NRRTS to 'shake things up' at Medtrade 2006 in Atlanta

ATLANTA - The National Registry of Rehabilitation Technology Suppliers will have its biggest presence ever at Medtrade in September: Show organizers have tapped the organization to head up its rehab track conference program. As a result, NRRTS has decided to cancel its annual educational conference in August. "We knew our registrants, in most cases, couldn't afford to go to both," said Mike Seidel, NRRTS president. "So we decided to shake things up a little bit." In years past, NRRTS has exhibited at Medtrade and held an open meeting. It was at the organization's conference in St. Louis, Mo., that about 100 registrants received training and earned continuing education credits each year. Now, registrants get the "best of both worlds," Seidel said. "We hope we're making it easier for them to attend Medtrade, hear presentations and pick up credits," he said. For NRRTS, a bigger presence at Medtrade also means the potential to increase its base of about 800 registrants. In late January, NRRTS received the rehab-related "calls for presentations," and it planned to go through them and make selections before a March deadline, Seidel said. VNU Expositions tapped NRRTS to head up the rehab portion of its conference program after NRRTS approached show organizers about increasing its presence at Medtrade. (NRRTs decided at its board retreat last year to "attach ourselves to other venues," Seidel said.) "We were actually shocked at (VNU's) offer," he said. "They offered us more than we thought we would get." VNU collaborates with AAHomecare to develop each year's conference program. Adding NRRTS brings this to the table, VNU said in a Feb. 1 release: The association's "professional and clinical knowledge will enhance the credibility of the Medtrade education program and will ensure the track directly speaks to the most current issues."