Provider to wheelchair users: What pushes you?

CUMMING, Ga. - Provider Chris Malcom says his new foundation for wheelchair users, iPush, doesn't have to be the biggest or the best. It just has to make a difference.

“I want to create an avenue that gives people information and resources,” said Malcom, vice president of At Home Medical Products, a provider specializing in urological, incontinence, ostomy, personal care and skin care supplies. “We're not looking for a cure, we're looking for a better quality of life.”

Malcom, himself a wheelchair user for 23 years, launched the foundation in July.

Malcom says he benefited from rehabilitation therapy and the right equipment after an accident left him paralyzed, but he knows other wheelchair users aren't always so lucky, in many cases due to insurance companies that are more focused on their bottom lines than on patient care.

“From what I hear, people aren't exposed to all the different things that are out there these days for people in chairs,” he said. “I learned so much in rehab but rehab stays and recreational therapy are getting shorter and shorter.”

The foundation's website, www.ipush.org, offers articles and resources on a variety of topics like accessible travel, adaptive sports and parenting. The foundation also offers wheelchair users a place to connect online via its Facebook page, which is averaging 500 new followers a week, mostly in the 24- to 45-age range.

Malcom's future goals for iPush: achieving non-profit status so it can fundraise, and conducting extreme makeovers for adaptive equipment.

“As we grow, I want to have campaigns where you submit your story to us and we'll help you,” he said. “If you want to be a better gardener or a Paralympic athlete, we'll help you. Tell us what drives you, what pushes you.”