NRRTS registrant 'kickstarts' interest in Canada

REGINA, Saskatchewan - Jason Kelln, the first NRRTS CRTS in Canada, gave a poster presentation at the recent Canadian Seating and Mobility Conference in Toronto on the merits of certification in complex rehab.

Kelln, the sales manager for PrairieHeart Mobility based here, is one of just 28 RESNA ATPs in the country and is working to become just the fourth SMS there.

“When I started to work on the presentation, I was just shocked how few people are certified,” he said. “To me, we're not going to get it right every time, so you need to bring the biggest toolbox that you can to every assessment.”

Canada and its provinces, unlike the U.S., don't require a company to have an ATP on staff to provide certain complex rehab technology.

Ideally, Kelln would like to see the government put standards in place for complex rehab, but knowing that's an uphill battle, he is also trying to appeal to the sense of pride of those who work in the field.

“Don't you want to have the utmost in professionalism?” he said. “I think we need to have more of a presence and I hope my presentation helps to kick start that.”

Because there is little in the way of formal education for complex rehab, standards and certification are that much more important, said Kelln, who worked his way up from a lift chair salesman.

“Having an ATP and being a CRTS has helped me feel so much more confident,” he said. “You can go to school to become an OT or some other health sciences background, but generally, the people in this field are like myself.”

Weesie Walker, executive director of NRRTS, called Kelln a “great ambassador” for the organization.

“They see what it means here and they want it there, too,” she said. “This is not a NRRTS initiatve; it has to come from the Canadians; but we're supporting them in whatever way we can.”