ATG Rehab’s acquisition adds 13 offices in six states collectively serving more than 6,500 clients annually at 50 major hospitals and rehabilitation facilities in the Gulf Coast region.

Managers and Assistive Technology Professionals (ATPs) from Gulf Coast Rehab and Custom Healthcare will continue to provide local support and services to clients from offices in Atlanta, Georgia; Birmingham and Mobile, Alabama; Hattiesburg, Mississippi; Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe, Shreveport and Thibodaux, Louisiana, as well as Beaumont, Lubbock and Houston, Texas.

The acquisition follows ATG Rehab’s 2011 purchase of Baltimore-based Chesapeake Rehab Equipment, which has 13 offices in six Mid-Atlantic states, and its recent acquisition of the complex rehabilitation technology division of Colorado-based Rocky Mountain Medical Equipment. ATG’s acquisition of Gulf Coast Rehab and Custom Healthcare allows the company to now serve all of the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico and expands its footprint to 30 states across the country.

“Custom Healthcare and Gulf Coast Rehab’s operating philosophy parallels that of ATG Rehab, which makes this transition seamless for the clients, clinicians and complex rehab facilities we serve in the Gulf Coast region,” said James Hartman, Vice President of Business Development at Custom Holdings, LLC. “Both companies uphold the highest standards of practice in rehabilitation technology to improve our clients’ quality of life and level of independence.”

Clients of ATG Rehab’s offices in the Gulf Coast region will benefit from new resources that expedite the equipment selection and delivery process, while ensuring continuous support and communication to both the individual and the clinical rehabilitation team.

“The complex rehab business has and always will be about local services that respect the distinct needs of clients and healthcare facilities in each city and town,” said ATG Rehab President and CEO, Paul Bergantino. “Through strong regional leadership, ATG Rehab’s vast service area offers the best of both worlds. We’re combining the efficiencies of a large company with personalized attention from seasoned, local Assistive Technology Professionals who truly understand the communities they serve.”

About ATG Rehab
ATG Rehab is North America’s leading rehab equipment provider of wheelchairs and mobility equipment with locations coast to coast. Established in 1999, ATG Rehab has expanded to over 53 offices servicing 30 states and remains committed to serving the local needs of clients and clinicians in each community. ATG Rehab is accredited by the Healthcare Quality Association on Accreditation and is known for providing expert customer care with trained, knowledgeable staff delivering outstanding service.

ATG Rehab’s mobility and seating solutions include power wheelchairs, manual and lightweight wheelchairs, adaptive seating, standing and positioning frames, specialty ambulatory and toileting aids, specialty bathing aids, rental equipment and portable ramps.

ATG Rehab contracts with over 100 local and national health insurance companies including the largest managed care providers. The company is also a principal participant in a nationwide provider network to ensure access to payers. ATG Rehab and its national network go the extra mile to provide case management, continuing education on seating and mobility, a custom fabrication shop, certified repair technicians, a dedicated network of healthcare providers and reimbursement support and expertise.

For more information visit atgrehab.com

“Like Rocky Mountain Medical Equipment, ATG Rehab is dedicated to improving our customers’ quality of life,” said, ATG Rehab President & CEO, Paul Bergantino. “Under the expert care of the Assistive Technology Professionals (ATP’s) who will join the ATG team, RMME’s 3,100 customers in Colorado will experience a seamless transition in services. ATG will continue to build upon the rehab services Rocky Mountain Medical Equipment has provided its clients, using the most advanced technologies and the best seating and mobility products in the industry.”

“Changes in the medical environment and continued reductions in reimbursement have made it difficult for small, locally-owned companies like Rocky Mountain Medical Equipment to uphold their uncompromising standards,” said Rocky Mountain Medical Equipment President Jody Wright. “Working with ATG Rehab made perfect sense for us, by allowing us to maintain our commitment to our customers and ensure that their complex rehab needs are met at a high level.”

RMME’s Denver office, led by owners, Jody & Julie Wright, will remain open for all other business lines. ATG Rehab will operate RMME’s former Colorado Springs office, located at 5620 N. Union Blvd. This location and ATG’s current Colorado Springs office at 5869 Terminal Ave. will eventually be consolidated into one location in the coming months.

