Mobile Homes

There's little doubt that advancing technology will continue to mean new options for those in need of mobility equipment and residential surroundings that promote an independent lifestyle.

But the existence of new options, in and of itself, doesn't necessarily mean that end users will either know what they are or which choices are the most appropriate for a given situation. To make optimum choices, consumers need the kind of education and expertise that home medical equipment manufacturers and dealers are well-equipped to provide.

This educational process, according to experts, is still a work in progress.

“The industry is not as sophisticated as it should be in dealing with the end user,” says Don Newland, marketing manager for Brampton, Ontario-based Concord Elevator. Concord makes, among other products, incline wheelchair lifts and stair lifts.

“The technology of [HME] products is great, but we as an industry need to be communicating that to the end user,” he adds. “Fortunately, more and more folks in our industry are starting to do things with education.”

Education, he believes, is critical, because in many instances the need — such as injury or disease — for an adaptable home occurs without warning and “so much is thrust on the end user so suddenly.”

Newland says Concord works with its approximately 70 dealers to disseminate product information to end users in a variety of ways. This process could be as basic as placing literature in the waiting rooms of occupational and physical therapists. The literature addresses such topics as the comparison of using a lift versus a ramp for residential access.

The company also encourages its dealers to hold an open house for their customers. As part of the proceedings, Concord will send its “ambassador at large” Skip Wilkens, a noted wheelchair athlete, to speak to both dealers and consumers.

Often, a knowledgeable and experienced dealer is the best way for an HME manufacturer to spread the word to the end user about its products. Such is the case with Gloucester, Va.-based Accessible Environments, dealer for Otto Bock Health Care, which makes a line of bath safety products.

Earl Weis, who founded Accessible Environments three decades ago, consults with customers on their universal design needs and then recommends solutions. Perhaps his most important credential is a degree in practical knowledge.