Durbin Visits Northwestern to Boost Support for Prosthetic Care

CHICAGO --- U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin visited the Northwestern University Prosthetics-Orthotics Center (NUPOC), a national leader in research and education, to advocate for passage of a bill he helped author to improve orthotics and prosthetics care for service members and veterans. On May 27, Durbin toured the center, the largest in the country, and met students in the new Master’s in Prosthetics and Orthotics program in the lab as they fabricated prosthetics.

There is a growing need for prosthetics -- an increasingly complex and advanced field -- and for new practitioners, Durbin said. He stressed that more master’s degree programs are needed. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill that dedicates $589 million to medical and prosthetic research. The senator also met with Steven Gard and John Michael, directors of NUPOC; Elliot J. Roth, M.D., chair and professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Northwestern; and Joanne Smith, president and CEO of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

Read more about Durbin’s visit to NUPOC.