Photo: Courtesy of Permobil

CMS is taking comments as it decides if it should cover seat elevation systems for power wheelchairs.

Among other things, Medicare requires durable medical equipment (DME) to “primarily and customarily be used to serve a medical purpose and make a meaningful contribution to the treatment of the individual’s illness or injury…when used in the home.”

Workers’ comp pros know these systems facilitate safe transfer to other surfaces and improve circulation and skin integrity– helping prevent pressure injuries (wounds.) Seat elevation also reduces the risk of muscle strain that comes from wheelchair users constantly looking and reaching upward.

The comment period, open until Sept. 14, gives workers’ comp a chance to help CMS understand these medical benefits.

There are links to great resources in Laurie Watanabe’s Mobility Management article.

Submit your comments here and email a copy to ezablocki@atfmedical.com

Other Links:

NCA – Seat Elevation Systems as an Accessory to Power Wheelchairs (Group 3) (CAG-00461N) – Submit Public Comments (cms.gov)

Industry Rallies Support During Seat Elevation Comment Period — Mobility Management (mobilitymgmt.com)

In case you missed it, Apple is adding accessibility features to iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watches. These can make big differences in the lives of injured workers.

The company is rolling out Live Captions on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac to help people with hearing impairments more easily follow audio content while streaming, using a phone or FaceTime, or video conferencing.

Apple is also introducing Door Detection to help people who are blind or have poor vision navigate new environments.

And its Apple Watch Mirroring empowers people with upper body limb challenges to use iPhone assistive features like Voice Control and Switch Control from their Apple Watches. Hand gestures can answer or end a call or pause media without the person having to tap the display.  Available later this year, these features and more are described in this article from Rehab Management.

This post was written by Rick Wyche, ATF Medical’s Senior Director of Business Development

Joe Paduda’s blog post on buying workers’ compensation services was dead-on. If you missed it, please take a minute to read it. Paduda discussed the fact that some people tend to look at a lot of services as commodities – and acknowledged that some of them are. He cited pharmacy benefit management (PBMs) as an example, mentioning that the larger PBMs have bigger buying power.

“In contrast, think clinically oriented services, those delivered to high-need patients, e.g., powered wheelchairs.”

Now he was singing my song!

“What matters is NOT the buying power of the supplier, but it’s the customer-centricity, depth of knowledge, flexibility, and adaptability. The power wheelchair has to be the right weight, carrying capacity, have the right functionality, fit through the right width and height, and meet the user’s functional restrictions,” Paduda continued.

I covered this topic in detail in WorkCompWire. Specialized equipment for workers with complex injuries is a high-touch prospect. Whether the company is large or small, its people need long-term, deep relationships with manufacturers, lots of education, and to stay current with the latest trends and technologies. Most important, the company has to deliver amazing service to injured workers and to workers’ comp payers.

ATF Medical’s professionals conduct clinical evaluations and leverage our in-depth product knowledge and experience when recommending the precise equipment and components for your injured worker. Considerations include:
• Current medical status and expected changes
• The living space
• Available and upcoming technologies and products
• Transportation needs
• Nursing care arrangements
• Family/support system

We have all kinds of certified specialists on staff: occupational therapists, assistive technology professionals, rehab technology specialists, environmental access consultants, durable medical equipment specialists, and home modification experts. Depending on the diagnoses, we build a team to create a unique solution for your injured worker.

And, I know everyone says “unique solution,” but there is no other way to adequately describe it. There are so many components, people, and perspectives that go into an ATF Medical recommendation. It’s not a product or a single service. It truly is a solution.

We order everything for you, handle all the deliveries and set up and oversee any renovations. There’s no deliver and drop. We make sure injured workers are fitted properly and they and their families understand how complicated equipment works and who to call with questions. We check in with them and monitor injured workers’ progress, suggest changes. We repair and maintain equipment – and we keep the adjusters, case managers, and other claims reps informed every step of the way.

Same thing with adaptive housing services. Everything is customized to the needs of a particular worker’s condition and living space and designed to work efficiently and cost effectively with their medical equipment. We’re all about increasing their quality of life and without wasting your money.

Complex injuries call for complex solutions. When that’s what you need, call 877-880-4283 or ask your home health company, TPA, or insurance company to ask for us.

Robert was injured when a 1700-pound pallet fell on him, leaving him a complete paraplegic. Then he developed an infection in his leg that resulted in an amputation.

He had been struggling for a year trying to get his wheelchair (not from ATF Medical) to work with his lifestyle when his case was referred to ATF Medical and he met Rehab Specialist, Kevin Wallace, ATP, CRTS.

His manual TiLite TRA was fine for indoor use, but Robert needed to be able to wheel around his roughly two-acre property. Much of his land is hilly, and he likes to hunt and fish and enjoy his creek. Also, his property sits next to a national park with trails he wanted to explore.

But most of all, he wanted to be able to take his two-year-old daughter on his nature excursions.

Upon receiving the case, Kevin called Robert to discuss his injuries and capabilities, lifestyle and terrain, and his desire to bond with his little girl. Having previously worked in pediatrics, Kevin knew nothing on the market had a toddler seat attachment.

So, he went to work designing a way to attach and remove a toddler bicycle seat easily and safely. Robert and his fabulous case manager bought into the concept, and Kevin made a mount for a rack, connected it to a freewheel extension.

The big moment came when he attached the toddler seat to the chair. The expression on Robert’s face was priceless.

“His chair has a dump to it, to keep him positioned in the back of the chair, and his daughter can sit in front, facing him. He can keep an eye on her and see what’s happening in front of them,” Kevin explained.

Kevin also switched out the rims and tires with larger, sturdier rims and big knobby tires, careful to keep the seat-to-floor height. Now, Robert can easily access parts of his property that he hadn’t laid eyes on since his injury. He can also use a single handle to easily detach the freewheel device and seat, when riding without his little passenger.

This is just another example of how ATF Medical goes above and beyond to help injured employees live their best lives. With innovation and caring about the injured person’s desire to enjoy the outdoors and introduce nature to his little girl, Kevin made Robert’s desires a reality.

Our Senior Coordinator of Adaptive Housing Solutions Karissa Peffer recently received the Certified Environmental Access Consultant (CEAC) certification. Karissa, who coordinates adaptive housing solutions, works closely with contractors and rehabilitation specialists and therapists, to make sure injured workers’ home modifications are appropriate for the injured worker’s physical condition and lifestyle.

The CEAC course covers the impact of a disability on home and work environments as well as function and safety, along with legal and ethical obligations. Learn more here.

Applying that knowledge to housing solutions within the workers’ compensation industry requires creativity, clinical knowledge, logic, and a great deal of organization. “Karissa has them all,” said ATF Medical’s Executive Director of Rehab Technology, Erin Zablocki, CMDE, CEAC, ECHM. “The CEAC designation tells our clients and future clients that Karissa is highly qualified to help them customize solutions that maximize their injured workers’ independence, physical capabilities, and enable them to enjoy life to the fullest.”

ATF Medical strongly supports continuing education, giving its team members time off to attend courses like this and reimbursing fees.  We want to make sure our clients receive the most innovative solutions possible.

Join us in congratulating Karissa.  You can contact her at Kpeffer@atfmedical.com.

Considering a home mod without clinical input? What could go wrong? Unnecessary changes and expenses? A shower chair that hangs out of the shower? Complete kitchen renovations and upgrades, when minor changes would work? ATF Medical’s Erin Zablocki tells you how to make sure your adaptive housing programs fit the injured worker’s condition and lifestyle in this WorkCompWire article.