HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) - Board-certified prosthetist Rakesh Srivastava knows how it feels to be given a new lease on life. And it was his experience of losing his left leg above the knee in an accident at age 10 while growing up in India that ultimately led him to pursue his career path and launch his business, Innovative Prosthetics, in 2006.
The business, which had humble beginnings in a 600-square-foot office space in the Crosier Park Professional Center, recently moved into a 5,600-square-foot building formerly occupied by the Village Inn restaurant near the now defunct Imperial Mall that offers solutions for multiple health-related conditions, including prosthetics, braces and supports.
Using 3D copier technology, the clinic fashions custom-made products to help patients lead more productive and mobile lives. Having witnessed what such services can mean firsthand, Srivastava is firmly committed to paying forward the technological advances that have affected his life in such a profound manner.
“As I started to go to the prosthetics facility - I had to go every year because of growth - I just started to get interested in how cool it is to make your leg,” he told the Hastings Tribune. “I’d come across other people going through the same process I was, and would see them smile when they took their first step. I thought, ‘If I can bring a smile, this is what I want to do.’ ”
With clinics in Omaha and Grand Island and outreach clinics in Superior, Ord, Kearney and Central City, Srivastava travels extensively to serve patients with multiple needs. His mission is to make prosthetics more affordable for those who need them.
Producing products locally in Hastings, he hopes the venture will enable his manufacturing company Shabri (a name fashioned from the initials of his two children), to create products that will ultimately affect lives across the globe.
“Worldwide, there is a huge need, and people are not able to afford the devices because of the cost,” he said. “It sounds pretty cheesy, but we want to put Hastings, Nebraska, on the map with our advanced technology center where we can become the hub with our 3D manufacturing company.”
Srivastava’s humanitarian plan is to offer his cutting-edge products through charitable channels in his native country of India as a gesture of thanks for the high level of care he received while there.
And while the production of prosthetics figures to remain at the forefront of his 3D copy manufacturing business, possibilities for expansion into other industries are virtually endless, he said.
“There are a wide range of products we can produce here in Hastings,” he said. “We want to expand to other industries as well, including automotive, irrigation and agriculture.”
Hoping to maximize opportunities locally, Innovative Prosthetics also provides a myriad of medical products and services, including wheelchairs, C-PAP machines, cranial helmets for babies, diabetic footwear, and braces from head to toe. It’s a multifaceted approach Srivastava believes will enable him to keep his business viable in a town of 25,000 people.
“Hastings is a smaller town population-wise, so in order for us to survive in such a specialized clinic, we need to identify the needs and how we can turn them into services,” he said. “We want to provide patients with the newest technologies out there, technologies not possible in other places, unless they go to a bigger town.”
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