Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/45026
■ Invacare's Mark Sullivan has written a book on complex rehab and what it means for consumers. See story page 31. Two new documents to boost CRT .................. 29 NRRTS webinars welcome beginners ................ 29 What mobility means to quality of life ................ 29 How to get paid what you deserve for repairs . . . . . . . . . 30 Mobility WWW.HMENEWS.COM / NOVEMBER 2011 / HME NEWS 29 BRIEFS Scooter Store sued for disability discrimination FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – The Scooter Store vio- lated federal law when it allegedly refused to accommodate an employee's request for a temporary leave of absence due to a knee injury and then fired him from its store in Farmingdale, N.Y., according to a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Op- portunity Commission. Disability discrimi- nation, including the failure to reasonably accommodate an employee's disability, violates the Americans With Disabilities Act, the commission argues. In a statement to HME News, Mark Leita, vice president of external affairs and government relations, said: "The Scooter Store operates in full compliance with all state and federal laws including those that protect the rights of the disabled. However, the company will not comment further on this litigation." Roberts joins NRRTS Board of Directors WALSENBURG, Colo. – Katie Roberts, MS, ATP, CRTS, joined the NRRTS Board of Direc- tors as of Oct. 4. A NRRTS registrant since 2007, Roberts served on the NRRTS Edu- cation Committee in 2010 and 2011. She works for Cimarron Medical Services in Oklahoma City. NRRTS President Michele Gunn stated Roberts would bring "a fresh new perspective to the board." Advocacy award goes to Gerald Dickerson COLLEGE POINT, N.Y. – NRRTS and NCART honored Gerald Dickerson with the first- ever David T. Williams Advocacy Award at Medtrade in October. The award, named for the disability rights activist who passed away earlier this year, honors Dickerson for his efforts on both the state and fed- eral level. Dickerson is vice president for rehab technology at Medstar Surgical and Breathing in College Point, N.Y., and has been active in the industry since the early 1970s. NCART Medicaid Summit registration now open ST. LOUIS – Providers may now register on- line for NCART's National Medicaid Sum- mit. The Summit, which takes place Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 in St. Louis, offers attendees insight on Medicaid trends and CRT advo- cacy activities, and provides opportunities to network and share strategies. Register at http://ncart.us. CELA names keynote WASHINGTON – Paul Tobin, president and CEO of the United Spinal Association, will be keynote speaker for CELA 2012. Tobin urges everyone to continually challenge the limitations imposed by attitudes, medi- cal technology, society and government, according to the association's website. CELA is set to take place April 17-19 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel-Crystal City. Rehab stakeholders have an ear with CMS 'They're trying to understand our position' BY ELIZABETH DEPREY, Associate Editor BALTIMORE – CRT stakeholders in October had their second meeting in two months with CMS officials to discuss their con- cerns with Round 2 of competitive bidding. In their most recent meeting, stake- holders from NCART and The Clinician Task Force discussed these concerns: that manual and power wheelchairs are com- bined into one product category, and that K0005 ultra lightweight manual wheel- chairs and specialized adjustable wheel- chair cushions are included in the cat- egory at all. "They certainly had the right people in the room that need to be looking at this," said Don Clayback, NCART executive director. Twelve CMS officials were present, cov- ering the center's policy, competitive bid- ding and benefit integrity areas. The first meeting, in early September, gave stakeholders the opportunity to out- line their initial concerns; this second meeting gave them the opportunity to provide more in-depth information, Clay- Don Clayback back said. "I think it was a posi- tive meeting because we were able to go into a great deal of detail," he said. "Our message is the same as it was in Round 1. There's a small group of products that are not appropriate for competitive bidding, and those are the products that we're talking about." The complex rehab products included in the standard wheelchair category for Round 2 represent only 1% of all the prod- ucts in that category, Clayback said. "It's a small percentage, but it's an impor- tant percentage for people with more involved disabilities," he said. After the meeting, CMS officials asked for further information, including studies on cushions. Clayback planned to follow up within two to three weeks. "I don't think its something we'll have a quick decision on, but they certainly are tying to understand our position and are considering our requests," he said. HME NRRTS brings back the basics in 2012 BY ELIZABETH DEPREY, Associate Editor LARGO VISTA, Texas – Both new and long-standing NRRTS registrants will be able to find the CEUs they need in the group's 2012 webinar series if President Michele Gunn has anything to say about it. NRRTS offers webinars to regis- trants for free every year, with topics this year ranging from custom molding to funding. but when everything is cater- ing to us and it's all advanced and intermediate, it doesn't back up and welcome the new folks in." Another benefit to begin- ner courses: They could act as review for anyone study- ing for the SMS exam. Well-known speaker and educa- tor Michelle Lange is coordinating the topics and speakers for the 24 webinar offerings. "The goal is to have Michele Gunn Gunn is revamping the 2012 webinar program to include more classes for beginners, something she sees a real need for in the complex rehab technology community. "There isn't a whole lot of education out there for peo- ple entering the field," said Gunn. "Those of us who've been around for a little while, I guess we get a little jaded, more of a breadth of information, pick up some topics that maybe aren't fre- quently covered in webinars, and bring in some really solid speakers," said Lange, owner of Arvada, Colo.-based Access to Independence. Among the course topics Lange is most excited about: ethics, the pathophysiology of specific diagnoses, home accessibility and new posi- tioning technologies. HME Dressage equestrian and 2012 Paralympic hopeful Donna Ponessa shares the importance of mobility to lawmakers. Mobility advocate fights for providers BY ELIZABETH DEPREY, Associate Editor WINDSOR, N.Y. – Donna Ponessa might leave her wheelchair and ventilator behind when she competes in horseback riding, but mobility equipment and other HME is at the forefront of her mind when she supports the industry in Washington, D.C., and Albany, N.Y. Ponessa has Devic's disease, a rare autoimmune disorder in the same family as multiple sclerosis. She's had a tracheostomy for 20 years, uses a power wheelchair, ventilator, oxygen concentrator, catheter and a bed designed to prevent pressure sores. Despite all this, she is in the process of qualifying for the London Paralympics and works 24 hours a week for others with disabilities—that's on top of caring for her horses. "I live with a horrific disabil- ity, and yet my quality of life is so fantastic," said Ponessa. "If I were to lose that, I would lose ADVOCATE SEE PAGE 30 Group works to advance CRT BY ELIZABETH DEPREY, Associate Editor BETHESDA, Md. – Stakeholders will soon have two more official documents to support the importance of complex rehab technology (CRT) and, hope- fully, to lend weight to a separate ben- efit bill. Occupational therapists Tamara Kittelson-Aldred and Cindi Petito are taking the lead on developing the documents for the American Occupa- tional Therapy Association (AOTA). One of the documents, a policy fact sheet that will comprise a brief out- line of complex rehab technology and funding, as well as related occupation- al therapy services, could be ready as AOTA SEE PAGE 31 Coming soon: two documents that spell out technology, funding