Marietta, GA, June 11, 2007 - The Amputee Coalition of America is expanding an "amputee peer visitation" support program for US military personnel who have lost limbs as a result of combat injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan that it developed for the Department of Defense.

 The Amputee Coalition of America’s annual national conference, June 14-18, at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel in Marietta, will focus on the military amputee peer visitation support program and other new initiatives that are important for individuals with limb deficiencies.

The Amputee Coalition of America is the leading national, non-profit, amputee consumer educational organization that advocates on behalf of people who have experienced amputation or are born with limb differences.

Paddy Rossbach, president of the Amputee Coalition of America, said “our amputee peer visitation program expands the rehabilitation provided to help US service men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with amputations resulting from combat injuries to lead active, productive lifestyles. This will help them to contribute to society instead of being dependent on it.”

 The Amputee Coalition of America's Military Peer Visitation Support Program, adapted for the Defense Department from the ACA’s civilian peer visitation program, is being expanded from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, to Brooke Army Center in San Antonio and to the Naval Medical Center San Diego.

The Amputee Coalition of America trained and certified nearly 100 peer amputee visitors who are being assigned to these hospitals, and this training program is ongoing. In a recent survey (soon to be released) by Walter Reed, military personnel with amputations from combat injuries rated amputee peer visitation second only to overall rehabilitation in importance to their recovery. 

The ACA is also working with the Veterans Administration to establish an amputee peer visitation support program at VA hospitals for US veterans of previous wars who are recent amputees, most often as a result of complications from diabetes.

 Amputations resulting from health complications from diabetes is among other major issues to be examined at the Amputee Coalition of America’s annual national conference this week in Marietta:

 --The epidemic of diabetes in the US, as quantified in a new report, "State of Diabetes Complications in America," that found that foot/toe amputations, foot lesions and numbness of the feet occur in 22.8 percent of people with diabetes vs. 10 percent among those without diabetes. "Urgent action is needed to solve this crisis by educating people with type 2 diabetes about the importance of managing their blood sugar level," warns Ms. Rossbach.

--A campaign for health insurance parity for prostheses: health insurance companies are regulated by the states, and several states have passed legislation requiring health insurers to pay for more than one prosthetic limb during the lifetime of amputees they cover.  “Most health insurance policies provide for only one prosthetic device, which can wear out, break, or the patient's body changes, requiring a different prosthesis.  This is obviously the case with children who use a prosthesis,” said Ms. Rossbach. The ACA has a national campaign to encourage state legislatures across the US, including Georgia, to pass laws requiring insurance parity for prostheses. The ACA will announce at the Marietta conference this week a new campaign to get Congress to pass federal legislation, similar to "Timothy's Law," requiring insurance parity for prostheses.

 The Amputee Coalition of America is a national, non-profit amputee consumer educational organization that advocates on behalf of people who have experienced amputation or are born with limb differences. The ACA includes individual amputees, amputee educational and support groups, family members and friends of amputees, physicians and other health care and rehabilitation professionals, prosthetists, amputation or limb loss related agencies and other organizations.

For information on becoming a member or making a donation to the Amputee Coalition of America, please visit the ACA website at http://www.amputee-coalition.org. A national 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, the Amputee Coalition of America relies on grants and private support its programs. Most donations to the Amputee Coalition of America are tax deductible.

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