WALKING TALL
The most gratifying part of Craig Kuhn's job is watching people walk out the front door.
It's not a claim made by most business people, but in this case, that walk means his products have been successful.
Kuhn's business, Svetz Orthotics, creates braces and prosthetics for those who need them.
"There's a lot of mental depression — with people realizing, 'What do I do now?' or 'How will I?'" he said of Svetz patients. "To see the look in their eyes and know they can perform their daily functions, it's all worth it."
As CEO of the company, Kuhn said he often gets wrapped up in the business end of things, but enjoys interacting with patients when he can.
"It's very rewarding to see patients' excitement and pleasure when they are fitted with orthotics or prosthetics," he said. "It allows improved functioning in all their activities and daily living. Sometimes, they can do things they were previously unable to do."
Patients come to Svetz after some type of trauma or muscle disease, and the orthotic or prosthetic device is custom made, according to Kuhn. Most of the office's patients have some type of diabetic background, he said, needing braces to help with circulation problems they face.
The patient comes in with a prescription from a doctor that is usually general, Kuhn said. Then, Eric Forster, branch manager and prosthetist in the Butler office, interviews the patient on his or her specific needs.
"These devices are very patient-specific and tailored to patient needs," Kuhn said. "Maybe they need to run races or just ambulate within the home."
The next step is to make a plaster cast of a patient's limb so a prosthetic or brace can be designed to fit properly. The artificial devices are created based on that cast and are made out of lightweight fiberglass, resins, plastics or steel.
The custom molding is done in the Butler office, with most pieces created in two weeks or less, Kuhn said. It then takes two to three visits for a patient to have the new device properly fitted or adjusted for them, he added.Braces cost between $50 and $4,000, and prosthetics cost between $4,000 and $30,000, depending on how they are designed.Forster, who usually makes between two and six devices per month, said the Butler office opened in 2002 and has quadrupled the number of its patients.Company plans include adding an orthotic technician in the Butler office to increase the production of those types of devices, Kuhn said.Greensburg is the main office for Svetz, which has branch offices in Monroeville, Indiana, Somerset, Latrobe, Clearfield and Johnstown. The company was formed in 2001 when Brian Svetz of Greensburg bought Orthocare, which custom made the devices. The Greensburg office eventually expanded to multiple locations.Svetz died in a car accident in 2006, and his wife, Michelle, took over ownership of the company. She hired Kuhn, a physical therapist with 12 years of experience in long-term rehabilitation of patients, as CEO.Brian Svetz became involved in the business because of a family interest, but he didn't inherit the family business. His grandfather, Leonard Svetz, lost his leg in World War II and began working for Union Artificial Limb and Brace when he returned. Leonard Svetz later bought the company and got his son, William, involved as well.William Svetz died of cancer in 1984. When Leonard died in the early 1990s, William's son, Brian, was only 12 years old. Leonard sold the company, but Brian later became a prosthetist and bought Orthocare on his own.
