Permobil gives back with foundation

LEBANON, Tenn. - What do you do if you're a manufacturer and you want to do more for the people who use your equipment?

If you're Permobil, the global, Sweden-based rehab technology company, you launch a charitable foundation.

The Permobil Cares Foundation was officially launched on March 1 on the premise that, as Executive Director Ashley Davis recently put it, “everyone deserves the chance to reach their dreams without limitations.”

Like many manufacturers, Permobil was already involved in an array of charitable and volunteer activities, but, Davis explained, “By having a foundation, we're able to do fundraisers and to give back more to our nonprofit partners.”

“And from a volunteer standpoint we want to get out more into the communities we already serve and take advantage of multiple opportunities,” she said. “Like building ramps for wheelchairs, for example.”

In addition to expanding the company's volunteer activities, Davis said the foundation will enable them to be “a little more strategic” when it comes to getting necessary equipment into the hands of users. Reimbursement from insurance companies can be a tricky business, and she said the foundation will enable Permobil to offer chairs and parts when users in need are denied funding.

Moreover, the foundation will allow Permobil to be more active in federal regulatory debates.

“Medicare and Medicaid are continuing to change,” Davis said, “and the foundation will enable us to work more closely with our government affairs team to try to get laws changed to make them more beneficial from the users' perspective.”

As for how the foundation will be financed, Davis said as of March 1, $50 from every Permobil sale will go toward the foundation, as well as $10 from every TiLite and $1 from every ROHO sale. hme