Sunrise Medical has added a pair of manual mobility courses to its educational offerings.

The two sessions are called “Pediatric Thoughts, Ideas & Solutions: Considerations When Choosing Seating & Mobility Solutions” and “Manual Mobility: Adult Rigid-Frame Wheelchair Technology for Function & Performance.”

Sharon Pratt, PT, Sunrise’s director of education, said the new course offerings reflect current educational needs among complex rehab professionals.

“Our clinical audience,” Pratt says, “is craving more and more education, especially when it comes to fitting and selecting manual and pediatric wheelchair bases. Our new sessions will prepare the attendee to take their clients from eval to reimbursement.”

The pediatric session will include discussion of the differences between the pediatric and the adult pelvis, as well as early intervention perspectives and management of tone. Case studies – live and/or documented – will help to demonstrate hands-on evaluations and matching those findings with appropriate technology. Attendees will also work to create a letter of medical necessity for the equipment that’s been recommended.

The adult manual mobility session will explore the science of the rigid manual wheelchair, including factors such as lighter weights, greater efficiencies and greater maneuverability. Propulsion, wheeling and rolling resistance will also be discussed, and attendees will learn about client and environmental assessments as part of the equipment process. Wheelchair setup and configuration will be discussed in detail, as will documentation requirements.

The new day-long sessions join Sunrise’s existing “Power Tech” and “Seating for Function & Mobility” courses. The new peds and adult manual mobility courses will be taught by Pratt and by Stacey Woods, OT.

Claudia Amortegui, president of the Orion Group, will lead the funding portions of the classes.

To view a list of the sessions’ locations and dates, visit sunrisemedicaleducation.com.