Mobility

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Elaine Stewart, an ATP, CRTS, for National Seating & Mobility, has been involved in a leadership capacity at NRRTS for about 15 years, working her way up from chair review to past president, so when she says it’s important to be involved, she walks the talk.   Stewart, who, along with Carey Britton, was recently named a Simon Margolis Fellow, talked with HME News about why NRRTS is instrumental to the complex rehab industry and why she thinks the organization’s...

WASHINGTON – A recent fly-in and product expo organized by NCART and NRRTS was the perfect opportunity to lay the groundwork for several of the complex rehab industry’s top priorities, including getting CMS to move forward with coverage for power standing systems.   More than 200 attendees participated and more than 200 “congressional connections” were made as part of the virtual fly-in on Sept. 13.  “Efforts to get CMS to open the comment period...

WASHINGTON – Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., are asking CMS to conduct a full review of its national coverage determination (NCD) for mobility assistive equipment for Medicare beneficiaries, including its interpretation of the “in-the-home" requirement.  Current Medicare coverage limitations on equipment used outside the home can limit a beneficiary’s access to mobility equipment and their communities,...

INDIANAPOLIS – Rehab Medical’s new Express Service Center is on a mission to turn around wheelchair repairs in five days.  “We want to set the standard for how patients should be serviced,” said Jarrad Rankin, vice president of operations for the company. “I've been in this industry 18 years and the model hasn't changed, but everything else around us is changing and there's a lot of technology out there. So, we're trying to use a combination of...

TAMPA, Fla. – Toby Cummings has been leading various associations most of his professional career, but in his newest gig, as CEO of the National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association, he might have found the “perfect opportunity.”  “My dad was a Ford dealer in Nebraska,” he said. “That has raked on me. I’ve missed the roots of the automobile industry and so in that way this was the perfect opportunity. I also enjoy working more with companies as...

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Numotion’s new website dedicated to urological supplies significantly expands the company’s presence in the intermittent catheter market, company officials say.  Numotion has provided caths since 2014 to leverage the synergies with its core business of providing complex power wheelchairs, but the products were “buried” in the company’s main website, says Bret Barczak, chief marketing officer and executive vice president of Numotion’s...

AKRON, Ohio – Miller’s has shifted to more of a “growth mindset” with its first expansion since 2004 in “booming” and centrally located Columbus, Ohio, says Johnny Miller.  The company, which is based in Akron and which relies on complex rehab for two-thirds of its revenues, last opened an office in Youngstown, Ohio, nearly 20 years ago.   “Columbus is the fastest-growing city in Ohio,” said Miller, president. “There’s...

PITTSBURGH – One of the goals of a new post-doctoral fellowship program at the University of Pittsburgh is to fill a long-standing void in assistive technology research, says Mark Schmeler.  UPitt’s Rehabilitation Science and Technology Department announced in July that it received a five-year grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research to support clinicians with post-doctoral fellowships to advance their careers in assistive...

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - To keep clinicians and ATPs ahead in the ever-evolving complex rehab industry, Numotion has updated its educational offerings, striking a balance between in-person and virtual learning.  “We want education to be accessible for learners and providing a variety of formats allows for the learner to select the option that works best for them,” said Britta Schwartzhoff, a Numotion clinical educator.  Designed specifically for PTs, OTs and ATPs, Numotion’s...

WASHINGTON – Medicare paid $30.1 million in repair costs for wheelchairs that exceeded the federally recommended limit during their reasonable useful lifetime, according to a new report from the Office of Inspector General.  Under Medicare, if the DME MACs determine that a beneficiary-owned wheelchair (after the 13-month rental period) will not last the full 5-year reasonable useful life (RUL), the supplier is responsible for replacing the wheelchair without charging the beneficiary...