News

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.

Exploring the ECHM Certificate

Wednesday, September 28th, 2022

The ECHM, Executive Certificate in Home Modification, is another credential some rehab professionals pursue.
The ECHM program focuses on maximizing home environments for disabled or elderly people. It’s designed for professionals working in the field of supportive home environments, such as remodelers/contractors, occupational and physical therapists, and Assistive Technology Professionals. Our Executive Director of Rehabilitation Erin Zablocki holds this certification among others.

The University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology offers the ECHM program. It involves five distinct on-line courses. Content covers assistive devices and home modifications to promote a person’s independence.

The classes also go into how to select a qualified contractor, negotiate for services, and read architectural plans. And there’s instruction on disease and function-specific modifications and ethics.

The whole point of home modifications, or as we call them—adaptive housing solutions—is to convert the environment to make performing tasks easier and support independent living. This can range from adding grab bars and ramps to complete kitchen remodels so an injured worker in a wheelchair can cook for themselves.

ATF Medical approaches these projects by evaluating the injured worker and the home and then deploying a team of experts in mobility, accessibility and construction to design and produce a new home setting for a specific injured or ill worker.

We evaluate rehab technology, assistive devices, and construction changes to create the most appropriate and cost-effective solution for a specific person. Our construction specialists select and oversee the contractors and ensure the work is completed on time and within budget. And we communicate with claims representatives every step of the way.

If you’d like more information on ECHM certification, please go to https://homemods.org/echm/ and to learn about ATF Medical’s adaptive housing solutions, contact Erin Zablocki, ECHM, CEAC at ezablocki@atfmedical.com.

Get Ready to Roll! The MWCEA Annual Conference Starts Sept. 18.

Wednesday, September 14th, 2022

MWCEA Annual Conference — Sept. 18-21

Pack those bags and head to Ocean City, Maryland for the Maryland Workers’ Compensation Education Association’s Annual Conference.

Be sure to visit ATF Medical’s Booth #82 and chat with Rick Wyche. He’ll tell you about the latest in rehab technology and how we can customize solutions for your injured worker.

Coming Soon: Maryland Workers’ Comp Conference

Thursday, September 1st, 2022

The 2022 MWCEA Conference

September 18 – 21, 2022

Make plans to attend the Maryland Workers’ Compensation Education Annual Conference (MWCEA).

ATF Medical’s Rick Wyche will be there, ready to tell you about the latest in rehab technology. There are more amazing accessibility and mobility products available now than ever. Find out how we can customize a solution for your injured worker.

The 2022 MWCEA Conference will be held September 18-21 at the Ocean City Fontainebleau Resort in Ocean City, MD.

Support CMS Coverage of Seat Elevation for Power Wheelchairs

Tuesday, August 30th, 2022

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

Visit ATF Medical at the GA Workers’ Comp Conference!

Monday, August 29th, 2022

From left: ATF Medical’s Rick Wyche, Erin Zablocki & Curt Moreen

Come by Booth 13 and say hello if you’re at The Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation Annual Educational Conference (Aug 29-31). We’d love to meet you…or see you again.

ATF Medical is sponsoring the conference’s Kid’s Chance Masquerade Extravaganza. Please join us in supporting this life-changing charity. There will be music, dancing, casino tables, and a silent auction and the fun starts at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 30.

Georgia is on Our Minds

Thursday, August 25th, 2022

The Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation Annual Educational Conference, that is.

Being held August 29-31 in Atlanta, the conference theme is “Return of the Champions” so visit ATF Medical’s Champions Erin Zablocki and Rick Wyche at Booth 13.

They’ll tell you all about our patient-protecting, cost-saving Pressure Injury Prevention & Intervention program and the latest in rehab technology.

The gala and the conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta Hotel. For more information and registration details, please click this link.

Autonomy for Workers with Spinal Cord Injuries

Thursday, August 18th, 2022

Photo courtesy of Accessibility Services, Inc.

A spinal cord injury left an injured worker paralyzed in both legs and one arm. While recovering in a rehabilitation center, he learned to use an environmental control unit—aptly named autonoME (pronounced autonomy).

