U.S. Rehab’s Mahncke looks to ‘fill the gaps’

WATERLOO, Iowa – Tyler Mahncke says his focus as the new vice president of U.S. Rehab has been on “building out solutions” for the organization’s provider members. 

Organizations like U.S. Rehab, a part of VGM & Associates, are now about more than negotiating manufacturer pricing for providers, he points out. 

“What I’m really trying to do is listen to the needs of our members and building out services around those needs, based on what’s going on in the marketplace,” he said. “I’m scouring the U.S. for solutions.” 

For some services, Mahncke doesn’t have to look far. Parent company VGM Group encompasses a number of divisions that have the potential to serve U.S. Rehab members, whether its payer contracts through Homelink or web and print marketing through Moxie. 

But Mahncke is also exploring where U.S. Rehab might need to build out new services or outsource services for its members, particularly when it comes to billing and software. 

“We might hear from a member who lost a biller they’ve had for 25 years and they’re having a hard time finding that expertise or they can’t afford what’s required to fill that position,” he said. 

While it will likely be an ongoing process, Mahncke feels U.S. Rehab is now in a place where it can “fill a lot of the gaps” members might have in their businesses. 

“We have partners that do power wheelchairs, we have partners that do manual wheelchairs, we have partners that do batteries,” he said. “We want to make sure we can answer all questions from our members.” 

Mahncke also wants to raise awareness among its members that being part of U.S. Rehab means they’re part of a network. 

“We would love to for them to reach out to us if, for example, they have a snowbird who’s traveling to Arizona or Florida and might need equipment or a service while they’re down there – that way we keep it in the U.S. Rehab Family,” he said. “That happens there and there, but we’d like it to be more regular.”