Reporter’s notebook: When things go right

NEW ORLEANS and TARENTUM, Pa. – When a long-time Blackburn’s customer was in New Orleans on vacation and a truck catastrophically drove into the crowd on Bourbon Street on Jan. 1, his complex rehab wheelchair was demolished and he ended up in the hospital. 

Thankfully, after a surgery, the customer was discharged. 

“But he was without a wheelchair in an entirely different state,” said Ariana Vesnesky, director of complex rehab and accessibility at Blackburn’s. 

The customer’s wife reached out to Blackburn’s and Permobil, which made his previous wheelchair, and while Permobil hooked him up with a loaner wheelchair, Blackburn’s got to work on getting him a replacement wheelchair. 

Blackburn’s thought it would have to get a police report, but the wife was struggling to get one amid the chaos of the attack so, after talking with the customer’s insurance, UPMC Health Plan in Pittsburgh, the company submitted for a replacement wheelchair with no documentation. 

“This was a high-profile case, and they knew the story,” Vesnesky said. “We copied the specs from the last chair, which was provided in 2023, and we resent them the list of codes and accessories, and they literally approved it that day.” 

Upon discharge, the customer traveled from New Orleans to Florida, where his parents live, and Blackburn’s then worked with Permobil again to get one of their reps in the state to deliver the replacement wheelchair. 

“It’s a special scenario, but it shows how everyone went above and beyond to help a customer who was really struggling,” Vesnesky said.  

There are still loose ends to tie up, including meeting with one a Blackburn’s ATP once the customer returns to Pennsylvania to make sure his wheelchair is set up and positioned correctly, but Vesnesky is pleased with what her team was able to accomplish in a short period. 

“I feel like we do a good job in these scenarios,” she said. “We could have told the wife, ‘Sorry, we can’t submit for the chair without a police report. That’s the rule.’ But we took the extra time, when not a lot of people would want to get involved.”