S3: QOAR Episode 9: Silent Voices Speak Out Part 1

In this episode we ask government officials, why are we always the first to be deprived? And we ask them to finally listen to our voices and pass the Medicaid Parity Bill with this inside look into J.K. Prosthetics & Orthotics, Stand Up for Mobility Rally! And get this, this is only Part 1! So Come Roll with Us!


Description of Image: Black background On the left is an African American female with a white off the shoulder shirt in a wheelchair. Then Queens On A Roll in Gray Letters with a purple outline with a crown on the Q. The word Roll looks like a wheelchair and the word podcast in Gray Letters with a purple outline in all four corners

Transcript

00:00(Instrumental Music) You gotta Dstackz Beat

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00:03(Instrumental Music) Yeah I gotta Dstackz Beat

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00:09(Instrumental Music) Listen to the beat y'all

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00:14(Instrumental Music) Come on, Dstackz, bring it in

00:17(Instrumental Music)

00:19(Instrumental Music & Singing) Heyyyyy, Heyyy, Heyy, Hey

00:25(Instrumental Music)

00:27(Instrumental Music & Singing) Wooo Queens On A Roll, Woohoo Queens On A Roll

00:38(Instrumental Music) Powerful Queens On A Roll

00:41(Instrumental Music & Singing) Beautiful Queens, Queens, Queens On A Roll

00:49(Instrumental Music & Singing) We're moving, we're grooving, we're jamming we're slamming Queens On A Roll

00:59(Instrumental Music) We're moving, we're grooving, we're jamming, we're slamming Queens, Queens, Queens On A Roll.

01:08(Instrumental Music) She's educating and inspiring everyone that has challenges Queens, Queens On A Roll.

01:18(Instrumental Music) She's educating and inspiring everyone and having fun she's Queens On A Roll

01:27(Instrumental Music & Singing) Wooo Queens On A Roll OOO Who Queen On A Roll

01:37(Instrumental Music & Singing) Powerful Queens On A Roll

01:42(Instrumental Music & Singing) Beautiful Queen On A Roll

01:48(Instrumental Music & Singing) Come Roll With Us, OO Who Come Roll with Us

01:58(Instrumental Music & Singing) Come Roll With Us, Woohoo Come Roll with Us!

02:07(Instrumental Music & Singing) Wooo Queen On A Roll, Wooo Who Queen On A Roll

02:17(Instrumental Music & Singing) Ooo Queens, Queens, Queens & Bells Chiming

02:28Hey, everyone!

02:29This is Latavia here from Queens On A Roll.

02:32And on October 21, 2023, I attended J.K. Prosthetics & Orthotics Stand Up for Mobility Rally, so come roll with me inside the rally!

02:43(Instrumental Music)

03:19Okay everyone! So here we have Mr. Mike Caputo, co-owner and general manager of J.K.

03:25Prosthetics and orthotics, and he is the man

03:28behind the Stand Up for Mobility rally.

03:30So let's listen into his speech.

03:33Thanks for coming on this really, really rainy day.

03:36So I'm not gonna be up here for too

03:38long, cause I really wanna hear everybody's story.

03:40Okay.

03:42We need to hear it, and

03:43the politicians need to hear. But I'm gonna give you

03:46a bit background of a J.K. prosthetics.

03:49So the J stands for Jack, and he's right there.

03:53The K sounds for Kathy,

03:55and she's babysitting the grandkids.

03:58She'll be here eventually, I hope.

04:02And a there's more family.

04:04We have Nick over there.

04:06I think we all know him, one of our practitioners.

04:09And Alexi, who is at home watching the kiddos,

04:12and, well, we're not sure what she does.

04:13Anyway, so this business was founded in 1974.

04:19So we're coming up on our 50th anniversary,

04:22and I really hope we are here.

04:24Congratulations! 50 years!

04:26Congratulations! 50 years!

04:27(Clapping from participants)

04:30But when I say this is a family

04:32business, it's not just about the Caputos.

04:34It's all about everybody who works here. Everybody cause there's no way this place

04:39would still be here without them.

