Event boasts 25 years

ORLANDO, Fla.--This March, the International Seating Symposium (ISS) will celebrate 25 years of putting seating and wheeled mobility front and center. This year, the show offers new speakers and content such as a one-day course on wheelchair fundamentals. HME News recently spoke with Mark Schmeler, continuing education course director at the University of Pittsburgh, a sponsor of ISS, which takes place March 12-14 in Orlando.

HME News: How will the ISS commemorate its 25th anniversary?

Mark Schmeler: We're going to have a reception acknowledging some of the people who started the seating symposium and who were the folks that got complex rehab started 25 years ago. We're also going to have a comedian, Josh Blue.

HME: What program changes have you made this year? Schmeler: We've got probably 25% to 30% more content than we've had in past years. We're going to do a fundamentals of wheeled mobility and seating course for anybody that's new to wheelchairs.

HME: What else can a rehab provider expect at ISS?

Schmeler: On the second day of the pre-conference, there's a session related to funding, policy and business strategy for the future. Throughout the main conference, there are quite a few rehab tech suppliers presenting: Kevin Guoy from United Seating & Mobility will talk about some business strategies; Doug Westerdahl and Don Clayback will talk about the Simon (School of Business) study; Gerry Dickerson will talk about Medicaid rules and regulations with Darren Jernigan from Permobil; and Elizabeth Cole from VGM will do a session on everything you need to know about Medicare.