ATG Rehab’s current Lakewood and Colorado Springs offices work with dozens of hospitals and rehab facilities in the region including; Children’s Hospital, Craig Hospital and Northern Colorado Medical Center.

“We’re excited to welcome Rocky Mountain Medical Equipment’s rehab staff to the ATG team,” said ATG Rehab Mountain Region President Michele Longo. “Their familiarity with our new customers and area clinicians will help us continue to offer quick, responsive wheelchair and mobility equipment service in a way that meets their specific needs.”

About ATG Rehab
ATG Rehab is one of North America’s leading rehab equipment providers of wheelchairs and mobility equipment with U.S. locations coast to coast. Established in 1999, ATG Rehab is privately held, now with 42 locations servicing 24 states and is accredited by the Healthcare Quality Association on Accreditation. ATG Rehab is known for customized customer care with a trained, knowledgeable staff that delivers localized focus and outstanding service.

The company’s mobility and seating solutions include power wheelchairs, manual and lightweight wheelchairs, adaptive seating, standing and positioning frames, specialty ambulatory and toileting aids, specialty bathing aides, rental equipment and portable ramps.

ATG Rehab has contracts with over 100 local and national health insurance companies including the largest managed care providers. The company is also a principal participant in a nationwide provider network to ensure access to payers. ATG Rehab and its national network go the extra mile to provide case management, continuing education on seating and mobility, a custom fabrication shop, certified repair technicians, a dedicated network of healthcare providers and reimbursement support and expertise.

For more information go to atgrehab.com or visit ATG Rehab on Facebook.

Steve Rich, Regional Vice-President for ATG said, “We are honored to receive this recognition from our partners at Saratoga, but this award is a really reflection of the hard work of and extra effort our team offers Saratoga Children’s Hospital each and every day.” Mark Skroch, ATP, and his team that provides this exemplary service to Saratoga include Tony Sifuentes, Rehab Technician; Jennifer Lostrie, Sales Coordinator; and Angela Berdejo, Funding Coordinator. They go the extra mile for the kids and ATG is proud of their outstanding efforts.

Or copy and paste this link to your web browser http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko8GNGxFSkY

Edil’s seven-year-old sister, Daniellyz, who lives with her grandparents Jorge Rodriguez and Guadalupe Velazquez in Hartford, Conn., brought her brother’s plight to the attention of her after-school mentors at the city’s Charter Oak Cultural Center, who discussed Edil’s needs with U.S. Congressman John Larson (D-Connecticut). Larson put the Center in touch with Rocky Hill, Conn.-based ATG Rehab, a national supplier of complex rehabilitation and mobility equipment.

ATG custom-built and donated to Edil a Quickie Iris tilt-in-space manual wheelchair and presented it to his family at a recent gathering at the center. In its design phase, the team at ATG worked closely with Edil’s physician in Puerto Rico to create a chair that would meet his needs as he grew. The chair’s custom tailored seating system will provide him with appropriate positioning and support. When utilized with the tilt feature of the Iris, Edil’s family are now able to reposition him throughout the day for different activities and better postural control. In addition to the wheelchair, ATG also donated a specialized bath chair to the family to further aid in their care for Edil.

“This wheelchair means a lot for my grandson and for us. We didn’t expect something so special and we really appreciate it,” said Rodriguez. JetBlue Airlines donated a flight to Puerto Rico to Velasquez, who delivered the wheelchair to her grandchild.

ATG Rehab President and CEO Paul Bergantino presents a customized wheelchair to the grandparents of Edil Garcia Rivera. Edil’s grandmother, Guadalupe Velasquez, delivered the chair to her grandson in Puerto Rico, courtesy of JetBlue.

Congressman John Larson and ATG Rehab President and CEO Paul Bergantino, accompanied by staff members of Hartford’s Charter Oak Cultural Center, listen to Charter Oak Cultural Center Executive Director Donna Berman and view photos of Edil Garcia Rivera, recipient of a custom wheelchair from ATG Rehab.

