Navigating Powerchair Among CES 2023 Innovation Winners

Thursday, January 12th, 2023

Photo credit: WHILL, Inc.

The Consumer Electronics Show, arguably the largest gathering of technology geeks, honored 14 assistive technologies at its 2023 show.

The CES Best of Innovation Award went to an electric powerchair that helps users navigate large, often crowded venues like parks, airports and hospitals. With the WHILL Autonomous Model A, a user selects the destination on a touch screen, hits start, and lets the chair do the rest. It uses advanced mapping technologies, the latest sensors, and automatic brakes to avoid obstacles and collisions. Reducing the need for airport staff/increasing independence … what’s not to like?

Other honorees included a bidet toilet lift to give mobility-impaired users privacy and dignity and a digital system to monitor and manage digestive disorders. There’s even a handheld smart makeup applicator! Check out the complete list in this AT Today article.

What new assistive technologies have you used or heard about? Please share!  Email Rick Wyche, rwyche@atfmedical.com

The CAPS Credential & Workers’ Comp

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2023

CAPS is a credential sometimes found after the names of construction professionals and other specialists involved in home modifications. It stands for Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist.

Aging in place (AIP) is a concept driven by the large numbers of baby boomers who want to stay in their homes rather than move to senior communities or assistive living facilities if they become impaired.

Developed by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) in cooperation with the AARP, the CAPS program teaches the business, technical and customer service skills needed to modify homes for AIP. NAHB administers the CAPS certification, which requires candidates to pass three day-long courses, typically held at building supply stores, builders’ association offices, or conference centers.

CAPS-certified contractors can be good partners in adaptive housing projects for injured workers. They’re accustomed to projects that accommodate mobility, balance and accessibility issues.

However, adaptive housing solutions for injured workers need to take more things into consideration, including their changing clinical needs and the weight and size of sophisticated rehab equipment. For example, a front-wheel drive powerchair has a large turning radius, requiring a wider door than the manual chairs typically used by older people. Power chairs, Hoyer lifts and other rehab equipment used in workers’ comp take up more room and can be much heavier than Medicare-covered equipment.

Additionally, the worker’s recovery outlook needs to be considered for cost-effective solutions. For example, a temporary ramp (pictured above) can be used when the injured worker is expected to be able to use stairs down the road.

It’s best to pair a CAPS-certified contractor with an Occupational Therapist (OT) or Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) who has a lot of experience in workers’ compensation. OTs and ATPs are better able to interpret medical records and progress notes from the rehab center and create precise specifications. They’re also more aware of rehab equipment and how to combine it with home modifications. In short, CAPS is a valuable certification for contractors and remodelers working on workers’ comp projects when they are integrated into teams with clinical specialists, which is ATF Medical’s approach.

We deliver a fully integrated mobility and accessibility solution–ALL the equipment, rehab technology, mobility products, vehicle mods, and adaptive housing projects that a complex workers’ comp case needs.

If you’d like to know more about our comprehensive solutions, please contact Rick Wyche at rwyche@atfmedical.com or Erin Zablocki at ezablocki@atfmedical.com.

 

ATF Medical’s Supervisor of Adaptive Housing Solutions Karissa Peffer Earns the CAPS Certification

Tuesday, December 20th, 2022

Karissa Peffer, our Supervisor of Adaptive Housing Solutions, just received her CAPS certification! CAPS stands for Certified-Aging-in-Place Specialist and is for professionals in the adaptive housing field.

Karissa works closely with contractors, complex rehab specialists, and occupational therapists to make sure that ATF Medical’s home modifications are appropriate for the conditions and lifestyles of our workers’ compensation patients.

In 2020, she earned the Certified Environmental Access Consultant (C.E.A.C.) certification. Both programs deal with the legal, ethical, and safety issues as well as the construction aspects of home modifications.

Karissa uses this knowledge to see that workers’ compensation patients can function safely in their homes while maximizing their mobility and accessibility.  Our goal is to equip injured workers to experience as much independence as possible, enjoy their lives, and return to work when possible.

“We’re exceptionally proud of Karissa who has strengthened her expertise by earning two certifications since joining ATF Medical in 2019,” said Erin Zablocki, CDME, Master C.E.A.C., ECHM. “We salute – and support – our associates’ efforts to pursue continuing education and certifications in their chosen field.

