BOC’s 2011 Officers Elected

DATE: 11/23/10
FOR RELEASE: Immediately
CONTACT: Carli Cohen, 410-581-6222

BOC’s 2011 Officers Elected

In addition, the Board elected as officers:

All five have experience not only as BOC Board members but as officers. Hertz has served as secretary, Hewlett as member-at-large, Lawson is now into his third term as treasurer, and Newberry is a former chairman of the Board and also served as BOC’s interim chief staff executive.

“I’m honored by the confidence my fellow Board members have placed in me by selecting me to serve a second year as chairwoman,” said Nichelson, who practices mastectomy fitting and orthotic fitting with Frontier Home Medical in North Platte, Nebraska. She has been a member of BOC’s Board of Directors for five years, serving as an certification exam item writer and a member of both the Legislative and Ethics Committees before becoming vice chairwoman in 2008. “Their confidence indicates that we are taking BOC in the right direction.”

“Under Sharon’s leadership, BOC has been able to strengthen our credentialing programs,” noted Claudia Zacharias, MBA, CAE, president and CEO of BOC. “We have continued to expand our outreach to and relationships with other groups and organizations in the O&P community; developed a model licensure bill; and completed a total overhaul of our website so that certificants, facilities, and others interested in O&P, can receive instant assistance. We have expanded the BOC staff, to assure we are as responsive as possible to the needs of BOC certificants and accredited facilities.

“Over the past 12 months we have been able to talk with –- and more importantly, listen to –- our stakeholders by exhibiting at 17 trade shows and conferences, plus numerous other educational events,” Zacharias added. “Sharon deserves a lot of credit for her leadership in all this, and I look forward to continuing to work with her and the other officers and members of BOC’s Board over the coming year. As advocates for the providers engaged in patient care, and the patients they serve, BOC’s Board benefits from their extraordinary talent and commitment.”

Before becoming chairwoman of BOC’s Board of Directors, Nichelson served as chairwoman of the Region D DAC and chair of the Region D O&P A-Team before that. The Region D DMERC Advisory Committee is a non-profit group consisting of providers of home medical equipment, state and national associations, manufacturers and industry consultants. The Committee provides liaison and communications services in a 17-state region regarding Medicare policies and billing practices.

Hertz has been a member of BOC’s Board since 2006. She is employed at Hanger P&O in Spring Valley, New York. She is a respected teacher in the areas of orthotics and mastectomy fitting. She also is an example and an encouragement to certificants interested in earning additional credentials to better serve their patients.

Hewlett served two terms on BOC’s executive committee as member-at-large before being elected secretary. He has nearly 40 years experience including marketing/merchandising as a practitioner, running an O&P facility, and operating DME businesses, both as an owner and as a sought-after consultant.

Lawson is the owner of Lawson Medical, LLC, headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Like Hertz, he entered O&P first as a fitter, later earning certification as an orthotist. His company has practitioners serving throughout the state of Virginia.

Newberry owns Mahnke’s Orthotics-Prosthetics, Inc. in Oakland Park, Florida. A past chairman of the BOC Board of Directors, he served as acting executive director when the late Dr. Donald O. Fedder stepped down. Recently, Newberry has helped develop BOC’s Facility Accreditation capacity by working with practitioners to increase their knowledge and skills as potential site examiners.

“Having worked with Kim, Joe, and Jim Hewlett closely over the past few years, I know the dedication they bring to the O&P community,” Nichelson added. “BOC is extremely fortunate to be able to draw on their talents and time, and I would like to publicly thank each one of them for their continued willingness to serve. As for Jim Newberry, he has ably filled every role BOC has asked of him, and it will be wonderful to have his knowledge and experience in an Executive Committee role.”

The Board of Directors elects its officers to one-year terms. BOC’s Board of Directors is comprised of 16 individuals, 12 of whom are practitioners elected directly by BOC certificants. There are also two ex officio members who bring significant experience in business, the military, and non-profits to the group, and serve at the Board’s appointment and; one person who serves as the public member, charged with representing the interests of the public served by BOC certificants and accredited facilities.

Since 1984, the Board of Certification/Accreditation, International (BOC) has provided credentials demonstrating the competence and proficiency of O&P professionals. BOC offers NCCA-accredited certification programs in five disciplines: orthotics, prosthetics, pedorthics, orthotic fitting, and mastectomy fitting. BOC’s facility accreditation program partners with Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics and Orthotics Supplies (DMEPOS) suppliers to meet standards set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and improve business practices. BOC credentials celebrate and recognize the competence, professionalism and safe practice environments of BOC-certified practitioners and BOC-accredited facilities.