It is no secret that the Complex Rehab Technology (CRT) industry is an aging one, professionally speaking. In May 2019, I quoted the University of Pittsburgh’s Mark Schmeler, Ph.D., OTR/L, ATP, who said the average age of an industry Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) — which includes clinicians — was 52. The age of the average…
Commentary: How RISE Could Impact CRT’s Next Generation of Clinicians
Commentary: Remembering Dan Diestel, DIESTCO Manufacturing
It takes a village to create mobility independence.
The high-tech segments of seating and wheeled mobility get most of the headlines, I know. The electronics, the carbon fiber and titanium, the smart technology, the ever-more-nimble power bases and ever-more-versatile power seating certainly have their allure. But in more than two decades of covering Complex Rehab Technology and mobility, I’ve learned that independence and…
Commentary: ‘Barbie Goes to Seating Clinic’ is Kenough
Mobility Management story on wheelchair rider Barbie’s “seating eval” wins an ASBPE national silver award.
This week, Mobility Management’s 2024 story “Barbie Goes to Seating Clinic” earned a national silver award from the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE), after receiving an ASBPE regional silver award in April. I realize that paragraph might not make a lot of sense to you — sort of like having only one HCPCS…
Commentary: The Promise of Bariatric Seating and Wheeled Mobility
It’s about more than just steel frames and wider seats.
I’m thrilled that Mobility Management is now publishing quarterly newsletters to focus on specific topics within Complex Rehab Technology (CRT) — and we’re kicking off the series with bariatric mobility. Given all the different specialties within CRT, why bariatrics? One reason is the relative scarcity — it seems to me, anyway — of bariatric mobility…
Commentary: Dr. Oz Wants Prevention? He Should Embrace CRT
Complex Rehab Technology could be a cost-effective investment for the new CMS administrator.
After his first week as the new administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Mehmet Oz, M.D., shared four goals that embody the “Make America Healthy Again” mandate of President Donald Trump. Here’s #4: “Shifting the paradigm for health care from a system that focuses on sick care to one that fosters…
Commentary: What Schoolhouse Rock’s ‘Bill’ Would Want You to Know About Policy
Bills S. 247 and H.R. 1703 to upgrade ultralightweight wheelchair frames are currently in the Senate and House.
I grew up watching Schoolhouse Rock! between Saturday-morning cartoons. While those short videos on grammar, math and American history were great for my education — the preamble song is why my entire civics class scored 100% on that quiz — one video had an outsized impact on my understanding of the legislative process. “I’m Just…
Commentary: 4 Takeaways from RESNA’s Lying Posture Care Management Position Paper
Optimal positioning when lying down can impact CRT clients’ waking hours, as well.
When getting into bed requires little or no effort, it’s easy to take lying down comfortably for granted. But last week, a new position paper from the Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) addressed bed as a place of pain and discomfort for too many clients with positioning challenges. The paper…
Commentary: Will New ‘Wicked’ Movie Defy Wheelchair Stereotypes?
For the first time, Nessarose, aka the Wicked Witch of the East, is portrayed by a real-life wheelchair rider.
I’ve always loved The Wizard of Oz movie (flying monkeys notwithstanding), and I’ve seen Wicked, the musical prequel about the unlikely friendship between Glinda/Galinda the Good Witch and Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, several times on stage. But I’ve always felt conflicted about Wicked because of how Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose, is portrayed. She’s…
Commentary: 3 Takeaways from the DOT’s $50 Million American Airlines Fine
Why this historic penalty could change the way airlines treat wheelchair riders and their equipment.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) has fined American Airlines $50 million, saying in an October announcement that the carrier “failed to provide safe, dignified, and prompt wheelchair assistance and mishandled passengers’ wheelchairs.” This is hardly the first time airlines’ poor treatment of wheelchair riders and their equipment has made the news. But this particular DOT…
Commentary: CRT As Prevention? What a Concept!
A new report published by VGM & Associates suggests Medicare competitive bidding has run its course.
A new report, authored by Brian Leitten of Leitten Consulting and published by VGM & Associates, contends that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has taken the wrong perspective of durable medical equipment (DME) for at least for the last two decades. The 2003 Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act gave rise…