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Letter from 
Big Tony
Happy Anniversary
In 1959 pantyhose were invented, Barbie hit the toy shelves, BIC introduced their ball point pen, beer was first sold in aluminum cans (by Coors), Alaska and Hawaii were admitted into statehood, and the average American worker earned $91.53 a week. It is also when Ken Woodward, CPO joined Wright & Filippis.
Ken had a personal interest in prosthetics before working here. His father, Bob Woodward had been employed as a prosthetic technician since 1944. Bob was an above knee amputee from a tragic amusement park accident at the age of 18. Bob's association with Wright & Filippis began in the 1930's at Martin-Halstead, a prosthetic company in Detroit where he worked with Carl Wright and Tony Filippis, Sr. When Carl and Tony founded Wright & Filippis, Bob went to work for them. He remained employed by the company until his retirement in 1976.
Ken started at Wright & Filippis on June 30, 1959. He began in a building maintenance position and was quickly promoted to the position of prosthetic technician. At that time the company was operating from a building at 11528 Woodward in Detroit. In 1962 he was transferred to our Lansing facility and began his education at New York University and then Northwestern. In 1967 he became a certified prosthetist and in 1975 he earned his ABC certification in orthotics. The Lansing business grew and the building expanded. By then, the company had established itself as a leader in prosthetics and orthotics. Ken helped to facilitate that growth by managing a new facility in Battle Creek and then Kalamazoo. Ken was promoted to director of orthotics and prosthetics in 1985 when the Rochester Hills facility opened. The business continued to grow quickly and Ken began to dedicate his director role to prosthetics. He is a past president of the Michigan Orthotics and Prosthetics Association has served in a number of ways for the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association, and is a member of the American Academy of Prosthetists & Orthotists. When he is not wearing his clinical "hat", you might find Ken flying his plane, motorcycling, scuba diving or fly-fishing.
Ken takes pride in his medical staff relationships and enjoys most creating the best possible treatment plan for prosthetic patients, especially children. His most memorable experience as a prosthetist was about 27 years ago. A 2-year-old child had an accident with a mower and both of his feet had been sheared off. Reattachment was unsuccessful. Ken worked with the medical staff in the operating room to attach prosthetic feet for the child and he walked the next day. Ken has watched this boy grow to an adult and has shared in his many accomplishments; one of them was a career in high school football. Other stories of success include a seven-year-old cancer patient with a hip amputation who is now successfully practicing law; and a story of a three-year-old boy with a below-knee amputation who is now studying engineering at a major university.
The company has gone through many changes in 45 years. In the early 1960's Wright & Filippis had 25 or 30 employees. Today, our most recent employee count is 696! Ken smiles with pride and states in a very professional way that Wright & Filippis has been a leader in accepting and adopting prosthetic technology. We have also been in the forefront across the country as an example in the way we provide services to our patients.
Changes in technology have also been significant. In the early 1950's prosthetists made their own feet and knees mostly from wood and finished with rawhide and enamel. Today most components are manufactured by specialty suppliers and assembled and customized by our prosthetic teams. In the past 3 to 4 years technology has become very exciting with advanced micro- processors that have taken patient functionality to a new level.
What does the future hold? Because Ken has the same passion for his profession now that he had in the beginning, in September 2003 a new program was created at Wright & Filippis called AMPUTEAM. It was identified that due to significant changes in healthcare, adequate services for the total rehabilitation of an amputee were restricted. The goal is that through AMPUTEAM, Wright & Filippis will become THE source for total prosthetic services, facilitating the highest level of functional goals for the amputee.
Wright & Filippis is happy to thank and congratulate Ken for 45 years of dedicated service. We would also like to take this opportunity to recognize other employees for milestone service awards.
View other milestone service award employees
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Ken Woodward
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Ken had a personal interest in prosthetics before working here. His father, Bob Woodward had been employed as a prosthetic technician since 1944. Bob was an above knee amputee from a tragic amusement park accident at the age of 18. Bob's association with Wright & Filippis began in the 1930's at Martin-Halstead, a prosthetic company in Detroit where he worked with Carl Wright and Tony Filippis, Sr. When Carl and Tony founded Wright & Filippis, Bob went to work for them. He remained employed by the company until his retirement in 1976.
Ken started at Wright & Filippis on June 30, 1959. He began in a building maintenance position and was quickly promoted to the position of prosthetic technician. At that time the company was operating from a building at 11528 Woodward in Detroit. In 1962 he was transferred to our Lansing facility and began his education at New York University and then Northwestern. In 1967 he became a certified prosthetist and in 1975 he earned his ABC certification in orthotics. The Lansing business grew and the building expanded. By then, the company had established itself as a leader in prosthetics and orthotics. Ken helped to facilitate that growth by managing a new facility in Battle Creek and then Kalamazoo. Ken was promoted to director of orthotics and prosthetics in 1985 when the Rochester Hills facility opened. The business continued to grow quickly and Ken began to dedicate his director role to prosthetics. He is a past president of the Michigan Orthotics and Prosthetics Association has served in a number of ways for the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association, and is a member of the American Academy of Prosthetists & Orthotists. When he is not wearing his clinical "hat", you might find Ken flying his plane, motorcycling, scuba diving or fly-fishing.
Ken takes pride in his medical staff relationships and enjoys most creating the best possible treatment plan for prosthetic patients, especially children. His most memorable experience as a prosthetist was about 27 years ago. A 2-year-old child had an accident with a mower and both of his feet had been sheared off. Reattachment was unsuccessful. Ken worked with the medical staff in the operating room to attach prosthetic feet for the child and he walked the next day. Ken has watched this boy grow to an adult and has shared in his many accomplishments; one of them was a career in high school football. Other stories of success include a seven-year-old cancer patient with a hip amputation who is now successfully practicing law; and a story of a three-year-old boy with a below-knee amputation who is now studying engineering at a major university.
The company has gone through many changes in 45 years. In the early 1960's Wright & Filippis had 25 or 30 employees. Today, our most recent employee count is 696! Ken smiles with pride and states in a very professional way that Wright & Filippis has been a leader in accepting and adopting prosthetic technology. We have also been in the forefront across the country as an example in the way we provide services to our patients.
Changes in technology have also been significant. In the early 1950's prosthetists made their own feet and knees mostly from wood and finished with rawhide and enamel. Today most components are manufactured by specialty suppliers and assembled and customized by our prosthetic teams. In the past 3 to 4 years technology has become very exciting with advanced micro- processors that have taken patient functionality to a new level.
What does the future hold? Because Ken has the same passion for his profession now that he had in the beginning, in September 2003 a new program was created at Wright & Filippis called AMPUTEAM. It was identified that due to significant changes in healthcare, adequate services for the total rehabilitation of an amputee were restricted. The goal is that through AMPUTEAM, Wright & Filippis will become THE source for total prosthetic services, facilitating the highest level of functional goals for the amputee.
Wright & Filippis is happy to thank and congratulate Ken for 45 years of dedicated service. We would also like to take this opportunity to recognize other employees for milestone service awards.
View other milestone service award employees