ATLANTA (October 24, 2017)—American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) team members expressed empathy and optimism on day two of Medtrade at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

“When I see people going out of business after 30 years, 20 years—second and third generation—it gets to me,” said Tom Ryan, president and CEO, AAHomecare, during the organization’s Washington Update on Tuesday morning. “It gets to our team. That’s why we fight every day.”

ATLANTA (October 24, 2017)—Barbara Smith has been selected as the winner of the 2017 HME Woman of the Year award.

The award was presented to Smith at a ceremony held at the Medtrade Home Medical Equipment Conference and Expo in Atlanta, Georgia. She was one of four finalists selected to attend the conference and the special award presentation.

WATERLOO, Iowa (October 24, 2017) VGM Group has rebranded AHIA, its division that works with companies that remodel homes for aging in place and mobility impaired, to VGM Live at Home.

The announcement was made during Medtrade Convention and Expo in Atlanta, Georgia. VGM officials credit the evolution of the home safety market as a key factor in its decision to rebrand.

ATLANTA (October 23, 2017)—Eight finalists in the 2017 Innovative HME Retail Product Awards, sponsored by HomeCare Magazine, took 3.5 minutes each on day one of Medtrade to state their case as to why their product was the best to boost cash sales.

Eight Finalists

ATLANTA (October 23, 2017)—GF Health Products, Inc. (“Graham-Field”) is pleased to announce the purchase of its new Global Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. This planned facility, stretching into two counties in the Atlanta metropolitan region, will unite the company’s corporate headquarters, customer showroom, and regional distribution center.

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (October 23, 2017)—PlayMaker, a provider of sales solutions for post-acute care, today announced PlayMaker Edge for HME. Built specifically to address the needs of home medical equipment providers, PlayMaker Edge for HME combines comprehensive and timely market data and the provider’s referral data with industry-leading relationship management tools to empower sales organizations to remain competitive and drive growth.

WATERLOO, Iowa (October 23, 2017)—VGM officials announced they are now accepting proposals from prospective speakers for the 17^th annual Heartland Conference.

With more than a dozen education tracks to fill, conference organizers are looking for presenters to offer their expertise on a variety of topics including business leadership and management, retail, sleep and respiratory, rehab, operations, sales and marketing, home accessibility and regulatory to name a few.

Salvaging MACRA Implementation Through Medicare Advantage
Recently, Peter S. Hussey and colleagues considered the effects of MACRA on Medicare spending and use and how the effects might differ under various scenarios. (John O’Shea/Health Affairs Blog)

ATLANTA (October 20, 2017)—The rumor is true. Show organizers are concluding this year’s Medtrade with a $5,000 cash giveaway. Qualifying to receive the prize is fairly easy.

To enter the cash giveaway drawing, attendees will receive cash giveaway cards at registration, along with their badges. Attendees must take their cards to the booths of 10 sponsors and get the cards stamped at each sponsor’s booth. The list of sponsors will be shown on the cards.