ATG Rehab offers 'supercourse'

ROCKY HILL, Conn. - Therapists, clinical managers and even other complex rehab providers now have one place to go for education on all things seating and mobility.

ATG Rehab has developed a Web site, http://www.atgrehab.com/?page_id=1396, that lists not only the educational programs that it offers but also those offered by the University of Pittsburgh, and various industry manufacturers and consultants.

“It's what we call at the university a supercourse,” said Mark Schmeler, an instructor in UPitt's Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology, who helped develop the Web site. “Instead of searching multiple sites to get to the courses you want, you go to one portal.”

The programs are organized by mode of delivery: online (courses, and live and interactive Webinars) or in-person (regional or on-site). Some programs are free; others, because they're for continuing education units (CEUs), are not.

ATG Rehab has offered educational programs to therapists for years, usually in conjunction with manufacturers, but it developed the Web site after hearing from therapists that they wanted more and they wanted it more conveniently.

“They'd say 'I'm too busy' or 'I can't go because my employer won't let me due to budget constraints,'” said Jerry Knight, ATG Rehab's president of western regional operations. “So we looked in the mirror and asked ourselves, 'We're trying, but what else could we be doing; what else should we be doing?'”

The Web site is another step toward ATG Rehab's goal of becoming the “go-to source” on complex rehab, Knight said.

“We want to continue to build linkages to other Web sites and other sources of information,” he said.

In that vein, Schmeler says, he envisions consumers also using the Web site.

“This is just another good step in the maturity of rehab technology,” he said.