 

Prince of Wales Island is a 40-minute flight from Ketchikan in Southeast Alaska. The man received a Q6 Edge wheelchair from ATG in March 2011. Prior to that, he had been using a chair from ALSA’s loan closet. He had an Augmentative Communication device from Dynavox but no way to mount it to his chair. When he received his new chair, his disease had progressed to the point that he could no longer access the joystick or control seating functions.

Through phone calls and text messages, ATG Rehab learned from the man’s wife the challenges he was facing to maintain independence. ATG’s equipment specialists assembled the necessary wheelchair components at their Milwaukee, Oregon office and arranged for delivery to the remote island. ATG Rehab ATP Derek Kruse was the right person to make the trek to Prince of Wales Island. Kruse left Portland, Oregon on a 5:30 a.m. Island Air flight on August 5 and arrived in Craig, Alaska around 10:30 a.m. with all the equipment he needed for the client. The agent at Island air shuttled Kruse to the man’s home, where he proceeded to make the necessary adjustments and additions to his wheelchair.

Kruse’s plan was to switch out the chair’s power elevating leg rest, install specialty controls, make adjustments, and mount a bracket for the client’s communication device. Once completed, Kruse educated the client on the new ways to use his chair. The client was ecstatic with how the upgrades and training improved his mobility and his ability to communicate. Eight hours later, satisfied that the client had all the appropriate equipment and the means to use it effectively, Kruse caught the first of three planes he needed to arrive back in Portland around midnight.

About ATG Rehab
ATG Rehab is one of North America’s leading rehab equipment providers of wheelchairs and mobility equipment with U.S. locations coast to coast. Established in 1999, the ATG Rehab family of companies is privately held with over 41 locations servicing 24 states and is accredited by the Healthcare Quality Association on Accreditation. ATG Rehab is known for customized customer care with a trained, knowledgeable staff that delivers localized focus and outstanding service.

The company’s mobility and seating solutions include power wheelchairs, manual and lightweight wheelchairs, adaptive seating, standing and positioning frames, specialty ambulatory and toileting aids, specialty bathing aides, rental equipment and portable ramps.

ATG Rehab has contracts with over 100 local and national health insurance companies including the largest managed care providers. The company is also a principal participant in a nationwide provider network to ensure access to payers. ATG Rehab and its national network go the extra mile to provide case management, continuing education on seating and mobility, a custom fabrication shop, certified repair technicians, a dedicated network of healthcare providers and reimbursement support and expertise.

For more information visit atgrehab.com or visit ATG Rehab on Facebook.

Rocky Hill, Conn., June 30, 2011 – ATG Rehab, a leading rehab equipment provider of wheelchairs and mobility equipment, today announced that it has acquired Baltimore, Md.-based Chesapeake Rehab Equipment, Inc. (CRE), a provider of assistive technology equipment and services with 13 branches in six Mid-Atlantic states. This move marks the largest acquisition in ATG Rehab’s history, as well as the largest ever in the complex rehabilitation industry.

Assistive Technology Professionals (ATPs) in each of Chesapeake’s current offices will continue working at those locations and caring for customers within ATG Rehab’s new Mid-Atlantic region, which serves more than 35 hospitals and rehabilitation facilities.

“Our agreement with Chesapeake extends ATG’s reach, allowing us to deliver services in a new area of the country,” said ATG Rehab President and CEO Paul Bergantino. “Chesapeake’s long-standing reputation of excellence and strong community presence in the provision of mobility and adaptive seating equipment — under the careful watch of some of the best ATPs in the industry — is a tremendous and exciting addition to the ATG team.“

“We’ve been talking for many years about putting the two organizations together. The time is now right for us to do so,” said Chesapeake Rehab President and Founder Gary Gilberti, who will become president of ATG Rehab’s new Mid-Atlantic region. “After a decade-long courtship, this is a great marriage of two organizations that, as one, will be able to provide an improved level of service and realize operational economies-of-scale. It’s a true ‘one plus one equals three’ opportunity.”

ATG Rehab will establish offices in the cities and states served by Chesapeake — Baltimore, Cumberland and Salisbury, Md.; Newark, Del.; Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia, Pa.; Charlotte, Raleigh, Fayetteville and Wilmington, N.C.; Murrell’s Inlet, S.C.; and Roanoke and Richmond, Va. The acquisition will add approximately 170 staff members, 29 of which are highly trained ATPs, to the ATG Rehab team. These professionals will be able to draw upon the expertise of ATPs in ATG’s coast-to-coast offices, from Seattle to Atlanta and San Diego to Boston, to enhance how they provide equipment and support to local customers.