With this sophisticated system he could raise and lower his bed, turn lights on and off, shift positions to prevent pressure injuries, watch TV and even change the channels. autonoME frees up aides and other caregivers, but more importantly, it gives the patient more control over his life.

So impressed with the patient’s ability to use the system, the treating physician prescribed this brand of ECU when the worker transferred to a long-term care residential facility. ATF Medical filled the prescription through . (lAccessibility Services, Inc. (ASI), a Florida-based company that produces customized ECUs and assistive speech technologies for hospital and residential use.

autonoME units are found in many VA hospitals and in the homes of veterans who have had spinal cord injuries. Also used by ALS patients, the units can be adapted to accommodate disease progression.

These units have a vast array of accessories and are highly customizable. Our patient’s unit was programmed so he can open and close doors, make phone or Zoom calls, watch Netflix, read books on Kindle, play games, and go on You Tube. And ASI continues to add apps.

autonoME Residential enables patients to control their thermostats and fans and open, close, and lock doors. If using wheelchairs, injured workers can let themselves in and out of the house and lock the door behind them.

The software easily integrates with mobile phones, automatic doors openers and RING-type consumer products so injured workers at home alone can see the person at the door before opening it. The system has chimes to alert caregivers in the home, and it can send SMS text messages to family members who aren’t at home when the patient needs them.

The software runs on a light-weight Microsoft Surface Pro tablet. Our patient operates his through voice activation. Touch (the tablet weighs only two and one-half pounds), head tracking, eye movement, and sip-and-puff technologies are also available.

Many workers who suffer traumatic accidents lose the ability to do the little things most people take for granted. Being totally dependent on caregivers for something as small as turning off a light is debilitating. Regaining function gives people more control over their activities, vastly improving the quality of their lives.

If you have an injured employee who could benefit from a system like this, please contact Rick Wyche, rwyche@atfmedical.com.

What Do CRT and CRTS Mean?

Monday, August 15th, 2022

Photo courtesy of Permobil

August 15-19 is National CRT Awareness Week, a good time to talk about CRT and CRTS.

CRT is a popular term that stands for all kinds of things, including cognitive rehabilitation therapy, critical race theory, and Certified Respiratory Therapist. But in our space, CRT refers to complex rehabilitation technology, which is medical equipment that is configured for a specific injured worker.

The need for customization distinguishes CRT from out-of-the-box durable medical equipment like walkers. CRT equipment and devices are adapted and configured to meet the functional, medical, social and physical needs of a specific person.

Many CRT devices deploy advanced electronics and controls to provide individual seating, positioning, and mobility. Some can be programmed to move patients who are unable to move or shift their weight at regular intervals, pressure relief techniques that prevent pressure injuries.

CRT equipment you’re likely to see on complex claims are:
• Sophisticated power chair systems
• Rehab exercise systems
• Vehicle lifts
• Customized manual wheelchairs
• Alternative seating & positioning products
• Gait trainers
• Standing devices

There is also a professional designation, CRTS, which stands for Certified Rehabilitation Technology Supplier. These professionals undergo a certification process, which includes courses on seating, mobility, and skin integrity. The National Registry of Rehabilitation Suppliers administers the certification.

A CRTS, Occupational Therapist (OT), Physical Therapist (PT) or an Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) performs a thorough evaluation of the injured worker, their environment and physical limitations. The specialist then researches options and recommends the rehab technology products. They also conduct the fittings and manage the programming while educating the injured worker on the equipment’s use and care.

ATF Medical works with state-of-the-art CRT manufacturers and our experts stay on top of the latest product releases and upgrades to ensure injured workers receive the most appropriate equipment for their conditions.

We manage the entire process—from referral through the lifetime of the claim, including maintenance and repairs.

Claims reps shouldn’t have to learn everything about the vast array of equipment and features. Nor should they have to deal with day-to-day ordering and scheduling issues.

If you’d like to know more about our CRT solutions, please contact Rick Wyche, rwyche@atfmedical.com

http://What is Complex Rehabilitation Technology (CRT) equipment? (permobil.com)

New Technologies Speed Wheelchair Repairs/Prevent Accidents

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