Independence Starts At This Point
Paul Sugg, CPO, C.Ped., FAAOP had just fitted a man with a prosthetic leg. Once dependent on a wheelchair, the patient could now stand on his own.
In the midst of a life-changing moment, the man said these words: “I am a complete man again.”
But Paul disagreed.
“How dare we say we’re incomplete even if we have lost a body part?” the Kinston, NC prosthetist says now. “I said, ‘no sir, you were complete before I made this. I just provided you a tool to work with.’”
This tale, Paul says, explains his passion for creating arm and leg prostheses. For the native Eastern North Carolinian, it’s about helping people become independent. And after a 16-year career, learning from and working with others, Paul has established his independence and started his own business making prostheses and orthoses.
Eastpoint Prosthetics and Orthotics, Inc. opened in late summer 2009. The Kinston venture was financed through a loan from Self-Help and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Paul stated “As I had never had business credit before no one would fund this venture.” While banks turned Paul down, Self-Help saw opportunity.
“A partner is a different person than a person who just loans money,” he says. “With Self-Help and the USDA, I had partners that wanted to see me succeed.”
Before closing on the loan, USDA representative Elmer Langston visited his business site to learn more about his plans. And Paul worked very closely with Self-Help loan officer Teresa Scarlett, a collaborator he praises for accessibility.
“If there was a question, she called me,” he says. “If I had a question, I could call her. Everyone from the USDA and Self-Help were making my dream of business ownership become a reality.”
Working His Way Up
Paul Sugg built his career in prosthetics and orthotics slowly but surely.
In the 1980s, he worked in the physical therapy department at Lenoir Memorial Hospital in Kinston. Every month, the hospital offered a clinic for amputees, where professionals fashioned artificial limbs.
Paul was awed as he observed the craft. He loved both the artistic element of creating new arms and legs and the service element of the work. This was what he wanted to do.
“That’s where the spark started,” he says. “It was just amazing.”
After getting a business degree from East Carolina University in 1990, Paul eventually landed in Raleigh, working as a technician for a friend who made prostheses. There, he learned the basics.
“You start at the very bottom,” he says, “and literally you start by working with feet.”
So Paul learned how to fashion prostheses and orthoses. And he received certificates in both fields from Northwestern University at the Rehabilitation Institute in Chicago, IL.
He worked for a national chain for a while, but was interested in forming his own business. He talked to Self-Help about a loan, but then came an opportunity to work for two years with another friend in Eastern North Carolina.
Eventually, he was ready to start his own business. And Kinston was ready for him. He’s currently the only full-time prosthetist and orthotist in town in a region that needs people in his profession. Largely due to the prevalence of diabetes, the area has high rates of lower-extremity amputations. People with diabetes are more susceptible to foot sores, which, if left untreated, can lead to amputation. In 2003, state figures show there were 15 such amputations in Greene County alone, which includes Paul’s home of Snow Hill. That same year, 8.2 percent of the county population, or roughly 1,200 people, had diabetes, according to state data.
Paul wants to make sure his Kinston office succeeds. But after that, he’s interested in expanding the business.
He says he enjoys the independence of owning a small business.
“My company motto is: Independence starts at this point. I just wanted to open my own practice to be able to provide a service to my patients where they could begin to enjoy their own level of independence” he says.
