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Welcome to the NSM Monthly Minute

January 2022 | In This Issue:

  • Please Take Our 4 Question Survey: Your Feedback Will Inform Future Content
  • Ask Congress to Make CRT Telehealth Permanent Post-Pandemic
  • Monthly Product Showcase: Perks of Power Assist
  • NSM Client Spotlight: Stacey Rinehart’s Smile Projects His Love for the Life He’s Been Given

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Please Take Our 4 Question Survey: Your feedback will help inform future content

As we begin another year together, we want to thank you for your partnership. We are honored to continue to work alongside you to help your patients gain more independence and achieve better health outcomes associated with their customized mobility solutions.

We recognize that our Monthly Minute readership levels could improve. That is why we are requesting you to take a short survey for us to better understand how we can improve upon the information we include in the Monthly Minute. Please click the button below to take a short survey.

Thank you for trusting us to serve you and your patients. Because of you, many are able to give thanks for greater mobility, safety and improved health this year.

Ask Congress to Make CRT Telehealth Permanent Post-Pandemic: Take One Minute to Make a Difference

Congress continues to deliberate which of the current COVID-19 related telehealth flexibilities will be made permanent following the Public Health Emergency (PHE) post-pandemic. CRT stakeholders have been communicating to their Members of Congress that telehealth flexibilities for CRT must be made permanent beyond the PHE to continue to offer needed CRT options and important benefits to individuals with disabilities.

The CRT Telehealth Position Paper can be found at www.protectmymobility.org. We are asking all CRT advocates to use the link at this website to send a pre-written email to their Members of Congress asking for support. Please click the button below and take three minutes to send your message to help ensure continued access.

Monthly Products Showcase: Perks of Power Assist

Life should be lived to the fullest, and a power assist device can help make that more achievable for many manual wheelchair users. Whether you’re sightseeing on vacation or running your day-to-day errands, power assist can give you a little bit of an extra push when you need it most. While power assist isn’t new, thanks to advancements in technology and design, more options are currently available than ever before. 

Overview

In the simplest terms, power assist provides manual wheelchair users with power when they need it. Power assist: 

  • Requires less force to propel, reducing the number of pushes needed to go the same distance;
  • Makes it easier to propel over difficult terrains such as grass, gravel, carpet, curb cuts, ramps and inclines;
  • Allows users to do more while using less energy, which helps fight fatigue and overuse injuries, such as carpal tunnel and rotator cuff problems. “Power assist helps give people the ability to do more,” said Mike Salvi, director of mobility and seating at Invacare. “But it also helps prevent pain, fatigue and injury. Power assist can help reduce the risk of upper extremity injury due to decreased burden and helps users maintain more neutral joint positions.” 

Benefits to users include:

  • Greater connectivity: Bluetooth gives you the ability to control speed and customizable settings with an app. It’s now possible to control some products without being in the chair, making it easy to store when not being used.  
  • Safety: Many products offer increased speed to cross busy streets or assisted braking when going downhill, helping to make daily life a little more safe. 
  • Improved drivability and transportability: Thanks to continued innovations, products continue to get lighter and easier to remove for travel, while engines are becoming stronger and more efficient, helping you get where you’re going with a little less hassle. 

Types

Manual wheelchair users have two main options when it comes to power assist: power assist wheels or an add-on unit. In deciding between the two, experts suggest taking stock of your goals and finding the right combination of options that fit your lifestyle.

For example, the Invacare SMOOV one is an innovative electric drive that you can easily dock on to and off your wheelchair whenever you need some extra power. This modern and sporty power unit significantly increases the driver’s mobility and range. Operating the SMOOV is easy thanks to an ergonomic control unit that mounts to just about anywhere on the chair. The SMOOV one and the control unit can both be charged using the included magnetic charging cable.  Customize your driving experiences using the SMOOV one app.

There's also the Permobil SmartDrive MX2+ which gives you freedom to do more. Pushing a manual wheelchair can put stress on the upper body and lead to serious issues in the future. SmartDrive was created with manual wheelchair users in mind. The mounting location, the ergonomic handle, the weight, and the OmniWheel were all designed to create a seamless power assist experience. The SmartDrive gives you the freedom to do more. It moves with you and it’s so lightweight, you don’t even know it’s there.  It is compatible with your active lifestyle.

You and your care team should consider functional and comfort levels as well as safety when making decisions about which product might work best. If you qualify, power assist may be covered by insurance, whether you’re a new or existing user. Private pay options are also available. If you have questions, consult your doctor, therapist or National Seating & Mobility. 

