Perspectives Winter/Spring 2019

NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY | 39 The day ended with lunch and an information session presented by Evyn and Marilyn Zosia from I AM ADAPTIVE—a nonprofit organization founded by adaptive athletes. Their message focused on adaptive athletes who must acclimate to situations related to their fitness goals and needs. They also promoted replacing the words disabled and handi- capped with the word adaptive as a positive term in the fitness world. “The 2018 Mobility Fair at NSU was designed as a day to educate, motivate, and empower individuals, with an emphasis on improving mobility, and it did just that,” said Matthew Klein, CPO(L), area clinic manager for Hanger Clinic. “The event was patient- focused, and users had an opportunity to try new technology and be evaluated by PTs, OTs, and prosthetists. It was a day filled with collaboration and innovation.” Shilpa Gaikwad; Nardia Aldridge, M.S., OTR/L, NSU occupational therapy faculty member; and Lizbeth Uzcategui, orthotics and prosthetics business development manager for Hanger Clinic, developed and organized the Mobility Fair. Participant feedback indicated that the benefit of the event was the motiva- tion provided by meeting other people with amputa- tions, the speakers’ messages about staying positive and being involved, and the stations where attendees received one-on-one attention. “Being able to put the NSU Core Values of innova- tion and community into action was paramount in this mobility fair,” Aldridge said. “Providing a much- needed service to the community helped our students realize that serving the communities in and around NSU is not just an aspiration; it is something we can see in the actions role-modeled by their professors.” The 2018 Mobility Fair demonstrated the impor- tance of interprofessional and intraprofessional team approaches—including prosthetists, PTs, and OTs—in the health care of individuals with amputa- tions. NSU’s OT and PT departments, along with Hanger Clinic and Ottobock, look forward to org- anizing an annual Mobility Fair for the amputee population of South Florida and providing an important, integrated learning opportunity for health professions students. † Shilpa B. Gaikwad is an assistant professor, and Shari Rone- Adams is a professor and department chair in the Physical Therapy—Fort Lauderdale Program. PT student Michael Jones, left, and Shilpa B. Gaikwad, right, perform a balance screening. PT students Brendan Bak and Emily Passin interact with a child at the Mobility Fair.