What Does the ADA Have to do with Workers’ Comp?

Thursday, December 15th, 2022

As you probably know, the ADA is the acronym for the Americans with Disabilities Act. Among many other things, the ADA provides design standards to ensure accessibility to public entities.

The operative word is public: office buildings, libraries, courthouses and other government buildings, restaurants, and shopping centers. ADA standards help create spaces designed to be used by the largest portion of the disabled population, regardless of the disability. It’s a one-size-fits-all approach. Hence buildings have ramps, wide halls, wheelchair-accessible restrooms, and features for the visually and hearing impaired.

Similarly, universal design is the “design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.” Again, universal design is for facilities, workplaces, and other public spaces.

Neither standard applies to residences. If they did, halls would be freakishly wide and lined with handrails and every bathroom would be wheelchair accessible.

It’s fine to use contractors with these certifications, but it’s not mandatory. These understand how to build and renovate to accommodate disabilities. But they are not necessarily used to adapting a single home for a single worker with specific functional limitations.

Workers’ comp adaptive housing solutions are extremely customized. At least, they should be. To that end, ATF Medical pairs an Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) Occupational Therapist (OT), and/or a Certified Environmental Access Consultant (C.E.A.C.) with the contractor. These experts take a clinical approach to combining rehab technology with adaptive housing solutions.

Each worker is different. Each condition is different, and each adaptive housing solution is different.

Our Executive Director/Rehab Technology Erin Zablocki, CDME, Master C.E.A.C., ECHM is an expert in adaptive housing solutions and would be happy to answer your questions about the ADA or clinically driven home modifications. Email her at ezablocki@atfmedical.com

 

What is a CHAMP Certification?

Thursday, December 8th, 2022

You may notice the initials CHAMP after the names of some rehab or construction professionals. It’s an acronym for Certified Home Assessment and Modification Professional. It’s also short for champion, of course, and professionals who improve the lives of seriously injured people are certainly champions.

Created just for workers’ compensation, CHAMP is a contractor and accessibility specialist home modification certification program. It was originally initially designed for contractors, but over time the content expanded to include case managers and claims representatives who want to better understand adaptive housing projects.

The first step to certification involves intense onsite training. The three-day course explains the workers’ compensation market and terms like medical necessity and disability and about common injuries and medical and functional status. Attendees also learn how to complete assessments and develop a scope of work along with accepted practices for estimating and timelines. The course also discusses products and services, e.g., lifts and medical equipment.

There is also a CHAMPConnect conference that brings claims representatives together with contractors to focus on housing issues and home modifications for injured workers.

ATF Medical promotes professional development among our staff. We are proud to have certified ATPs, CHAMPS, ECHMs, CEACs, CAPS and  more on our roster. Our new Manager of Rehab Technology Dave Bedard holds the CHAMP credential as well as the Assistive Technology Professional (ATP).

If you’re interested learning more about our adaptive housing solutions, please contact Erin Zablocki, our Executive Director of Rehab Technology at ezoblocki@ATFMedical.com.

 

Wheelchair Travelers

Wednesday, December 7th, 2022

The holidays are nearly upon us! And some of our workers’ comp patients who use wheelchairs — including those with spinal cord injuries — want to visit friends and family in distant areas.  This Rehab Management article offers advice for preparing them for traveling with their wheelchairs.

All-terrain Wheelchairs Make Outdoor Exploration Accessible

Monday, November 21st, 2022

Georgia recently made all-terrain wheelchairs available at 11 state parks and other outdoor areas. The Action Trackchairs’ tank-like tracks can climb rocks, forge streams, and clear fallen trees. In partnership with the Aimee Copeland Foundation, Georgia has made the great outdoors more accessible to people who use wheelchairs. Georgia joins other states, including Michigan, Minnesota, and Colorado in this outdoors-accessibility mission. For the details, check out this article.

 

 

 

 

Assistive Technology Facilitates Independence for Injured Workers

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2022

November is National Assistive Technology Month, the perfect time to highlight the ways assistive technology changes the lives of our injured workers.

First, what does the term “assistive technology” mean? The Assistive Technology Industry Association defines it as “any item, piece of equipment, software program, or product system that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of persons with disabilities.”

