Our mission: To provide a forum where amputees, their families and others affected by limb loss can find support, education and camaraderie to cope with amputation and further; to advocate for amputee social issues and community needs. Two million people are living with limb loss in the US today, with about 500 amputations a day. another 28 million at risk for amputation. Thousands more are born with limb differences.
Founded in the fall of 2011, COPAA started as the result of a vision of Keith Cornell, President and Owner of Cornell Orthotics and Prosthetics. He wanted to provide his patients with a place to come together to find support, share coping strategies and to interact socially. He saw a need for this in his own patients and knew that this need existed outside of his practice as well. Posie Mansfield, a new above knee amputee , took on the role of helping to see his vision become a reality. The COP Amputee Support Group was launched with just three people sitting around a table sharing their stories. After the meeting it was clear that we had a very important role to play in offering amputees this kind of a forum. In 2012 we reorganized and our name changed to the COP Amputee Association, Inc., or COPAA, to better reflect our broader mission of reaching out and serving the entire limb loss community. In 2014 we achieved non profit status.