04:41They're not working here for the

04:42paycheck anymore, and I know that.

04:44So my other family, Raquel, Judy,

04:47Armindo, Andrew, Jim, Adon, Jorge, Lynn.

04:52(Clapping) Mike Caputo: preciate you guys! I really appreciate it!

04:57Okay, so y'all heard Mr. Mike.

04:59He wanted everyone there at the

05:01rally to share their story.

05:02But there were so many impactful stories, I just

05:05couldn't include all of them in one episode.

05:08So y'all know what that means.....

05:10There will be a part two, so stay tuned!

05:13So up first, we have Mr.

05:15Fursich, who has been going to J.K. Prosthetics and

05:17Orthotics for 45 years, and he needed a new

05:21prosthesis, but his insurance kept turning him down.

05:24So let's listen into his story.

05:27I have a left foot amputation or whatever.

05:30Anyway, about four years ago, it was time to

05:35get a new prosthesis, and I have commercial insurance

05:39with Aetna, and you know the doctor said, yes.

05:42Looks like it's in disrepair.

05:43You need a new one. And they.

05:45I know there was trouble for off and on for

05:48months and months related to that, that they were denying

05:52it or they were denying part of it.

05:55I don't know how you build half a prosthesis, my lord, right

05:58my God, either pay for the whole thing or, but there's no reason

06:02to deny it because it was something I needed.

06:05I also have been lucky that

06:09I have a running prosthesis.

06:11And thanks to Andrew here, I have run

06:14a marathon and a lot of half marathons.

06:16(Clapping from participants)

06:19Congratulations.

06:21But without all the dedication and the knowledge of the

06:24staff here, I...I don't know where I would be. Okay

06:28(Delayed Beat Sound Effect)

06:32Wow! Shout out to you, Mr.

06:33Fursich, for running a marathon.

06:35That is such a huge accomplishment.

06:37And like he said, he would not have

06:39been able to accomplish this without his prosthesis

06:43made by J.K. Prosthetics and Orthotics.

06:45So shout out to you again, Mr. Fursich.

06:47That is such a great accomplishment!

06:50And now, if y'all thought that story was

06:52inspiring, get ready for a heartbreaking one.

06:55Up next, we have Ms.

06:56Black and Andrew, an employee

06:58from J.K. Prosthetics and Orthotics.

07:01(Cartoon Twinkling Sound Effect)

07:04Hi, my name is Marsha Black.

07:06My daughter is Khadija Bryant, and basically

07:08my daughter, she was born with PSD

07:12syndrome, where her left leg is short.

07:14We've been through Andrew for like, eleven years and

07:16more where she had hip surgery, and then we

07:23had getting a break where she couldn't walk for

07:27like, almost nine months or more.

07:30And with Andrew and this company, they've been there

07:33for my daughter to the point where

07:36the prosthesis breaks every two weeks.

07:39Jimmy says to me, come and we'll fix it.

07:43That's what she's here for.

07:44And I appreciate this company a whole lot, because

07:46with my daughter, she would not be able to

07:48walk, and she has a wheelchair that's back and

07:51forth, and my back is not good.

07:52But I thank this company every day and

07:54appreciate everything you do for my daughter.

07:56And I do appreciate everything, Andrew knows

07:59that, and I appreciate so much.

08:02This girl needs a new prosthesis, and we

08:07must be going on five, six months since

08:12we started the approval process to try to....

08:15The parts for her prosthesis are in

08:17the back in the shop right now.

08:19We're in the middle of building it.

08:21This thing should have been built months ago.

08:24What she's walking on, right?

08:25It's a miracle she's even standing here.

08:27I did not expect to see her standing.

08:30This prosthesis that she has on now

08:31is held together with glue and bandaids.

08:35(Participant displaying sympathy by stating, awwww)

08:36It's...it's unbelievable that she's even standing on it.

08:39But this really annoys me, because this

08:42girl right here, everybody's walking around, everybody's

08:45going about their business every day.

