About 26-years ago, Ross Bremer, a man I respect and admire, arrived at the former Agency I was with, with a prototype of a new product in a bag. He told me how the product was going to improve the lives of patients and practitioners and asked if I thought he could build another company around that product. After a bit of due diligence, he launched the Bremer Group Company and its flagship product, the VertAlign Spinal Support System about a year later. The VertAlign Spinal Support System was the first of its kind, a rigid thoraco-lumbo-sacral orthosis (TLSO), available in a select and apply system, at the point of care.
It was a transformative product, for its time.
Innovative packaging, innovative fitting
The product was packaged in such a way that an orthotist or certified fitter with professional skills could custom fit about 95% of patients with the brace, right then and there, at the point of care. Before the VertAlign, the patient had to be measured, or a mold taken of their torso, and an orthotist would custom build a brace – a process that could take days, leaving the patient in discomfort.
This past week, I was honored to attend the company’s 25th anniversary celebration along with a hand-full of other important partners, plus former and current employees. Thank you, Ross, Karen and the rest of the team, for the privilege of working with you these past 25-years, to make a difference in so many people’s lives. Salute!
