Presenters
Claudia Amortegui
Claudia Amortegui, President, The Orion Group
Claudia received her Masters degree in Business Administration from the University of South Carolina located in Columbia, South Carolina. She joined Palmetto Government Benefits Administrators (DMERC Region C) as an ombudsman. She worked with Palmetto for three years assisting Durable Medical Equipment (DME) providers in learning medical policies and proper claims submission. She then became a sales representative for Quickie Designs, a division of Sunrise Medical, with responsibility for the sale of wheelchairs and seating systems in the Northern Florida and Southern Georgia territory. Shortly thereafter, Claudia moved to Chicago to become the Director of Reimbursement for American Pharmaceutical Services, a national long-term care supplier. In early 1998, she returned to Sunrise Medical to begin a new venture for the company as Director of Consulting Services. In this role, she was responsible for the management of a national consulting group specializing in Medicare reimbursement. In November 2002, she purchased Sunrise Consulting and formed The Orion Group.
Claudia has presented at state and national meetings, and has worked with local and national DME providers in improving their overall Medicare business. She has been published numerous times in national industry publications and has written her own monthly feature for Mobility Management magazine. Claudia is a member of the Medicare MAC Jurisdiction C Council. In addition to working with DME providers, manufacturers and referral sources in the area of reimbursement, her business knowledge allows her to assist her customers in making their business as efficient and profitable as possible.
Claudia’s experience comes from having worked on all sides of the industry, including Medicare/DMERC, supplier, manufacturer, and consultant. This rare combination of industry experience enables Claudia and her team at the Orion Group to assist people in understanding the reimbursement process and to teach them how they can not only be successful, but also outperform others in the industry.
Documentation, Documentation, Documentation! Without the correct documentation on mobility devices the whole process of providing equipment can come to a halt.
Navigating Your Way Through the Maze of Documentation.
Lois Brown
Lois Brown, MPT, ATP
Lois has been a Physical Therapist for 17 years, 15 of them as a rehab therapist, outpatient supervisor, and wheelchair clinic specialist. As supervisor at Moss Rehab Outpatient Clinic, Lois established a successful Wheelchair Seating Clinic and was a designated ALS Clinic Site. Lois also has extensive experience in working with clients with Brain Injuries, other Neuromuscular Injuries, Developmental Disabilities and Pressure Management. She has presented nationally on seating and mobility, including International Seating Symposium, and RESNA. Lois has been involved in clinical education since 2007, and is currently the Rehab Education Specialist for Invacare. She is an active member of RESNA and the APTA.
With some tone there’s a very fine line between what you should reduce or can reduce before you take away function. For certain individuals, it can provide them with function that they might not otherwise have.
Barbara Crane
Barbara Crane PhD, PT, ATP
Barbara Crane is an Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy at the University of Hartford in West Hartford, CT. She received a BS in Physical Therapy from the University of Connecticut, an MA in Gerontology from Saint Joseph College, West Hartford, CT, and a PhD in Rehabilitation Science and Technology from the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA. She also holds a certificate as an Assistive Technology Professional through the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA). She has over 20 years of clinical experience in adult neurological rehabilitation with a specialty in assessment and recommendation of custom wheelchairs and seating systems. She has lectured extensively at local, national, and international conferences and is a faculty for the RESNA Fundamentals of Assistive Technology course.
It is important that the right equipment gets to the right people - those who need it to meet the mobility needs arising during the course of typical daily activities. The Medicare coverage policy needs to be revised for that to happen.
Introduction to Mobility Device Evaluation
The Mat Evaluation
Pressure Mapping Evaluation
Michelle Lange
Michelle Lange, OTR, ABDA, ATP
Michelle is an occupational therapist with 20 years of experience and former Clinical Director of The Assistive Technology Clinics of The Children’s Hospital of Denver. She is a well-respected lecturer, both nationally and internationally and has authored 7 book chapters and over 100 articles. She is the editor of Fundamentals in Assistive Technology, 4th ed. Michelle is on the teaching faculty of RESNA and the University of Pittsburgh. She is on the RERC on Wheeled Mobility Advisory Board. Michelle is a credentialed ATP and is a Senior Disability Analyst of the ABDA.
Clients are using both tilt systems and recline systems more frequently as they discover increasing benefits of their use. Each system has advantages and disadvantages for clients.
Power mobility: this isn’t your Grandma’s wheelchair!
Pediatric Power Mobility
Seating for Function
Accessing Switches
Sharon Pratt
Sharon Pratt, PT Director of Education, Sunrise Medical
Sharon has specialized in the field of seating and mobility for over 20 years. Graduating from Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland as a Physical Therapist, Sharon has experienced many aspects of the seating and mobility service delivery model. She has given over 500 presentations on seating and mobility to physical and occupational therapists, nurses and case managers, worldwide. In Toronto, Canada, she managed her own clinical practice, and then managed the seating and mobility devices category as the senior policy coordinator for the Ontario government’s Assistive Devices Program. Joining Sunrise Medical in 1996, as Education Manager, Sharon lectured extensively on seating to varied audiences worldwide. In 1999, she became the global product manager for Jay seating products. Sharon then started an independent consulting business where she offered clinical consultation, client evaluation and prescription of seating/mobility equipment, educational seminars and new product consultation for manufacturers. She also helped launch several seating programs in Europe. Presently Sharon is the Director of Education, for Sunrise Medical. She is involved with the ISO wheelchair standards working group. Known to many as a dynamic and highly energetic speaker, Sharon’s extensive knowledge makes her a very skilled seminar instructor.
Known to many as a dynamic and highly energetic speaker, Sharon’s extensive knowledge makes her a very skilled seminar instructor.
Seating and Mobility for Function
John “Jay” Doherty
John “Jay” Doherty, OTR, ATP, Clinical Education Manager for Quantum Rehab
With over 14 years of clinical experience, Jay Doherty has a keen understanding of seating and positioning requirements and equipment. As the Clinical Education Manager for Quantum Rehab, Jay oversees the development of complex rehab education programs and speaks to rehab facilities and equipment providers from a clinical perspective.
Jay graduated from Quinnipiac College in 1995 with a B.S. in occupational therapy and three years later, earned his ATP certification through RESNA. He worked as a staff therapist treating adults with a variety of neurological and orthopedic disorders in the Spinal Cord Injury unit of the National Rehabilitation Hospital. Jay moved to New Hampshire to work for NH-ATEC, an assistive technology center that provides a wide variety of assistive technology services to consumers throughout the state. During his tenure at NH-ATEC, Jay had extensive experience working with clients recovering from brain and Spinal Cord Injuries, progressive neurological disorders and developmental disabilities. His broad spectrum of focus allowed him to work with both adult and pediatric clients.
Unless Congress takes action through health care reform legislation, payments for physical therapy services under the Medicare physician fee schedule will be reduced by 19.2% in 2010.