08:47She's struggling to just be here on something

08:51that needed to be replaced last year, if

08:57not at least a number of months ago.

08:59(Cartoon Tumbling Down Sound Effect)

09:00Wow.

09:01When I heard that this little young girl is

09:04standing on a prosthesis that was being held together

09:07by glue and bandages, I was appalled!

09:10Just think about that for a second.

09:12We change our clothes every day.

09:14We change our shoes every day.

09:16So why on earth are we asking a little young

09:19girl whose prosthesis is equivalent to her shoes to continue

09:23to wear something that is no longer good for her?

09:27Why is this happening?

09:28It doesn't make any sense to me.

09:31(Delayed Beat Sound Effect)

09:34Up next, we have Mrs.

09:35Pandolfo, who discusses why J.K. Prosthetics and

09:39Orthotics needs to stay open and why

09:41braces are important for her daughter, Grace.

09:44The AFOs were just the basics.

09:45But I just appreciate Mike and just everybody

09:48here and just thinking about losing JK.

09:52Jimmy knows Grace's feet, her anatomy, so well that

09:59now, after six, seven years of making her AFOs

10:02for her, he knows exactly what to do.

10:05It used to be years ago that we'd have

10:07to go again, again and again for refitting. Refitting.

10:10But now he just knows every single thing.

10:13What does he call you? Grace? Tough.

10:16No, he calls her tough cookie. Right.

10:19(Participants laughing)

10:20She's tough on her AFOs.

10:22But I just so appreciate all of you.

10:24And that's why we drove almost over an hour to come.

10:27And just to be a part of this day,

10:30(Cartoon Stair Climbing Sound Effect)

10:34You know Pandolfo's speech really resonated with me, and that

10:37is because she beautifully articulated why we were

10:39all there in the first place.

10:41This Medicaid parity bill needs to pass

10:44because it will allow, vendors who provide

10:46durable medical equipment to stay in business.

10:50And as a person who is ably different, like Ms.

10:53Pandolfo said, it is very hard to find

10:56vendors or providers of services that know our

10:59bodies very well, know what we need.

11:02That is difficult to find, especially in today's society,

11:06and also, it is a basic human right for

11:09us to have AFOs or braces and prosthetics.

11:13I just find it absurd that we are

11:15fighting for something that we use every day

11:17in order for us to be independent.

11:19So if we take away nothing else from

11:21the speeches that we heard from Mr.

11:23Fursick, Ms.

11:24Black Andrew, and Ms.

11:26Pandolfo, take away the fact that these are

11:29not things that we desire or want.

11:31These are things that we need

11:32to be productive citizens in society.

11:35And not only did they beautifully articulate why

11:38prosthetics and braces was important to them, but

11:41there was some medical professionals there at the

11:44rally that stressed the importance of children having

11:46the opportunity to wear AFOs or braces.

11:49So let's roll into it!

11:52( Cartoon Drum Sound Effect)

11:54So remember, there is going to be

11:56a part two to this episode.

11:58So on today's episode, I am going to feature

12:01Ms. Feedback, who works at Blythedale Children's Hospital.

12:05So let's listen into her speech.

12:07Just doing the simple math.

12:09We were discussing this yesterday at work.

12:12Say you have 30 children a month.

12:16You have over 40 years of

12:20children that have been helped.

12:22So that's about 12,000 people. Okay?

12:25And the...what we have seen is just the..

12:31the potential for children without ankle foot

12:35orthoses versus having ankle foot orthoses.

12:38And what... in the late 70s, early 80s, it was

12:43groundbreaking to make orthoses for individuals and just seeing

12:48the differences with having good foot alignment.

12:51What we need to remember is children grow.

12:54The bones in the foot don't

12:55fully ossify until you're 21.

12:58So we really need to maintain a growing skeleton in

13:03the best alignment so children and emerging adults can be

13:08as active as possible and working together as a team

13:13with the physicians, the orthotists, the therapists, collaborating on what

13:18might be the best ankle foot orthosis, getting that really

13:22well aligned, making sure it fits the person properly and

13:26is comfortable, and also that it can fit into a

13:30shoe that doesn't have to necessarily look different from everybody

13:34else's, is so...so vital.

