Mobility
Complex rehab program heats up
March 8, 2024Liz Beaulieu, Editor
ATLANTA – Work on the CRT Supplier Certificate Program has picked up pace now that it’s Weesie Walker’s only focus, she says.
Walker, an ATP/SMS, stepped away from her role as executive director of NRRTS last year partly to focus on the program, which she believes is key to giving providers practical and real-life education and training that’s specific to complex rehab.
“There’s a shortage of qualified people and so I wish we had started this...
CMS releases coding, payment info for seat elevation systems
March 4, 2024HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – CMS has announced coding and payment information for seat elevation systems for complex rehab power wheelchairs, AAHomecare has reported.
The key takeaways, according to the association:
Discontinues existing HCPCS Level II code E2300, “Wheelchair accessory, power seat elevation system, any type,” effective March 31, 2024
Establishes E2298, “Complex rehabilitative power wheelchair accessory, power seat elevation system, any...
Katie Fitzgerald ‘opens doors’ at CTF
February 16, 2024Liz Beaulieu, Editor
CANTON, Ohio – Katie Fitzgerald says the Clinician Task Force, where she is a new executive board member, is a good place to channel her passions for advocacy, data and what she calls “knowledge translation.”
Fitzgerald, PT, DPT, NCS, teaches in the physical therapy program at Walsh University in Canton, Ohio, but prior to making the switch to academia, she was a clinician for 15 years.
HME News: How did you get interested in specializing in complex rehab technology?
Katie...
Home access: ‘The next three years are pivotal’
February 14, 2024Liz Beaulieu, Editor
WATERLOO, Iowa – Coming off a successful event in the fall and a revamped website early this year, VGM Live at Home is helping to solidify home accessibility as "another link in the home care system,” says Jim Greatorex.
“The next three years are pivotal,” said Greatorex, vice president of VGM Live at Home, a nationwide network of providers focused on home modifications and independent living solutions. “We have a chance for a lot of growth and a chance...
Rehab Medical hits 100 ATPs
February 13, 2024HME News Staff
INDIANAPOLIS – Rehab Medical now has 100 assistive technology professionals (ATPs), a milestone it recently celebrated at a two-day annual conference in downtown Indianapolis.
“This milestone is a great achievement for us, and we are very proud to celebrate it,” said President Kevin Gearheart. “It is also the first of many milestones we expect to cross. We have an outstanding team, and this is just the beginning.”
Reaching the milestone is instrumental...
EZ Mobility shows off
February 2, 2024Liz Beaulieu, Editor
ROANOKE, Va. – After hopping from one rental to the next over the years, EZ Mobility Solutions now has its own home – a 33,000-square-foot-facility that features a 4,000-square-foot interactive showroom complete with lowering cabinets for the kitchen and rotating shoe racks for the bedroom.
The inspiration for the showroom came from a large, six-month project the company worked on in 2020 for a woman who was paralyzed from the waist down following a car accident, says President...
Reliable Medical, Seven Hills enter second chapter
January 26, 2024Liz Beaulieu, Editor
FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Reliable Medical’s re-investment from Seven Hills Capital is a testament to how much growth the company, led by CEO Katie Stevens, still has ahead of it, says Matt Pettit.
Reliable Medical first received an investment from Seven Hills Capital, a Nashville, Tenn.-based operator-centric private equity firm, in 2018, setting the company on a trajectory of growth that saw it acquire numerous companies, including Orbit Medical in late 2022, and extend its reach...
New coalition works to secure independence
January 19, 2024Liz Beaulieu, Editor
WASHINGTON – United Spinal Association is working with a broad coalition of stakeholders, including wheelchair manufacturers, to develop securement standards that can be applied to ground transportation.
The SecureRide Coalition launched in November with support from General Motors, VW, Invacare, Ki Mobility, NCART, Permobil, Pride Mobility Products/Quantum Rehab and Sunrise Medical.
“We definitely need this coalition – it’s been a long time coming,”...
Greg Packer on ‘moral guidance’
January 19, 2024Liz Beaulieu, Editor
WATERLOO, Iowa – Greg Packer officially retired from U.S. Rehab at the end of the year, but he continues to have a presence in the complex rehab industry, not only at the company but also at NCART.
Packer has a contract with U.S. Rehab and its parent company, The VGM Group, as a consultant for 18 months and he will serve as president of NCART’s board of directors in 2024 and then as past president in 2025.
Here’s what Packer, whose career also includes roles at...
NRRTS goes global
January 12, 2024Liz Beaulieu, Editor
LUBBOCK, Texas – NRRTS is rebranding to iNRRTS to better reflect its growing number of international registrants.
As of early January, the organization had 245 registrants in Canada and 27 registrants in Australia, a group that now makes up about one-third of total registrants.
“There are some significant differences in the pathways to funding in each country, but what we have found is there are some common issues, like how to assure people have access to up-to-date...