Watch the Bird-ie

Tapped as Medtrade group show director in July — with only three months to go until the fall expo and preparations underway for Medtrade Spring in a new location — Kevin Bird admits that tackling the job has not been his easiest challenge. But he's ready.

The 29-year-old Bird, who lives in Atlanta with wife Jennifer and 23-month-old daughter Alexis, has been with the show's producers since 1998. He has worked with Medtrade in various positions since 2000, most recently as national sales director. So Bird understands the ins and outs of HME — and the industry's current tumultuous conditions.

“Despite the lobbying efforts of AAHomecare and other organizations, competitive bidding is here, and that's the reality … I know competitive bidding is going to be a huge knock, but I also believe we are a strong industry, and if you have the will to survive, you can find other avenues to keep your business alive,” Bird says.

He intends to make sure providers can find those avenues at Medtrade, Bird adds, noting that the show will continue its dual role as both a buying and educational event. “Our goal has always been to provide the industry with an event that will give providers the education they need as well as the ability to meet with their manufacturers and to find out about new products on the show floor.

“That, in a nutshell, is Medtrade, and that's what it's always going to be,” he states.

According to Bird, with the advent of competitive bidding there are going to be two kinds of providers: “those with contracts and those without.” While in previous years providers have attended Medtrade to hunt down products, Bird says, “this year, in my estimation, they are coming to find out what their future is.”

And it's not only providers who are worried, he points out; the show's exhibitors are facing major changes themselves. “The concerns for providers are concerns for manufacturers as well,” Bird says. “[With the government] paying less per item, manufacturers are going to have to produce more of an item to get the same profit.”

But he aims to address exhibitors' needs, too, by broadening Medtrade's audience. “Our drive for the future will be to bring in referral sources, like clinicians, and provide the education that they need to get them here. We have already started that with NRRTS,” he notes. The organization will facilitate the show's rehab track this year wtih 16 sessions.