Hurricane Medtrade

This year's Medtrade show could hardly be more charged. In addition to all the new products and seminars you'll encounter, Election 2004 is just one week away. Will it be Bush or Kerry? And which is best for the HME industry? In this partisan battle for the White House, be careful with whom you express your views. Tempers and emotions run hot on both sides the aisle, Medtrade's included. If that weren't enough, deep reimbursement cuts as mandated by the Medicare Modernization Act are scheduled to kick in Jan. 1, 2005. Oh, yeah, for much of this summer and fall, Florida has morphed into a magnet for hurricanes. The Orange County Convention Center even served as a shelter for displaced hurricane victims. If you're reading this at the show, you are one of about 21,000 attendees, or possibly part of the entourage of one of the event's 850 exhibitors. Over the next 20 or so pages, you'll find a wealth of new products, from bath safety and other staples of DME to wheelchairs with spiffy new features to sleep therapy products designed for comfort and increased compliance. Want to discover the show's 10 largest exhibitors measured by booth size? Join the club. After all, what does a manufacturer need with 11,700 square feet of show floor space? You'll find stories on the top three exhibitors in this section/issue of HME News. The remaining top 10 exhibitors will be profiled in Day 2 and Day 3 of the Show Daily newspapers, which will be distributed at Medtrade. On page 50, we revisit what has become a staple of our Medtrade coverage: the Medtrade Picks. Turn here to find out what a couple of top-notch providers feel are must-see educational seminars. Again, we'll run additional Medtrade Picks as part of our on-site show coverage. Like last year, we'll be producing the Show Daily newspapers at the show. If you've got a hot news tip or story idea or just want to say hello, stop by booth 3943.