AP&O - Patient Profiles

History of C.R.I.M.A.L.

In 1959 the Mexican Rehabilitation Institute was founded to provide treatment to amputee and spinal cord patients who could not afford care. This facility also assisted the handicapped population by employing a large percentage of disabled individuals, as many as 60% of the total employee base was handicapped. A core belief, for this institution and it’s founders, was that rehabilitation is a critical component in assisting disabled individuals in regaining their physical integrity so they can play an active role in society. The institute was also a teaching institution providing technical training to students in the design, manufacture, and adaptation of prostheses and orthopedic appliances.

At the end of 1984 the Mexican Rehabilitation Institute was forced to close its doors. This left the patients who relied on this institution and the employees with no place to go for care. Thankfully, two very caring brothers recognized this situation and were able to create a solution.

After studying in the United States and being the first Mexican practitioner to receive ABC certification, Arturo Vazquez Vela and his brother, Eduardo, an Orthopedic Surgeon opened a clinic in Queretaro, Mexico. While studying in the United States, Arturo met and befriended a practitioner named Junior Odom. Junior recognized the same need as Arturo and Eduardo did for O&P care for people in Mexico and, in fact, had already been traveling there with the http://www.fdoamerica.org/.

In 1990, with help from the Mexican government and private investors, the Centro para la Rehabilitacion Integral de Minusvalidos del Aparato Locomotor, IAP (CRIMAL), a non-profit clinic was founded. The clinic relies on corporate and private donations of equipment, prosthetics and the volunteer work of American and German prosthetists, including AP&O, who travel to the clinic every year bringing the latest in technological advancements in their field.

Over 1800 people, from the age of two to eighty-nine years old, have received prosthetic care. Additionally, over 2000 patients receive physical therapy each year. Many of the patients are children who depend on this clinic each year to address their growth issues. The patients are identified by social workers and, although no one is turned away for inability to pay, are asked to make effort to pay something without sacrificing basic needs.

The employees of AP&O are proud of our continued support of this initiative and we look forward to sharing stories and pictures of our travels to Mexico with you.