Hanger Orthopedic Group Honored for its Charitable Relief Efforts in Haiti by InterAction

WASHINGTON, July 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Hanger Orthopedic Group, Inc. was recently honored for its charitable relief efforts in response to the January 12th earthquake in Haiti by InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based international development and humanitarian nongovernmental organizations.  Presented with InterAction's Corporate Recognition for Humanitarian Assistance, Hanger Orthopedic Group was nominated by Physicians for Peace, an InterAction member organization and a partner in the Haitian Amputee Coalition.

"We are honored to be recognized by such an esteemed and dynamic organization," CEO and President of Hanger Orthopedic Group Tom Kirk said.  "Like InterAction, we believe that providing disaster relief, refugee assistance, and sustainable development programs are worthwhile endeavors to pursue, especially as they relate to the improvement of human mobility."

Soon after the January 12th earthquake, Hanger Orthopedic Group and its charitable organization, the Hanger Ivan R. Sabel Foundation, in conjunction with the partners of the Haitian Amputee Coalition  – Physicians for Peace, the Harold & Kayrita Anderson Family Foundation, the Catholic Medical Mission Board, and Donald Peck Leslie, M.D., of the Shepherd Center – founded a long-term prosthetic and rehabilitation center on-site at the Hopital Albert Schweitzer (HAS), an undamaged local hospital with a high clinical reputation located 60 miles from Port-au-Prince in Deschapelles, Haiti.  Since its founding on February 22, 2010, the practitioners of the Hanger Ivan R. Sabel Foundation Clinic have provided customized prosthetic solutions to nearly 400 Haitian amputees.  A training program to educate local Haitians to become prosthetic practitioners and technicians has also been established.

In addition to Hanger, four other corporations – JPMorgan Chase, Toys"R"Us, Inc., Whole Foods Markets, and American Express – were honored for their efforts in the provision of global humanitarian needs.

About InterAction – InterAction is the largest alliance US-based nongovernmental international humanitarian relief and development organizations with 190 members. InterAction members operate in every developing country, working with local communities to overcome poverty and suffering by helping to improve their quality of life.  For more information, visit www.interaction.org.

About Hanger Orthopedic Group, Inc. – Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Hanger Orthopedic Group, Inc. is the world's premier provider of orthotic and prosthetic patient care services. Hanger is the market leader in the United States, owning and operating 678 patient care centers in 45 states and the District of Columbia, with more than 3,700 employees, including 1,110 practitioners, as of March 31, 2010. Hanger is organized into four units. The two key operating units are patient care, which consists of nationwide orthotic and prosthetic practice centers, and distribution, which consists of distribution centers managing the supply chain of orthotic and prosthetic componentry to Hanger and third party patient care centers. The third is Linkia, which is the first and only provider network management company for the orthotics and prosthetics industry. The fourth unit, Innovative Neurotronics, introduces emerging neuromuscular technologies developed through independent research in a collaborative effort with industry suppliers worldwide. For more information on Hanger and its charitable organization, visit www.hanger.com and www.hanger-sabelfoundation.org.  

CONTACT: Jennifer Bittner, Hanger Orthopedic Group, Inc., +1-904-249-4210, [email protected]

SOURCE Hanger Orthopedic Group, Inc.