The Board for Orthotist/Prosthetist Certification (BOC) elected John Kenney, BOCO, and Joe Lawson, BOCO, CO, to its board of directors.
Kenney, who is president of NeuroFlex Orthotics Inc. in Laguna Hills, Calif., specializes in the treatment of contractures due to immobility and neurological dysfunction. He is also a partner in OCSI/NeuroFlex, a pre-fabricated orthosis manufacturer in Pinellas Park, Fla., where his responsibilities include clinical research, product development, and clinical education.
Kenney earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of California at Santa Cruz, followed by a master’s at the University of Hawaii. Currently he is a candidate for a master’s degree in health care business administration at the University of California at Irvine. He entered the O&P field in 1995. For the past 8 years, Kenney has been on Medicare’s Jurisdiction D advisory committee for durable medical equipment, orthotics and prosthetics, and serves as the organization’s executive committee past chairman.
“My journey to become an orthotist took over a decade,” Kenney said. “Our field is seeing incredible breakthroughs in two areas that are of particular interest to me: in neuro-rehabilitation, helping patients whose limbs are affected by spasticity, and in myo-orthotic therapy, using ‘smart orthotics’ to pick up signals from the brain that can activate the orthotic to fire a muscle or to relax. With these exciting breakthroughs come tremendous possibilities for helping our patients.”
Lawson is a managing partner in Lawson Medical, LLC, which is headquartered in Virginia Beach, Va. The company has BOC-certified employees throughout Virginia, Washington, DC and Wilmington, Del. After several years in marketing health insurance, Lawson began working in medical sales at a DME company, which ultimately led to a desire to specialize in orthoses. He opened his own office, which developed into a full-service O&P company. Overall, Lawson has spent more than 15 years in sales and marketing combined with O&P. He first became a registered fitter in 1998.
“Interactions with motivated and motivational people inspired me to persevere,” Lawson said.
Lawson has served on BOC’s item writers committees for both COF and BOCO examinations.
