia Tech MSPO and the UConn DPT programs. Her interests are in orthotic and prosthetic and rehabilitation provision in underserved areas and developing countries. Prior to moving to Honduras, she worked as a CPO for Hanger Clinic in Tuscon, AZ. There, her volunteer time was spent providing services and training staff in two non-profit clinics in Mexico. Her research and time focus on development of holistic and self-sustainable clinics and educational programs to develop a higher standard of care in low resource areas.

Jeff Erenstone, CPO is the founder, owner and head clinician of Mountain O&P Services in lake placid, NY. Over the last decade, Jeff has built a practice specializing in custom and small production designs for adaptive athletes of all skill levels, from paralympians to amputees trying new sports. In 2018 he founded Operation Namaste, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization devoted to improving prosthetic care around the world, especially in Nepal. He is a member of the AOPA National Assembly Planning Committee and Tech. Committee, and a regular volunteer for Camp No Limits.