FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SCOPe Staff: "It's Better to Give Than Receive"

SAN DIEGO - December 22, 2003 - The late October wildfires that cut a swath across San Diego County were one of the worst disasters to hit the area in recent memory. Even two months later, it's difficult to find somebody who doesn't know people who were directly affected. One local company, Southern California Orthopedics and Prosthetics (SCOPe), responded this holiday season by choosing to give funds that were once earmarked for the holidays to agencies that are still serving the victims of the fires.

"Among our patients, practitioners, and staff," says Jill Drawbridge, Marketing Coordinator for SCOPe, "We had eight people evacuated. One lost her home, her animals, everything. Four of the physicians who regularly refer patients to our offices lost homes, and we can't even guess how many of our patients were affected. We've always been very involved in our community, and just after the fires, we knew we wanted to do something positive. So we put the question to the staff in all ten of our offices. Do you want to have our normal holiday festivities and the small gifts we usually send out to friends and customers? Or do you want to donate those funds, and anything else we can put together ,to the fire victims this year?"

The staff overwhelmingly chose to give rather than receive.

In December, SCOPe presented checks totalling $10,000 to the Rescue Task Force through the office of U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter, and $5,000 to the local Rotary. All funds donated will be used to assist in helping the local fire victims.

"The amazing thing is, everybody felt so good about doing this," Drawbridge says. "It's gotten us thinking about ways we can do more in the community every year, not just this year. I wouldn't be surprised if this became a new tradition for SCOPe."