13:37It is important for me to be here today because

13:41I have seen the creativity and the help that it

13:45has given patients for endless periods of time.

13:49Thank you, Ms. Feedback for that

13:51informative speech gems were just dropped.

13:52(Gems were just dropped Sound Effect)

13:56Not only did we learn that braces or

13:58AFOs keep our foot in alignment while we

14:00grow, we also heard from direct competitors of

14:03J.K. Prosthetics and Orthotics who wanted to come

14:06out and support the rally, because, like J.K.

14:09Prosthetics and Orthotics they are facing similar struggles.

14:12So on today's episode, I will have Mr.

14:15Mike Quigg, who is the owner of Advanced

14:17Prosthetics and Orthotics out in Long Island.

14:19So let's listen into his speech.

14:22(Cartoon Whistle Sound Effect)

14:23Hi, I am Mike Quigg. I'm...

14:24My company is Advantage Orthotics and Prosthetics.

14:27We're on Long Island.

14:28My wife and I came today because we're dealing with

14:32a lot of the same issues that J.K. is.

14:35And we are mostly pediatric company, and we have

14:41custom braces is 90% of the work we do.

14:46And we also have technicians and billers and staff to

14:51that we have to..to pay for these devices.

14:54And the prices keep going up, the

14:57plastic prices go up, the joints. The...

15:00Everything has gone up except the rates. You know

15:04And it gets difficult, more difficult every year.

15:08And we find ourselves having weeks that turn

15:11into months where we're wondering how we're going

15:14to pay the next week's paychecks.

15:17So it is a do or die situation. You know

15:21We feel it more now than we ever have,

15:24and something you know hopefully, will change with everyone's support here.

15:30And we wanted to show our support for J.K.

15:32We're in direct competition a lot

15:34of times, (Participants laughing) but it doesn't matter.

15:37We respect each other, and we work together. Wonderful

15:40Wonderful, wonderful. To get these things...get the bills passed.

15:46(Instrumental Music)

16:21So, before we get into today's quote of the

16:24episode, I just want to say thank you to

16:26everyone who came out and participated in J.K. Prosthetics

16:30and Orthotics stand up for Mobility rally.

16:32It means a lot to everyone.

16:34So thank you again!

16:36(Cheering Sound Effect)

16:47And now it is time for the quote of the episode!

16:51Today's quote of the episode is

16:53by Martin Luther King, Jr.

16:55Who stated that our lives begin to end the

16:58day we become silent about things that matter.

17:00And this quote really resonates with today's episode

17:03because we can no longer sit back and

17:06be silent about the things that matter.

17:08So, once again, I am urging everyone to call

17:11their New York state legislators in Albany and tell

17:14them to pass the Medicaid Parity bill.

17:16So that's all I have for you today, folks.

17:18Thank you so much for listening!

17:20Thank you so much for sharing!

17:22Thank you so much for subscribing!

17:24I greatly, greatly, greatly appreciate you all.

17:27And if you guys can do me a favor and share

17:29this episode to everyone, you know, I would greatly appreciate it.

17:34We need this episode to go viral so that everyone

17:37will see it and know about the Medicaid Parity bill.

17:40Yes, you heard me right!

17:41I said see it because not only will you

17:44be able to access the audio version of this

17:46episode on all streaming platforms, but I will post

17:49this episode to my YouTube channel where you can

17:52actually see video clips from the rally.

17:55But I have to be honest, this is my first time

17:58mixing video and audio in an episode and I am not

18:02a professional videographer, so please forgive me for the audio and

18:06video quality in this episode and I hope you all enjoy.

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18:37And last but not least, if you would like

18:40to reach myself or any of the guests you

18:42have heard on the podcast thus far, we can

18:44all be reached at queensonaroll.podcast@gmail.com again, the email

18:49is queensonaroll.podcast@gmail.com and we are rolling out!

18:54Bye guys!

18:55See you next week!

18:57(Instrumental Music)

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