Providing mobility more than a business for O&P

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Peter Zuzga

Dr. Jake Wood and his staff, (from left) Lisa Blair, Jeanne Isherwood and Teri Hoch, are seen in O&P Orthotics and Prosthetics.

Peter Zuzga

Dr. Jake Wood and his staff, (from left) Lisa Blair, Jeanne Isherwood and Teri Hoch, are seen in O&P Orthotics and Prosthetics.

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Although professional football's Super Bowl occurs just once a year, Jake Wood never goes a day without experiencing his version of the big game.

"My work allows me to live the Super Bowl on a daily basis," said the owner of Orthotics and Prosthetics Associates in Wauwatosa. "I'm blessed to provide comfort, hope, and improve the lives of my patients during their difficult time."

A board-certified prosthetist with more than 30 years' experience, Wood's O&P Associates designs and creates a wide range of custom, artificial limbs for amputees ranging from children to senior citizens.

While Wood said he attends a handful of continuing education classes a year to stay on the cutting edge of technological developments, no amount of classroom time can compensate, he believes, for O&P Associates' nurturing environment.

"There's a lot of humanistic care involved in our work that comes from the soul and can't be learned," said Wood, who, in recent years, helped launch an amputee treatment facility in Guatemala. "By being empathetic to patients' needs and posting inspirational quotes and pictures of people throughout our facility, who went through the same rehab process that they're undergoing, we try to help amputees overcome the fears that are the barriers to their recovery."

O&P Associates' patient-oriented practice is illustrated, Wood said, by the amount of time it devotes to their treatment. It's an investment he says extends the lifespan of the average artificial limb.

"The human body wasn't designed to walk on prosthetics, so we never rush someone past their comfort level," said Wood, who acquires business through referrals from surgeons and physical therapists and word of mouth from past patients. "Feet, knees, hands, etc., are ordered individually for each patient.

"Then we methodically educate patients on how to use and care for their artificial limbs and get them to trust in the rehabilitation process."

If you would like to suggest a business to be featured in the Business Spotlight, send an email to news@cninow.com or call (262) 446-6643.

JUST THE FACTS

BUSINESS: Orthotics and Prosthetics Associates

ADDRESS: 10506 W. Blue Mound Road

PHONE: (414) 257-2727

WEBSITE: www.opassociates.us

OWNER: Jake Wood

INCORPORATED:1997

TYPE OF BUSINESS: orthotics and prosthetics treatment facility

PEARLS OF WISDOM: "Every time a patient walks through our doors, we strive to treat the whole person."