(BOP) - The Prosthetics Lab at the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners (USMCFP), Springfield, Missouri, has been supplying the Bureau of Prisons with prosthetic and orthotic devices for more than 20 years. The lab, which consists of several inmate workers and a Certified Prosthetist/Orthotist (CPO), builds new devices and repairs existing devices for federal inmates around the country. In some cases inmates are transferred to USMCFP Springfield where they are assessed, measured and fitted for a prosthesis to improve or maintain their daily life. The in-house production of these critical medical devices saves hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars each year while maintaining the same high standards of care found in the community. Many of the repair jobs completed by the lab are done without need to transport the inmate, thereby saving the agency substantial resources in transportation costs and staff time. In addition to constructing and repairing prosthetic services, the CPO also consults with staff at all Bureau of Prisons institutions regarding orthotics and appropriate diabetic footwear.
The Prosthetics Lab includes a certified apprenticeship program for inmates in prosthetic and orthotic fabrication. The inmate apprentices who work in the lab under the supervision of the CPO acquire the technical skills necessary to obtain employment in the prosthetics industry once they return to the community, thereby supporting the agency’s reentry and public safety mission.