Elevating The Discussion Around Cerebral Palsy
Cooperstown, N.Y. – One of the first acts of Dr. Joseph Dutkowsky as the new President of the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM) was to rappel 51 stories off the Rio All Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dutkowsky, an attending orthopedic surgeon at Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown, was in Las Vegas to lead the AACPDM’s annual conference and participated in Over the Edge, an event that raised over $93,000 for Nevada Special Olympics.
Maggie Schwarz, Nevada Special Olympics’ regional vice president, said, " I love this event because in a very small way it demonstrates the strength of the human spirit that we discuss so much in the world of Special Olympics. Dr. Dutkowsky certainly showed what one can do when motivated by love, compassion and commitment."
Dutkowsky, who rappelled to shouts of "Go Dr. D." from a crowd below, says his goal is to continue to elevate the discussion around cerebral palsy. “We need to take the dialogue beyond the individual to the family and the community. People need to look past the wheelchair and see the person, not their disability. These wonderful individuals are in your church, your child’s classroom, your business, your community, and they enrich our lives.”
Dutkowsky, who is also Associate Medical Director of the new Columbia Cerebral Palsy Center at New York Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, will lead the AACPDM for a one-year term through the fall of 2012. He was previously the organization’s second vice president in 2009 and first vice president this past year.
Bassett Healthcare Network-Bassett Medical Center
Bassett Medical Center, the foundation of Bassett Healthcare Network, is a 180-bed acute care inpatient teaching facility in Cooperstown, New York employing over 3400 people. The medical center offers a broad range of specialty care and maintains a strong academic program through its affiliation with Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Bassett was formally established as a medical school campus of Columbia P & S in 2009.
The Bassett Research Institute, located on the medical center campus, and the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health conduct research in basic and clinical science, population and public health studies.
Bassett Healthcare Network is an integrated health care system that provides care and services to people living in a 5600 square mile region in upstate New York. The organization includes six corporately affiliated hospitals, as well as skilled nursing facilities, 28 community based health centers, 18 school-based health centers, and various health partners in related fields – all serving a nine-county region in upstate New York.
AACPDM
Established in 1947, the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM) is a multidisciplinary organization that fosters and stimulates medical professional education, research, and understanding of cerebral palsy and other developmental disabilities.
AACPDM’s goals are to improve the quality of life for patients and their families, to research new and promising treatments and educate clinicians to provide the best care possible.
