What is Helping Hands?
Since children grow and develop rapidly, and prosthetic hands can be very expensive, the cost of providing traditional prosthetics to a growing child can easily exceed $100,000. For this reason, insurance companies frequently deny coverage for children’s prostheses, leaving families to pay out or pocket or, more commonly, children to go without prosthetics for years.
Since motor coordination and dexterity develop more rapidly during youth, this represents a critical time to develop the coordination and skills required to successfully control a prosthetic limb. Denying a child a needed prosthesis creates a lasting deficit in their function and ability to complete activities of daily living. No child should be denied a prosthesis and fall behind their peers in the development of dexterity, social interaction, and self-confidence. Supporting this program ensures we can lend a Helping Hand to every child in need.
Our volunteers and engineers take measurements of the hand in need, upload those measurements to the computer, and print a prosthetic that is customized to the size, shape, and needs of the recipient. Volunteers assemble and fit the hands, while our network of hand doctors and hand therapists assist with training and rehabilitation plans.
