The upcoming Medtrade show and conference in Atlanta will include a rehab general session that is being described as a keynote-type event by show director Kevin Gaffney.

The general session taking place on Tues., Oct. 28, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. is titled “The Future of Rehab & Assistive Technology: Opportunities & Lingering Threats.”

Panelists include Marty Ball (TiLite); Kendra Betz (Veterans Affairs’ Office of Prosthetics & Clinical Logistics); Jerry Keiderling (U.S. Rehab); Hymie Pogir (National Seating & Mobility); Mark Schmeler (University of Pittsburgh); and Cody Verrett (Quantum Rehab).

“Typically, the conference has been set up to where there’s a rehabilitative track and sessions,” Gaffney said. “What we’re doing this year is a general session, meaning this is the first session for rehab that will sort of kick off the conference. Think of it as a keynote for rehab.”

Gaffney said the general session would be open to all Medtrade attendees. Additional rehab sessions will be held on Wednesday and Thursday.

The panel discussion will give rehab stakeholders the chance to discuss and explore major, timely industry topics, Gaffney said, adding that the session would “take the three most prominent areas within the industry and give them more exposure.”

Unlike the rehab sessions on Wednesday and Thursday, and the Continuum of Care on Tuesday before Medtrade begins, the general session will not address hard-core clinical issues and processes, Gaffney said. He called the keynote “a high-level overview of that segment of the industry. Kind of like the (main) keynote this year is the state of the industry, and we’ve got these CEOs coming in to give a snapshot of the overall HME industry, these (rehab) guys are coming in to do a Q&A panel just on the rehab part of the industry.”

Gaffney added that more keynote events at future Medtrade shows might be forthcoming for other segments such as respiratory, if the rehab version is well received. For more information on the Medtrade event and conference – at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Oct. 28-30 – go to www.medtrade.com.