WASHINGTON--It's not every day the HME industry can get five lawmakers and 45 congressional aides to leave their offices and walk over to an adjacent office building to learn about rehab equipment.

But House members did just that last month at the National Coalition for Assistive and Rehab Technology Congressional Fly-In, held Feb. 14-15 at the Rayburn Office Building near the Capitol. Eighty-eight people registered for the event, which was essentially a show-and-tell of rehab technology. Consumers, along physical and occupational therapists, were able to show lawmakers and their staffers the what's, how's and why's behind individual rehab technology assessments.

The association set up various stations to demonstrate different types of rehab and mobility assistance. One focused on the technical assessment a rehab technology supplier performs. Another featured seating and positioning technology, while others focused on alternative positioning and standing devices. At each station, end-users and clinicians showed how each piece of equipment can make a person more independent.

Congress members who attended included Reps. Howard Coble, R-N.C.; Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa.; James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis.; Jim Cooper, D-Tenn.; and Katherine Harris, R-Fla.

NCART Executive Director Sharon Hildebrandt said the event served as a valuable educational opportunity for lawmakers and their aides. "They had no idea rehab and assistive technology was as [complex] as it was," she said. Before the event, "they just thought, 'a power wheelchair is a power wheelchair is a power wheelchair.'"