Playing it Safe at AAOS

The day began bright and early at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 7. Though there was a slight drizzle, the line of volunteers for the shuttle bus to the 13th AAOS Safe and Accessible Playground Build was long and full of energy.

More than 200 attendees of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) annual meeting, local neighborhood residents, and representatives from Kaboom!—a national non-profit dedicated to saving play for America’s children by creating playspaces through the participation and leadership of communities—joined together at the Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center (Tel-Hi) in San Francisco, Calif., excited for the opportunity to create a safe play area for the community’s children and families.

Since its inception, AAOS’ safe and accessible build project has created more than 60,000 square feet of play space, bringing safe, wheelchair-accessible play areas to more than 20,000 children.

Local and national sponsors provided coffee, breakfast and lunch for the volunteers and the bright purple shirts, quirky hats and big smiles of the Kaboom! team brought enthusiasm, fun and flare to the project.

Project organizers had hand-drawn signs designating the teams (“Star” team, “Fishbowl” team, “Baseball” team, etc.) that the volunteers would break in to once building began, creating an efficient, streamlined building process.

Opening ceremonies began at 8:30am with a fitting Andre 3000 quote, “You can plan a pretty picnic, but you can’t predict the weather,” followed by laughter, cheers and warm-up stretches that readied the team to build.

Volunteers from various medical technology companies, hospitals and community organizations worked side by side mixing cement, moving large tubes, screwing in footholds for the rock wall, shoveling sand and a host of other building activities.

Lively music played in the background while the wide-eyed, curious faces of the children in the classrooms at the Tel-Hi center peered from the windows above—anxious to see what was being built for them.

“It is incredibly rewarding to have the opportunity to offer something like this to a community that the whole family can enjoy,” shared Pro-Dex, Inc.’s customer service manager, Johanna Casas. “We’re all working side by side to create something meaningful that makes a difference in a child’s life.”

Another volunteer, Fred Brown, operations manager at Orchid Orthopedics, noted that, “It’s great to give back to a neighborhood and be a part of making people’s lives better—physically and mentally.”

Other sponsors of AAOS’ Safe and Accessible Playground Build included Medtronic, Stryker, DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., Arthrex and DJO Global.

Once the playground is complete, the Telegraph Hill community will have a 2,600-square-foot safe and accessible playground that will serve hundreds of kids each day—with and without disabilities.