Warsaw, Indiana-based Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. has announced the creation of a new independent 501(c)(3), Movement is Life, Inc., a philanthropic, multi-disciplinary coalition that is trying to make a serious dent in musculoskeletal health disparities among women, racial and ethnic minorities, and women in rural communities.
“We’re excited to take this next step in the evolution of Movement is Life as we continue on our path to address disparities in underserved communities and populations,” said Mary O’Connor, M.D., co-founder, chief medical officer and chief compliance officer at Vori Health, and Chair of the Movement is Life Board of Directors.
“The inaugural Movement is Life Board of Directors shares my gratitude to Zimmer Biomet for their incredible support in our growth. We are excited and eager to work together as an independent organization to accomplish our goals.”
“Over the past 12 years, Movement is Life has been the premier organization addressing health disparities in orthopedics. This new nonprofit status will allow the organization to expand partnerships and develop new relationships to continue the important work of the coalition,” said Keri P. Mattox, Zimmer Biomet Chief Communications and Administration Officer and Zimmer Biomet Foundation Board Member.
“Zimmer Biomet and the Zimmer Biomet Foundation remain fully committed to ensuring equity in care in our communities and we are pleased to have the opportunity to continue to support Movement is Life in their growth as an independent organization.”
“We are very excited to now be a 501(c)3 organization and grateful to Zimmer Biomet in supporting our transition,” stated Dr. O’Connor to OTW. “For our first 12 years, Zimmer Biomet completely funded our initiatives and continues to support us as a non-profit through the Zimmer Biomet Foundation.”
“As a non-profit we will be able to partner with similar non-profit organizations, obtain grant funding, and accept donations to support our critical mission, activities we could not previously do while under a corporate umbrella. We need to grow our programs, particularly our community-based program called Operation Change.”
“So this is a wonderful time for our coalition and we are deeply appreciative of Zimmer Biomet’s past and ongoing support for our mission to eliminate musculoskeletal health disparities.”
“Our first steps are to build the infrastructure we need as a non-profit and reinstate our Operation Change programs which were paused during the pandemic. We are focused on having an incredible national Caucus, our signature event, on November 10 and 11 in Washington, DC! Our plenary speakers and workshops are incredible, and we believe this will be our best Caucus yet! I encourage readers to visit our website at https://www.movementislifecaucus.com to register for the event!”
When OTW inquired about their future plans, Dr. O’Connor said, “Our one-year goals are to establish our non-profit infrastructure, get our Operation Change programs going again, and have a great Caucus! Our 5-year goals include improving mobility to address comorbid health conditions, addressing SDOH [social determinants of health] affecting disparate communities through community driven/executed collaborative partnerships. Our focus is to develop and implement each program based on community needs/priorities and cultural relevance. Our current community-based program, Operation Change, will substantially grow, and we will advance our community and healthcare clinician education programs, and expand our outreach and influence to truly move the needle on health equity.”
