Physical Therapist Barbara Crane has always found it difficult
to explain her job. She says that the English language can only
paint broad brush strokes about what she does day to day.
“All of what we do is very hard to understand when you try
to explain it in words, but it's easy to understand when you
actually see it,” says Crane, who is also a professor at the
University of Hartford in Connecticut.
The problem, Crane and other experts say, creates a fundamental
disconnect between the rehab industry and those who regulate it. So
this month, the National Coalition for Assistive and Rehab
Technology (NCART) is attempting to make the explaining easier. The
group is sponsoring its first Rehab Technology Fair and
Congressional Fly-in Feb. 14-15 in Washington, D.C.
One of NCART's objectives has been to carve out rehab technology
from DME being considered for competitive bidding, mandated to
start phasing in by 2007. To this end, during the fly-in the
association will display equipment at the Rayburn House Office
Building on Capitol Hill. Attendees will visit congressional
representatives and aides at their offices, then escort them to the
exhibit area for what is, in essence, a rehab show-and-tell.
“When talking to people on the Hill, it's been difficult
for [legislators] to understand the products we're talking about
and why they're different from traditional HME,” says NCART
Executive Director Sharon Hildebrandt. “So we decided to do a
show-and-tell: show them exactly what the [different pieces of]
equipment are, why they're needed, why a technical assessment is
needed, why [patients] need to be individually fitted, and to
demonstrate the service component.
“To my knowledge, this is the first time a rehab
technology fair has been held on the Hill,” Hildebrandt
adds.
The association is setting up various stations to demonstrate
different types of rehab and mobility assistance. One focuses on
the technical assessment a rehab technology supplier (RTS)
performs. Another features seating and positioning technology,
while others focus on alternative positioning and standing devices.
At each station, clinicians, Professor Crane included, show exactly
how each piece of equipment — be it a headrest, cushion or
tilt-in-space system — makes a person more independent.
Crane adds that, by merely sitting in a wheelchair, a legislator
can gain a much deeper understanding of what rehab equipment can
accomplish. “If you've used a [standard manual] wheelchair
and an ultra-light wheelchair and a power wheelchair, you really
know what they are and know what they can do.”