In workers’ comp, powerchairs, Hoyer lifts, sip-and-puff controls, computer accessibility systems, and vehicle mods come to mind. But it goes way beyond equipment and computers. Adapting a bathroom so an injured worker can shower alone is a form of assistive technology. As is installing a ramp to enable an injured employee to engage in the community more easily and even return to work.

Assistive technology changes lives.

A stairlift lets an injured worker see what’s upstairs in their home. Equipping wheelchairs with outdoor tires helps them check out their property or take their kids fishing. A vehicle lift means patients can travel.

In one case, a spinal cord injury left an injured worker bedridden and unable to do much of anything by himself. An environmental control unit empowered him to turn lights on and off, change TV channels, play games, and raise and lower his bed. The unit restored some control over his life.

Assistive Technology Reduces Claims Costs

Savings often come from avoiding costs. Installing a transfer unit that eliminates the need for a caregiver can save $50,000 a year. A tilt function on a powerchair helps patients with spinal cord injuries shift positions to prevent pressure injuries.

Critical to cost containment, though, are planning and implementation. Complex claims call for a team of experts in diverse specialties who collaborate on a solution for a particular injured worker. The team may be comprised of an Assistive Technology Professional (ATP), Certified Disability Management Specialist (CDMS), Occupational Therapist (OT), Certified Environmental Access Consultant (CEAC), Certified Assessment and Modification Professional (CHAMP), or a professional holding the Executive Certificate in Home Modification (ECHM) certification–among others.

The team needs to carefully consider the person’s clinical and functional condition, challenges, home, and goals. Then, they need to identify the best combination of medical equipment, accessibility technologies, and home modifications. The design needs to be outcomes-oriented. The solution should foster the injured employee’s recovery, mobility, and independence in the most cost-effective manner.

Too often this doesn’t happen because the team members don’t talk to each other. Medical equipment providers don’t collaborate with the occupational therapists (OTs) or the Assistive Technology Professionals (ATPs) or the home modification experts. Working in silos, they remodel a house without realizing its ceiling can’t support the lift or the floors can’t bear the weight of a 300-pound patient in a 450-pound power chair. So, the contractor widens doorways but not wide enough to accommodate a chair’s turning radius. Or the equipment doesn’t fit in the space.

Countless claims have been billed for expensive remodels or overly complicated equipment that the injured employee did not need or could not use. One company even received a home mod referral for a room addition to store durable medical equipment that wasn’t being used!

These errors drive claim costs, frustrate injured workers, and create problems for the adjusters. Lack of communication and coordination among providers account for these mistakes. Using an all-inclusive provider like ATF Medical eliminates potential competition and friction among the different entities.

ATF Medical’s Model

ATF Medical starts with a thorough assessment of the person’s physical, functional, and clinical condition and of their home. Then we assemble a team of credentialled experts to produce a solution that combines the most medically appropriate and cost-effective balance of equipment and technologies with adaptive housing changes.

Our service is comprehensive. We can just install a ramp if that’s all you need. But by partnering with leading manufacturers and contractors, ATF Medical delivers all the complex rehab technology a claim requires. Whether it’s sophisticated rehab chairs, custom manual chairs, specialty mattresses, vehicle lifts, home accessibility systems, and/or adaptive housing solutions … we do it all.

We plan and manage everything for you, too – all the ordering, delivery, and fitting. We educate the injured worker and their family on the use and maintenance of their assistive technology. We check on them after they’ve had a chance to use it to see how they’re doing and answer any questions. And we stay involved for the life of the claim, maintaining and repairing equipment and monitoring patients’ progress.

We also select and collaborate with contractors and manage the project scope, construction costs, and deadlines for adaptive housing projects. We make sure everything works and works together. And we communicate with claims reps every step of the way.

During Assistive Technology month, we’ll recognize some of our credentialled pros who help change the lives of injured workers. Be sure to give them a shout-out.

 

New Employee Spotlight: David Bedard

Tuesday, October 25th, 2022

Welcome David Bedard, our new Manager of Complex Rehab

David Bedard discovered his passion for medical equipment when he was a 17-year-old high school intern at Lowell Medical Instrument Company. This was in Lowell, Massachusetts, just north of Boston.

