The seating & mobility industry turns its attention northward next week, as clinicians, providers and assistive technology manufacturers head to the International Seating Symposium (ISS) in Vancouver, B.C.
The 28th annual meeting is presented and sponsored by Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children, the University of British Columbia’s Interprofessional Continuing Education, and the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences Continuing Education.
The symposium, which takes place this year at the Westin Bayshore, attracts clinicians and providers from around the world who specialize in seating & positioning.
The event begins Tuesday, March 6, with half-day and full-day pre-symposium sessions. Topics include Aging with a Disability: Clinical & Research Perspectives; Key Topics in Rehabilitation for Persons with Obesity; Practical Approaches to Pressure Ulcer Prevention & Management; and Custom Seating System Fabrication.
The main symposium kicks off at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 7, with opening remarks from Maureen E. O’Donnell, M.D., the symposium moderator and executive director of Child Health B.C.
The keynote address, by John Patrick, MB, BS, MRCP, MD, will follow. Patrick’s topic is Ethics: Caring for Individuals with Disability – The Tyranny of the Measurable & What Individuals with Disability Teach Us About Meaning. Patrick is a professor of the History of Science, Medicine & Faith at Augustine College, Ottawa, Ontario.
The main symposium goes on March 7-9, with instructional sessions, 15-minute paper sessions and poster presentations taking place, along with a seating & technology exhibit hall. More than 60 manufacturers are participating.
Extracurricular activities include An Evening at the Aquarium, sponsored by PDG Product Design Group and The Comfort Company at the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park on March 8.
ISS takes place in Vancouver in even-numbered years, and in the United States in odd-numbered years.
The 2013 symposium is March 5-9 at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tenn. The call for papers opens March 12.
