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DMERT Group is back on track

DMERT Group is back on track

BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. – DMERT Group has plans to run 150 repair technicians through its Level 1 or Level 2 certifications this year, up from 80 last year, says Matt Macpherson. 

The COVID-19 pandemic limited the number of certifications that DMERT Group could award last year because of the live competency exams required, says Macpherson, chairman of the board of the DMERT Group. 

“We’re back where we want to be,” he said. 

Level 1 certification covers principles for basic medical equipment like walkers, manual wheelchairs and consumer power wheelchairs, while Level 2 covers complex rehab wheelchairs and basic seating.  

DMERT Group and U.S. Rehab are also working with major manufacturers to adjust the content of their tech trainings to make them more education vs. sales based and, therefore, eligible for continuing education units. That will make it easier for individuals to meet the requirements for the Level 1 and 2 certifications, Macpherson says. 

“Each manufacturer has one or, for the larger manufacturers, two instructors that they’re assigning for this,” he said. “At the end of the year, we’ll have about a dozen of them with Level 3 certifications for training (Level 3i).” 

Additionally, DMERT Group expects to award numerous Level 3 certifications for auditing this year (Level 3a), resulting in a network of individuals who can oversee live exams for Level 1 and 2, exponentially increasing the number of certifications it can award, Macpherson says. 

“Right now, it’s just me traveling and auditing the exams,” he said. “This year, for every state I go to, I am going to leave behind one auditor, so there will be seven or eight states with auditors going into next year. We’ll be able to do roughly 500 technicians in the following year with that number of auditors.” 

These changes will help DMERT Group make progress toward certifying the pool of 10,000 individuals who do Level 1 work and the 2,500 who do Level 2 work, Macpherson says. 

“For most credentialling, you have to hit 50% to have an absorption rate,” he said, “so we’re working on a small percentage as we ramp up.”

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