Sen. William Frist, M.D., has joined the Board of Directors of National Seating & Mobility (NSM) as a Special Advisor.

In a Feb. 4 news announcement, NSM said Frist “will provide insight, counsel and strategic guidance on national and state policy affecting the complex rehab technology and home access industries.”

Frist, a heart and lung transplant surgeon, was a two-term Senator from Tennessee and the Senate Majority Leader from 2003 to 2007. NSM said of Frist in the announcement, “As a U.S. Senator, and the first practicing physician elected to the Senate since 1928, he actively shaped national policy for individuals with disabilities as Chairman of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Disability Policy.”

Frist is an adjunct professor of cardiac surgery at Vanderbilt University and speaks frequently on healthcare reform, government policy, global health, education reform, and volunteerism.

NSM CEO Bill Mixon said, “Senator Frist has a deep knowledge of the healthcare marketplace and is well respected for his contributions to life-changing health policies. His role as a special advisor to the NSM board will strengthen our industry’s work to introduce constructive policy changes in support of individuals with mobility challenges.”

In the announcement, Frist added, “NSM improves the daily lives and well-being of hundreds of thousands of individuals with disabilities and their family members in communities all across America. It is an honor to continue as I did in the Senate to shape policy and facilitate independence for these individuals with disabilities and for those with profound healthcare challenges.”