Orthopedic workshop in Holguín guarantees means for the disabled

The Provincial Laboratory of Technical Orthopedics of Holguín, one of the largest of its kind in Cuba, guarantees the production of orthopedic prostheses, for the benefit of people with disabilities and injured people, as part of the social inclusion programs in the territory.

In the facility, located in the main city, components are manufactured for the replacement of arms, forearms, hands and legs, among other supports for clavicle and hip fractures, and footwear, which contributes to improving the quality of life of the patients, specified Niurka Mayo, head of that area within the entity.

She pointed out that despite the shortage of raw materials, caused by the intensification of the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States against Cuba, the group has managed, through innovation, to respond to the particularities of each person in need of these means, substituting imported components for others of national production.

The main modifications introduced to maintain these contributions, she indicated, include the use of aluminum rods and plates for the immobilization of affected areas in patients, thus supplying the function of the cast and the changes of buckles for belt loops and Velcro as alternative closures.

Lesko Antomarchi Noris, head of the Orthoprosthesis Department, emphasized the creativity of the group, through which more than 1,500 physically-motor disabled patients with leg and thigh amputations and social institutions such as nursing homes and the Modesto Fornaris psychopedagogical medical center.

In turn, Blanca Roda Pérez, a resident of the Libertad district, in the city of Holguín, who underwent breast cancer surgery five years ago and benefited from the accessories of the workshop, referred to the good treatment of the technicians and the quality of the services, despite material shortages that sometimes delay deliveries.

Holguín also maintains other programs in favor of vulnerable populations such as the delivery of wheelchairs, crutches, walkers and canes, essential means for mobility and social inclusion of some seven thousand people who make up these groups in the eastern territory.