VGM’s Building Opportunities Summit seeks to elevate home access

TAMPA, Fla. – VGM Live at Home will unveil several new initiatives at its Building Opportunities Summit, Nov. 10-12, in Tampa, Fla., that will help to professionalize the home access market, says Jim Greatorex. 

“We’ve done this event before, but this one is going to be much bigger,” said Greatorex, vice president of VGM Live at Home. “The theme is: Working together to define, professionalize and grow the home access industry. We have all kinds of things we’re doing that go along with that.” 

VGM Live at Home, a division of VGM & Associates, is an independently owned and operated nationwide network of providers focused on accessible home modifications and independent living solutions.  

The event, which Greatorex expects to draw 100 to 125 owners, will include the presentation of an initial draft of an apprenticeship program that VGM Live at Home is working on with the Build Smart Institute in Roanoke, Va., to grow the number of field techs in the market. 

“Field techs are the people who, once the job is sold, actually do the job,” Greatorex said. “Our owners are struggling to keep field techs, because field techs aren’t seeing a career path for themselves. We want to help them build their skills so they’re more valuable and, in turn, develop some middle class jobs for this type of work.” 

The event will also include the presentation of a draft white paper on best practices for the market that highlights the need for home access execs and physical and occupational therapists to work better together to improve outcomes for customers. 

“Because right now, they don’t really understand each other’s role,” Greatorex said.  

The event will also feature professional retail sales training. 

“The retail market for this is growing very rapidly, but these companies are more used to working with Medicaid waiver programs and workers comp,” Greatorex said. “The training will give them the tools to develop their own retail sales program.”