Clinican Task Force seeks to 'build capacity'

ARLINGTON, Va. - The Clinician Task Force has identified its top priorities for 2019, including recruiting more clinicians into the seating and wheeled mobility profession.

“We use the term building capacity,” said Cathy Carver, the new executive director of the CTF. “Most clinicians in this profession are in my shoes and have been doing it for 22 years or longer. We don't want to leave this profession without anyone behind us.”

The CTF is looking at developing mentoring programs and a webinar series around cultivating the next group of seating and wheeled mobility professionals.

Other priorities for the CTF: securing a separate benefit for complex rehab and securing Medicare coverage for power standing and seat elevation technology; and monitoring the increasing number of managed care companies that oversee state Medicaid programs.

The CTF aims to stay on top of these priorities by building out its base of members—right now, it has almost 50 members in 22 states.

“We're working really hard to grow our membership, so that we have resources in every state,” Carver said.

Carver's story of how she became involved in the CTF is one that she thinks will resonate with other clinicians and one that she hopes will encourage them to get involved.

“I got involved 10 years ago because I was interested in advocacy on a national level, but it wasn't something I was comfortable with or fully understood,” she said. “The CTF equipped me with resources and guidance. After my first trip to Capitol Hill, I realized that what I'm doing does matter.”