Mobility

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – National Seating & Mobility replaced long-time CEO Bill Mixon with Tony Ueber in April only to replace him with CFO Chuck Bodner about three months later. Here’s what Bodner, who is serving as interim CEO, had to say about navigating the company through this turnover in leadership.  HME News: How long had you served as CFO before being appointed to interim CEO?  Chuck Bodner: I have served as CFO since April 2022 and prior to joining NSM I have spent...

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Numotion has launched SpinKids, a brand dedicated to the mobility and equipment needs of the pediatric market.  SpinKids, which operates as the newest segment of SpinLife, offers a range of products from bath seats and car seats to wheelchairs, strollers and gait trainers. It also provides comparisons of top products based on expert and customer input.  “We are extremely excited to announce the launch of SpinKids,” said Bret Barczak, chief marketing...

WASHINGTON – A new bill in the U.S. House of Representatives would allow Medicare beneficiaries to pay the difference to upgrade to a titanium or carbon fiber manual wheelchair.  Right now, if a consumer wants a titanium or carbon fiber manual wheelchair, they must pay for the full cost of the wheelchair out of pocket, have their provider file a non-assigned claim on their behalf and, if approved, wait to receive 80% of the Medicare allowable.  “These numbers aren’t...

WATERLOO, Iowa, and WASHINGTON – U.S. Rehab and NCART have teamed up on a new survey to assess the impact of today’s radically changed business climate on the financial health of complex rehab technology companies.  The survey, conducted by Christy Ryken and her Strategic Marketing Services team at the University of Northern Iowa, seeks to gauge the impact of inflation and supply chain disruptions, as well as increased wages and shipping costs, says Wayne Grau executive director...

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Elaine Stewart, an ATP, CRTS, for National Seating & Mobility, has been involved in a leadership capacity at NRRTS for about 15 years, working her way up from chair review to past president, so when she says it’s important to be involved, she walks the talk.   Stewart, who, along with Carey Britton, was recently named a Simon Margolis Fellow, talked with HME News about why NRRTS is instrumental to the complex rehab industry and why she thinks the organization’s...

WASHINGTON – A recent fly-in and product expo organized by NCART and NRRTS was the perfect opportunity to lay the groundwork for several of the complex rehab industry’s top priorities, including getting CMS to move forward with coverage for power standing systems.   More than 200 attendees participated and more than 200 “congressional connections” were made as part of the virtual fly-in on Sept. 13.  “Efforts to get CMS to open the comment period...

WASHINGTON – Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., are asking CMS to conduct a full review of its national coverage determination (NCD) for mobility assistive equipment for Medicare beneficiaries, including its interpretation of the “in-the-home" requirement.  Current Medicare coverage limitations on equipment used outside the home can limit a beneficiary’s access to mobility equipment and their communities,...

INDIANAPOLIS – Rehab Medical’s new Express Service Center is on a mission to turn around wheelchair repairs in five days.  “We want to set the standard for how patients should be serviced,” said Jarrad Rankin, vice president of operations for the company. “I've been in this industry 18 years and the model hasn't changed, but everything else around us is changing and there's a lot of technology out there. So, we're trying to use a combination of...

TAMPA, Fla. – Toby Cummings has been leading various associations most of his professional career, but in his newest gig, as CEO of the National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association, he might have found the “perfect opportunity.”  “My dad was a Ford dealer in Nebraska,” he said. “That has raked on me. I’ve missed the roots of the automobile industry and so in that way this was the perfect opportunity. I also enjoy working more with companies as...

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Numotion’s new website dedicated to urological supplies significantly expands the company’s presence in the intermittent catheter market, company officials say.  Numotion has provided caths since 2014 to leverage the synergies with its core business of providing complex power wheelchairs, but the products were “buried” in the company’s main website, says Bret Barczak, chief marketing officer and executive vice president of Numotion’s...