Centennial, Colorado–based JRF Ortho has been selected as one of OUTSIDE’s Best Places to Work 2018. A non-profit provider of fresh osteochondral allografts, JRF Ortho is being honored for its dedication to helping employees find balance between work and enjoying life in the great outdoors, while also respecting the environment.
JRF Ortho Recognized in OUTSIDE’S Best Places to Work

“We’re honored to be included on this list of amazing companies and to be recognized for establishing a great place of work,” said Jim Czepiel, JRF Ortho executive director. “This is a testament to our culture, mission and vision. Our policies encourage work-life balance, a culture of openness and inclusiveness which adds up to a happy workforce working together to towards a single goal—improving people’s quality of life!”
“Companies from across the country entered a rigorous two-part survey process to make the winning list,” said Abigail Wise, online managing editor, OUTSIDE. “Employees took part in a survey to measure personal experience, while The Best Companies Group evaluated each company’s workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics.”
As the company wrote in its November 1, 2018 news release, “As a top ranked company (#32) on OUTSIDE’S BEST PLACES TO WORK, the recognition also validates JRF Ortho’s mission and their shared passion for serving their customers. The constant teamwork and communication of getting the right graft to the right surgeon for right patient at the right time has a very tangible impact in improving quality of life for patients; thus, fulfilling the wishes of hundreds of donors and donor families each year.”
Czepiel told OTW, “JRF provides a generous PTO [paid time off] program and fitness allowance.In addition, we offer all employees the ability to work from home and/or to have flexible hours.We have social events every year where spouses or entire families are invited, resulting in a family feel to the company.This allows for a culture that is positive, team oriented, and one where employees share their professional and personal experiences with each other.”
“Everyone here feels we are one of the top companies in the country and to get confirmation of what we do really makes a difference is really rewarding.It is nice to know that our feeling that we love what we do comes through to others.”

Discussion
This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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