Who We Are
At Northwest Orthotics & Prosthetics, providing exceptional care to every patient is our motto and our mission. Our goal is for each patient to feel heard and understood, and receive an optimized and comfortably fitting device. Our clients know they have a trusted partner to help them overcome and thrive through any challenges their journey may bring.
With three locations across the Wasatch Front, regular outreach clinics to rural parts of the state, and mobile services available to patients who have difficulty traveling to our offices, we offer convenient and exceptional care for all ages.
Meet The Team
At Northwest, our clinicians are doing what they love and it shows. They care deeply about the success and comfort of each client because they understand firsthand the difference it makes in their own lives and the lives of their loved ones with a disability when devices are comfortable and optimally fitted.
Kyle Swensen
Clinician, Certified Prosthetist Orthotist (CPO)
Kyle is a Provo, Utah native and fan of Calvin & Hobbes comics, classical piano music, baking, woodworking, and movies with giant sharks. He has three wild little boys and loves camping and being in the mountains.
After having his left leg amputated following a car accident when he was 18 years old, Kyle was introduced to the world of prosthetics and discovered a passion for studying human movement and prosthetics. This led to a degree in Exercise Science at BYU, followed by a Master’s degree in Prosthetics and Orthotics from Northwestern University.
Kyle is passionate about helping people return to the activities they love, and finds incredible joy and fulfillment in accompanying patients when they do. Rock climbing, weight lifting, grappling, triathlons, skiing, and swimming are a few of the things he has been able to learn for himself as he has helped patients re-learn hobbies using their new devices.
For Kyle, one of the most rewarding parts of being a CPO is helping patients live without pain and solving practical problems that allow them to live the life they want. When patients meet with Kyle they always leave with a better understanding of their condition and their device, feeling empowered to make choices to improve their life.
Lane Ferrin
Certified Prosthetist (CP)
Lane is an Arizona native who loves summertime, traveling and exploring other cultures, improving his Spanish and Portuguese speaking skills and learning other latin languages, hiking, camping, gardening, welding, woodworking, singing, and writing music. He reads voraciously— mainly about history, philosophy, and self-mastery— and loves doing anything that involves spending time with his 13 grandchildren.
Lane brings an incredible 36 years of experience to our team at Northwest, with a Certificate of Prosthetics from Northwestern University, along with many other certifications such as ABC, C-leg, Empower foot/ankle, Elan foot/ankle and many others. His comprehensive experience in prosthetics includes wooden exoskeletal lower extremity limbs, upper extremity microprocessor control, PFFD and Hip Disarticulation fittings, High Fidelity socket designs, running prostheses, and designing various feet and specialty limbs.
Lane’s success in helping his patients get a prosthesis that fits and feels like part of their body stems from his ability to see three dimensional objects in motion in his mind, which helps him visualize the fit of a prosthesis, and its moving parts, to optimize comfort and function for amputees. This is especially helpful for his patients who need ultimate stability and control to confidently return to high impact and high intensity activities.
Lane’s greatest joy comes from helping patients with the most severe limitations and challenges get back to the activities they enjoy. A career highlight for him was having the privilege of providing the first artificial limbs made in Western Samoa, and he dreams of providing prosthetic care in other developing countries in the future.
Russell McConahay
Owner, Certified Orthotist (CO)
Russ is a Wyoming native who loves gumbo, jeeping, watching things grow, and creating productive things that make the world better and more meaningful—whether through welding, carpentry, blacksmithing, construction projects, or rebuilding vehicles. Above all else, he loves people, especially his family, and being circled around a campfire connecting with his wife and four children is one of his greatest joys.
Russ was introduced to the world of orthotics when he became partially paralyzed from the waist down at 18 years old. After months of rehab and physical therapy he was able to walk just 15 feet using parallel bars. But the first time he tried walking with custom leg braces made by an orthotist he was able to walk 500 yards—and he hasn’t stopped walking, hiking, working with horses, or living life to its fullest since—all with the help of his orthoses.
The freedom that orthoses gave Russ is the driving passion that led him to pursue a career in orthotics—to share the gift of mobility with others became his life’s work. He began volunteering at Northwest in 1993, working in the fabrication shop as a technician. He then went on to earn a BS degree and ABC Certification in Orthotics from Northwestern University in Chicago, and has been working at Northwest ever since.
Russ is dedicated to helping his patients get past the limitations imposed on them and go further than they ever thought possible. He works tirelessly to work and re-work designs and devices to get every patient the maximum amount of stability, mobility, and function possible, because he understands personally the difference it will make in their lives. He considers it an incredible blessing to spend his days helping people succeed, and is well known and loved for his kindness, compassion, and willingness to bend over backward to help a patient in need.
Russ believes that life is good, and he is driven to help patients get on their feet and into a place where they can believe that and live it for themselves. His most rewarding experiences come when he is able to witness a patient stand or take their first steps with the help of a device he created. His mission both professionally and personally is to give people wings—to remove the pain and the limits that their bodies, their fears, and society have placed on them so they can progress and move forward to lead the life they dream of.
David Hill
Owner, Certified Orthotist (CO)
David is an Orem Utah native who loves to spend time with his wife and 3 boys. He loves cooking, being outdoors camping, boating, and riding ATVs with his family. He has spent his life interested in the mechanics of how things work and has developed the talent to fix almost anything.
David was first introduced to the world of prosthetics and orthotics when he fell in love with and married his wife Amie, who is an above-knee amputee from an auto-pedestrian accident. He began his career in the orthotic and prosthetic industry as a technician in 1998, while attending Utah Valley State College pursuing a degree in business management. An opportunity opened for him to pursue the path of becoming a certified practitioner through the Board of Certification Practitioner program, so he switched his educational focus and spent the next few years becoming a certified orthotic fitter and then a certified Orthotist. In 2009 David purchased Northwest, and is currently the co-owner with his partner Russell McConahay.
As an owner and practitioner, David is passionate about creating solutions that make all the patients of Northwest’s lives better. He loves coming to work every day and being able to use his hands to help solve problems that have held people back from achieving the life they want. Seeing his patients progress and thrive is his greatest ambition and joy, and he considers himself lucky to be at Northwest helping people and doing what he loves.
Certified Prosthetists & Orthotists
Patient services are provided by practitioners certified by either ABC or BOC. We currently have one certified Prosthetist, one certified Prosthetist/Orthotist, three certified Orthotists, one certified fitter of orthotics, and one certified technician.