NSM: Let us keep your patients SAFE

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - National Seating & Mobility launched its SAFE program to help health insurers and home health agencies keep patients in their homes safely, addressing one of the biggest social determinants of health.

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that by 2030, there will be 73 million people over 65 years old and, within that population, there will be 52 million falls, with each fall costing an average of $30,000, points out Bill Mixon, CEO for NSM.

“We've been in the home access business for five years now, so we decided to create a solution around falls mitigation,” he said. “We can't prevent falls, but we can mitigate falls.”

NSM's Solutions for Accessible & Functional Environments program includes a clinical care team to provide a turnkey solution for clients, from accessing risks in and around the home to installing needed equipment to create a more accessible and functional environment.

The SAFE program is an extension of NSM360, a recently launched solution that gives clients access to customized wheelchairs, an enhanced service and repair department, and an expanded accessibility division, says Isaac Rodriquez, senior vice president of strategic development for NSM.

“But if we were to present NSM360 to an external customer like a health plan, they'd think about it as, you're offering us products,” he said. “SAFE zeroes in on services and the specific problem of ensuring safety in the home environment.”

NSM believes the scale and scope of the SAFE program (the company has 30 locations providing home access products and services nationwide) and the emphasis on credentials (the program's team members are all certified environmental access consultants) will resonate with health insurers and HHAs.

“If someone is worried that mom is going to fall, they're going to call Chuck in a truck and see if he can come over to install a ramp,” Rodriguez said. “He might not have the right certifications.”

NSM believes the SAFE program resonates, particularly, in the time of COVID-19.

“The trend to the home has been happening for several years now, due to the cost of the acute-care environment and people's desire to be in their homes,” Mixon said. “As we know, COVID has dramatically accelerated that. There's a demonstrable trend to discharge to the home, versus a step-down environment. The home is becoming more and more critical.”