TheWoundInstitute.comSM Receives Prestigious IN-AWE Silver Award from Medical Marketing Association

       Healthpoint (Fort Worth, Tex) announces that TheWoundInstitute.com, an online source for accredited wound care education, received the IN-AWE International Awards of Excellence Medical Education CE/CME Silver Award at the Medical Marketing Association (MMA) Annual Meeting held June 9, 2005, in Los Angeles, Calif.
       Every year, the MMA recognizes outstanding performances related to medical or healthcare marketing for professional, trade, or consumer audiences at their annual national conference. Over 800 entries were submitted this year from healthcare companies and agencies from around the world.
       A panel of judges from the MMA selects the most deserving entries from a pool of prominent medical marketing companies, awarding the Annual International Awards of Excellence (IN-AWE) to the industry’s best.
       Since its introduction in January 2005, more than 5,400 healthcare professionals have registered on TheWoundInstitute.com, and more than 4,500 continuing education (CE) and 825 continuing medical education (CME) certificates have been issued.
       According to Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) statistics, the number of physicians participating in internet-based CME programs increased from 37,879 in 1998 to 329,110 in 2002 and 770,500 in 2004, while the number of nonphysicians (eg, nurses, pharmacists) participating in online CE programs increased from 24,733 to 323,756 to 498,220 in the same time period.
       TheWoundInstitute.com represents the most recent example of Healthpoint’s commitment to continuing education for wound care practitioners. In the past 18 months, Healthpoint has supported more than 120 professionally accredited programs across the country. These programs awarded CE/CME hours to more than 3,900 clinicians and physicians interested in advanced wound care. In addition, 4,634 certificates and 6,396 continuing education credits were awarded to RNs last year through Healthpoint’s representative delivered CE programs. Healthpoint also offers CE programs for pharmacists and sponsors accredited programs at conferences, such as the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC) and the Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurses Society (WOCN) Annual Conference.
       Visit http://www.thewoundinstitute.com for more information.

FLA Orthopedics Buys American Professional Bracing

       FLA Orthopedics (Miramar, Fla), a manufacturer of home health products, has acquired American Professional Bracing Inc. (APB, Eatontown, NJ), a major supplier of off-the-shelf spinal bracing products. The add-on acquisition was financed by The Riverside Company, a private equity firm that bought FLA in December 2004.
       True to its strategy of offering 1 of the most complete and innovative product lines to home medical equipment retailers and independent pharmacies, FLA’s acquisition of APB adds respected, patented back braces to the company. The fast-growing line of APB products, used for rehabilitation and correction, will complement FLA’s broad range of orthopedic supports and braces for the wrist, elbow, knee, back, and ankle.
       Demand for back support products is growing. With an aging population, more people are experiencing disc disorders and other back-related problems. The growing number of injuries, along with more successful treatment procedures, is leading to an increase in spinal surgeries.
       Visit http://www.flaorthopedics.comfor more information.