Raising Awareness for Limb Loss

Photo By Aisha Lomax | A photo of artificial limbs in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) Advanced Rehabilitation Center (ARC). Limb Loss Awareness Month is observed annually in April, and WRNMMC, with the Defense Health Agency, recognizes and honors the more than 30,000 beneficiaries with some level of limb loss for whom we’ve had the privilege to provide care. Walter Reed, one of the DOD’s three ARCs, provides state-of-the-art care for patients suffering severe extremity trauma or amputation. Open to eligible DOD beneficiaries of all ages, these centers are dedicated to restoring beneficiaries to normal human function. Through partnering with the best amputation care facilities and researchers in the world, ARCs provide state-of-the-art care to DoD beneficiaries, allied military personnel, and select civilians from around the globe. Their unique, transdisciplinary team approach to delivering care has resulted in unprecedented innovation and technological advancement in limb trauma and amputation care.  

BETHESDA, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES

04.25.2023

Story by Aisha Lomax 

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

The Extremity Trauma and Amputation Center of Excellence (EACE) at Walter Reed supports clinicians and beneficiaries with amputation through policy, regulation, data, and research. Walter Reed established the center to allow beneficiaries to receive state- of- the art treatment and care from teams of professionals dedicated to achieving a meaningful quality of life for their patients following an amputation or limb dysfunction. Dr. Andrea Crunkhorn, Chief of Clinical Affairs for the Extremity Trauma and Amputation Center of Excellence said, “Walter Reed was the first location for amputation care following 9/11 attacks and is often the first stop for those returning from Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia.”
It is one of three Department of Defense (DOD) advanced rehabilitation centers co-located with military hospitals in America. Since 2001, the DOD has cared for over 30,000 beneficiaries with some level of limb loss, including over 1,700 service members with deployment-related amputations.
There are various resources available to amputees, their caregivers, and their families. According to Dr. Tawnee Sparling, Medical Director of Amputee Care and Director of Combat Casualty Care, “The focus should not be solely on the missing limb but also management of conditions such as diabetes and vascular disease to prevent future amputations.”
For more information regarding limb loss awareness month or limb loss and limb difference awareness month on social media, please visit, #limblossawarenessmonth, #LLAM, #Amputee, and #Amputationcare.

• Date Taken: 04.25.2023
• Date Posted: 04.25.2023 13:42
• Story ID: 443324
• Location: BETHESDA, MARYLAND, US