New State-of-the-Art Orthotics and Prosthetics Facility Opens at VA Long Beach Healthcare System

The California State University, Dominguez Hills Orthotics and Prosthetics (O&P) Program has officially opened the doors of its new O&P lab and classrooms at VA Long Beach Healthcare System (VALB) medical center. A ribbon cutting ceremony last month was attended by students, administrators, practitioners, disabled veterans and community members. Also in attendance were Congresswoman Laura Richardson (D-CA) and representatives of state Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D- 27th Dist.), state Sen. Jenny Oropeza (D- 28th Dist.), and Assemblymember Warren Furutani (D- 55th Dist.). For more than 25 years, CSU Dominguez Hills has been a leader in educating prosthetists and orthotists; the O&P program is one of only nine such programs in the nation and the only one in California.

“Cal State Dominguez Hills has become the education destination for O&P,” said Scott Hornbeak, program coordinator. “By interfacing with VA health personnel, our students will be exposed to state of the art medical practice and have access to the world class VA Gait laboratory for research. This is a golden opportunity for the CSU, the VA, and people in need of prosthetic and orthotic services.”

The new facility, which will be named the VA Long Beach Healthcare System/CSU Dominguez Hills Center for Orthotics and Prosthetics, opened to students and the nation’s veterans this semester. The new 10,200-square-foot space will provide unprecedented opportunities for students to learn and veterans to receive the latest in prosthetic care. The new facility will enable the expansion of the program’s academic offerings, such as vocational training for returning veterans and continuing education for VA staff.

New O&P student Matthew Dame received his undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering from the University of California, Davis. He says that the CSU Dominguez Hills program was “highly recommended by people I worked with who said this was the best [institution] in the country for studying orthotics and prosthetics. The closer we are to patients, the better we can build our understanding of the field.”

Laura Podell, another new student, graduated with a degree in movement and sports medicine at Purdue University. She says that the “hands-on experience” was a great attraction for her to enroll in the program, as well as the opportunity to give back to the veteran population.

“I feel like it’s a privilege to give back to the people who served for us,” she said.

Congresswoman Richardson said that the creation of the new facility provided “an awakening moment for me to realize the things we’re voting on are for people who put us over themselves.”

For more information about the CSU Dominguez Hills Orthotics and Prosthetics program, visit www.csudh.edu/oandp.

- Amy Bentley-Smith and Joanie Harmon

Photo above: Representatives of the CSU Dominguez Hills and VA Long Beach community celebrate grand opening of the new O & P facility.

(L-R): Scott Hornbeak, program coordinator, CSU Dominguez Hills O & P; Congresswoman Laura Richardson (D-CA); Al Krueger, VA instructional model; Mitch Maki, dean, College of Professional Studies, CSU Dominguez Hills; Ronald Norby, network director, VA Desert Pacific Health Care Network; Isabel Duff, director, VA Long Beach Health Care System; and Dr. Mildred García, president, CSU Dominguez Hills.

Photo by GK