PopSockets Announces Partnership with Craig Hospital

PopSockets grip helps enable patients to operate their phones independently

News provided by

Apr 11, 2018, 03:02 ET

BOULDER, Colo., April 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- PopSockets is pleased to announce its partnership with Craig Hospital. The Denver-based hospital is world renowned for specializing in spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury rehabilitation. As part of the partnership, PopSockets will donate 10 percent of all net proceeds from sales on PopSockets.com during April through June to Craig's "Culture of Care" program, which facilitates life-affirming activities for patients affected by spinal cord and traumatic brain injury.

In addition to its financial support, PopSockets will also donate 10,000 PopSockets grips to Craig Hospital. Some individuals with spinal cord or traumatic brain injuries are unable to extend their fingers, which makes it difficult or impossible to hold their phones. With the addition of a PopSockets grip – a small collapsible device that adheres to the back of a phone for easy, one-handed holding – patients may be able to wrap their fingers around the grip and operate their phones independently. Accessing a phone allows Craig patients to not only be safe but also allows them to see their calendars, send and receive text messages, email, and open apps using voice commands. Access is also important for allowing patients when they return home to manage their homes, families, school and work.

"I was thrilled to learn that PopSockets grips can have such a positive impact on people who have sustained a spinal cord and/or traumatic brain injury. We are happy to help support these people through our partnership with Craig Hospital," says David Barnett, founder and CEO of PopSockets.

"At Craig, we introduce our patients to a variety of tools to make their lives easier and provide them with the opportunity to try them out, which is why we are proud to partner with PopSockets. Tools like PopSockets can be essential to achieving the highest level of independence and quality of life for people living with disabilities," said Mike Fordyce, president and CEO of Craig Hospital.

PopSockets is hosting a launch event Thursday, April 12th from 3-5pm at their global headquarters located at 3033 Sterling Circle, Boulder, CO 80301: PopSockets CEO David Barnett and Craig's CEO Michael Fordyce will speak at the event, and two guest speakers who are alumni of Craig's program.

About PopSockets
David Barnett is the founder and CEO of PopSockets. He was a philosophy major at Emory, a physics major at University of Colorado Boulder, received his PhD in philosophy from NYU, and from 2005-2015 was a philosophy professor at University of Colorado Boulder. His research specialized in philosophy of language and philosophy of mind, before he reached enlightenment, stopped doing philosophy, and became an entrepreneur.

In 2010, Barnett was looking for a way to stop his earbud cord from getting tangled, and he achieved this by gluing two buttons to the back of his phone and wrapping the earbud cord around the buttons. As ugly as the buttons were, they worked. In the course of improving on the idea, he developed about 60 different prototypes, making the buttons expand and collapse via an accordion mechanism, so that they could function as both a stand and a grip. In 2012, Barnett launched a KickStarter campaign for an iPhone case that would have two PopSockets grips integrated into the case. In addition to getting successfully funded, the KickStarter campaign enabled Barnett to show the world his dancing prowess. Two years later, in 2014, Barnett launched the business out of his garage in Boulder, Colorado, and has subsequently sold over 40 million PopSockets grips around the world.

About Craig Hospital
Craig Hospital is a world-renowned, 93-bed, private, not-for-profit rehabilitation hospital and research center that specializes in the care of people who have sustained a spinal cord and/or a brain injury. As a licensed acute care hospital, Craig provides a comprehensive system of inpatient and outpatient medical care, rehabilitation, neurosurgical rehabilitative care, and long-term follow-up services. Half of Craig's patients come from outside of Colorado. Craig has been ranked as a top 10 rehabilitation center by U.S. News and World Report for 27 consecutive years. Craig has received the NDNQI^® award in 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 for the highest quality outcomes in nursing care in a rehabilitation facility. Craig was voted by employees as a "Top Work Place" by The Denver Post for the past three years, and was ranked in the top 150 places to work in healthcare by Becker's Healthcare in 2014. craighospital.org

SOURCE PopSockets