The company asked him to work for them after graduation, and he ended up staying 8 years. David did everything from posting payments to customer service to evaluating patients and helping them obtain equipment.

“The owner was my first mentor,” David said. “The store also carried medical instruments and I got great exposure to the rehab world there.”

After moving to Florida, David continued in the field for over 30 years. He has worked in just about every aspect of rehab technology, home modifications, and assistive technologies in retail and home health settings.

Over the years, he earned the Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) and the Certified Assessment and Modification Professional (C.H.A.M.P.) certifications. He has evaluated patients for custom mobility devices, created adaptive housing solutions, and recommended assistive technology to foster their independence and improve their quality of life. And he’s trained and managed others in the field.

Before coming to ATF Medical as Manager of Complex Rehab, he was with Orchid Medical, an ancillary provider specializing in workers’ compensation. He was a catastrophic care team leader for several years and later served as vice president of operations and vice president of quality assurance.

Now he oversees day-to-day operations and quality assurance for a team of ATF Medical’s ATPs and other professionals.

“We manage a claim from referral to finish, working through contractual agreements, evaluating patients, coordinating with the adaptive housing professionals, and ordering, delivering and fitting patients with equipment – everything,” David said. “And we communicate with claims representatives every step of the way.”

In addition, David coordinates ongoing training for our staff on products and services.

“ATF Medical has a real family atmosphere,” David said. “The culture is second to none – everyone welcomed me and made me feel like I’d been here for 20 years since day 1.”

He also appreciates company’s personal touch. “Unfortunately, this is a rare commodity these days,” David noted. “It’s refreshing to experience it as an employee and to be able to offer it to our clients and their injured employees.”

If you or someone you know is interested in joining the ATF Medical family, email Erin Zablocki at ezablocki@atfmedical.com.

New Employee Spotlight: Don Herbert, Senior Rehab Tech-Remote Monitoring Specialist

Tuesday, October 4th, 2022

ATF Medical welcomes Don Herbert as Senior Rehab Tech-Remote Monitoring Specialist. Don brings considerable mobility product knowledge and years of experience selling and repairing medical equipment to his new position at ATF Medical.

For nearly 15 years, he was a service manager for Sage Mobility & Sage Medical Supply in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. He previously held a similar position with another DME supplier in the state. In addition to overseeing daily operations for these companies, he built, installed and serviced equipment in people’s homes and vehicles and trained others to do the same. He started his career in the U.S. Army.

Now as our Senior Rehab Tech – Remote Monitoring Specialist, Don is building out and managing our teleservices model for evaluating equipment repairs.

“Video conferencing is a God send for this,” he said. Without a tele-evaluation for equipment repairs, injured workers can wait weeks just to have someone come to the house and determine what’s wrong and what it will take to fix it. That’s even before the parts can be ordered.

“We expedite parts orders and service repairs with these teleservice evals,” Don explained.

This is not just a matter of convenience, especially for patients with spinal cord injuries or other serious conditions. Without an operational powerchair, a workers’ comp patient may be stuck in bed, unable to get to doctors’ appointments, and limited in their ability to engage in many activities of daily living as our Executive Director of Sales, Market & Business Development Rick Wyche described in his WorkCompWire article.

In addition to his teleservice role, Don works with claims managers and clinicians to ensure that injured workers receive the rehab equipment, assistive technologies and adaptive housing solutions needed to foster independence and mobility and help them live fulfilling lives.

When asked about the difference between being on the DME supply side and working for ATF Medical, Don said, “Now, I get to work with so many more people and more directly with the people who use the products.”

When working on the DME supply side, Don fulfilled orders for equipment that someone else recommended. Now, he calls on his vast knowledge of manufacturers, products and features to help select the best combination of equipment, features, and adaptive housing solutions to meet an individual’s distinct needs.

And this is gratifying. “When we install a stair glide and making it possible for someone to go upstairs for the first time in years, it’s an amazing experience. You can see their lives change,” he said.

“I always wanted to help people and ATF Medical allows me to accomplish this on a grander scale than I ever imagined possible.”

Don gladly gave up a 75-mile round trip commute to work from home with ATF Medical, can be reached at dherbert@atfmedical.com. If you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting him yet, please shoot him an email.