Monthly Minute Archive

Click 'Expand' to Access Past Issues

  • December 2021

    Expand
    • December 2021 - in this issue: 

      • Take the Monthly Minute Survey: Your feedback will help inform future content
      • Season's Greetings from National Seating & Mobility
      • Monthly Products Showcase: Featuring LUCI Mobility Stories of Independence
      • House Passes Legislation to Stop PAYGO Cuts for 2022
      • NSM Client Spotlight: Amber Rangel's lifestyle is full of adventure
  • November 2021

    Expand
    • November 2021 - in this issue:

      • Thank You for Your Partnership: Please Take a Short Survey
      • Our Response to Supply Chain Disruptions
      • Monthly Product Showcase: Featuring a Holiday Gift Guide
      • NSM Client Spotlight: Luis Cruz
  • October 2021

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    • October 2021 - in this issue:

      • Seat Elevation Congressional Sign-On Letter Sent to CMS
      • Let's Get Moving Magazine: Arts & Culture Issue
      • Monthly Products Showcase: Featuring Affordable Transportable Power Mobility
      • NSM Elevates Accessibility at Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival as Official ADA Sponsor
  • September 2021

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    • September 2021 - in this issue:

      • Help Secure Medicare Coverage for Seat Elevation & Standing Systems: Take One Minute to Make a Difference
      • September is Fall Prevention Awareness Month: NSM's SAFE Program Helps Clients Reduce the Risk of Falls
      • Monthly Products Showcase: Power Seat Elevation & Standing Systems
      • Client Spotlight: The Marlin Family "lives for today without worry for tomorrow"
  • August 2021

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    • August 2021 - in this issue:

      • Join Us at the NCART & NRRTS Virtual Fly-In on September 21, 2021
      • Podcast | Required Documentation & Payer Policies: New Equipment & Repair Orders
      • Monthly Product Showcase | Featuring Peace of Mind Technology
      • Client Spotlight | SMA2 Warrior Oliver Schaper
  • July 2021

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    • July 2021 - in this issue:

      • CMS Temporarily Extends Rate Protections for Manual CRT Accessories
      • Wheelchair Clinic Brings Technology-Driven Care During the Pandemic
      • Monthly Products Showcase: Perks of Power Assist
      • NSM Client Spotlight: Sean Simonson Achieved Peak Performance During the Pandemic
  • June 2021

    Expand
    • June 2021 - in this issue:

      • CMS Temporarily Extends Rate Protections for Manual CRT Accessories
      • Wheelchair Clinic Brings Technology-Driven Care During the Pandemic
      • Monthly Products Showcase: Perks of Power Assist
      • NSM Client Spotlight: Sean Simonson
  • May 2021

    Expand
    • May 2021 - in this issue:

      • Introducing Let's Get Moving Magazine
      • The Next Crisis: Unsafe Housing for an Aging America
      • Monthly Products Showcase: One Step Closer to Medicare Coverage for Power Seat Elevation & Standing
      • NSM Client Spotlight: Kellie Morris Living a Performance-Driven Life
  • April 2021

    Expand
    • April 2021 - in this issue:

      • The Essential Home Accessibility Checklist to a Safe & Access Home
      • Do Your Part to Stop Cuts to CRT Manual Wheelchair Accessories
      • Monthly Products Showcase: Bariatric Products
      • NSM Client Spotlight: Diana Holmes
  • March 2021

    Expand
    • March 2021 - in this issue:

      • COVID-19: My Perspective One Year Later
      • CMS Updates DEMPOS Fee Schedule
      • Monthly Products Showcase: LUCI
      • NSM Client Spotlight: Calvan Ferguson
  • February 2021

    Expand
    • February 2021 - in this issue:

      • NSM Expands Access to Smart Technology Platform with LUCI Distribution Agreement
      • Clinician Task Force Publishes Guide to Telehealth
      • Products Showcase: Power Seating Products
      • NSM Client Spotlight: Keagan Robinson
  • January 2021

    Expand
    • January 2021 - in this issue:

      • Driving Innovative Service Solutions During the Pandemic
      • A Better Solution for Your Injured Worker's Mobility & Accessibility Needs
      • Products Showcase: Power Assist for Manual Wheelchairs
      • NSM Client Spotlight: Luis Cruz

NSM Client Spotlight: Stacy Rinehart's Smile Projects His Love for the Life He's Been Given

Stacy Rinehart was introduced to Jeff Auter in 1994. Jeff ran his own wheelchair company and fit then two-year-old Stacy for his first wheelchair. Stacy was born full-term, but with low blood sugar levels and spent the first three and a half months of his life in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. He was diagnosed with Spastic Quadriplegia CP and was determined to be cortically blind. In the years that followed, Jeff continued to serve and be inspired by Stacy’s will to live. And, in 2000, in a twist of fate, the two became family when Jeff married Stacy’s mother.

Throughout school, Stacy enjoyed reading books for the blind and using the early stage electronic augmentative communication system. He often amazed his family with what he said through the system, stunning them when he once shared the quote from Saint Francis, “All children can learn if we can only learn how to teach them.” Today Stacy loves watching good movies and football and is a Packers fan. A wheelchair accessible van gives Stacy and his family the freedom to be together outside the home. Over the years his life has been filled with hospital visits, and health challenges. He wasn’t supposed to thrive the way he has, but he is now thirty-five years old and still loves life in the powerful way he did as a child.

Jeff and Stacy have been a part of each other’s lives for 39 years. Even before they met, Jeff’s passion to help individuals in need of mobility solutions evolved into a 49-year career in the rehab industry and today Jeff serves clients as an ATP for NSM. Both understanding the imperative importance of mobility, the father and stepson have worked together in support of legislation affecting individuals with disabilities. When testifying recently at the Wisconsin State Capitol, Stacy smiled the entire time, proud of his opportunity to help others learn through his experiences and projecting his love for the life he’s been given.

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