“Clinicians and clients in the area will see the same familiar faces and experienced team of ATPs they have come to trust and rely upon, but those ATPs will now be equipped with the most advanced technology in the industry, accelerating their delivery of complex rehab equipment,” said David Law, ATG’s vice president of operations.

Rocky Hill, Conn., June 9, 2011] – ATG Rehab has acquired the mobility and complex rehab division of Rapid City, S.D.-based WestMed Rehab, which serves more than 800 clients per year through the region’s hospitals, rehab clinics and long term care facilities.

“WestMed Rehab’s founders — Tim Pederson, Deb Holso and John Nesland – had a vision to offer superior care by highly trained and credentialed assistive technology professionals in South Dakota’s Black Hills area,” said ATG Rehab CEO Paul Bergantino. “WestMed’s dedication to clients and their support of this region is in keeping with ATG’s operating philosophy within our 28 offices across 20 states.”

“WestMed Rehab and ATG Rehab’s priorities are very well aligned,” said Pederson, who now leads The National Orthotics & Prosthetics Network at The MED Group, a Managed Health Care Associates, Inc. (MHA) company. “Under ATG’s leadership, Western South Dakota’s complex rehab and mobility customers will continue to be served by a company that adheres to high industry standards, advocates for its customers and gives back to its communities.”

ATG Rehab’s Rapid City office will be located at 1018 Jackson Blvd. Suite B, Rapid City, S.D., 57701. The office will be part of the Mountain Region for ATG Rehab under the leadership of Michele Longo, ME, ATP – ATG Regional President. Mobility and complex rehab clients will continue to receive support from Assistive Technology Professionals (ATP) Tony Holso and Joe Luciano and technician Kary Fahrner.

“We are thrilled to have the South Dakota team join ATG Rehab. It is a natural fit and we look forward to serving our new South Dakota clients” said ATG Rehab Mountain Region President Michele Longo.

About ATG Rehab
ATG Rehab is one of North America’s leading rehab equipment providers of wheelchairs and mobility equipment with U.S. locations coast to coast. Established in 1999, ATG Rehab is privately held with over 28 locations servicing 20 states and is accredited by the Healthcare Quality Association on Accreditation. ATG Rehab is known for customized customer care with a trained, knowledgeable staff that delivers localized focus and outstanding service.

The company’s mobility and seating solutions include power wheelchairs, manual and lightweight wheelchairs, adaptive seating, standing and positioning frames, specialty ambulatory and toileting aids, specialty bathing aides, rental equipment and portable ramps.

ATG Rehab has contracts with over 100 local and national health insurance companies including the largest managed care providers. The company is also a principal participant in a nationwide provider network to ensure access to payers. ATG Rehab and its national network go the extra mile to provide case management, continuing education on seating and mobility, a custom fabrication shop, certified repair technicians, a dedicated network of healthcare providers and reimbursement support and expertise.

About WestMed Rehab
WestMed Rehab is a locally owned and operated comprehensive home medical equipment provider based in Rapid City, South Dakota. The company began by providing Complex Rehab Mobility and Seating in 1998. In 2000 the company added Home Respiratory Care, and Prosthetics and Orthotics were added in 2001. WestMed Rehab will continue to provide Home Respiratory Care, Prosthetics and Orthotics, and Home Medical Equipment at its location at 318 Mt. Rushmore Road, Rapid City, SD 57701.

For more information visit atgrehab.com or visit ATG Rehab on Facebook.

Unlike any other opportunity for individuals with disabilities and their families, the Abilities Expo offers education and lectures from industry leaders and exhibits from nearly every major manufacturer and local service providers. This unique experience allows the attendees to try products and ask questions, as well as learn about local services that would not be found anywhere else. Following the show in Anaheim, Regional President, Eamonn Casey said, “We had a tremendous amount of activity and traffic in our booth over the 3 days and I think we need to really consider getting a larger space next year!” The ATG team in Edison experienced the same thing with large crowds, lots of customer interaction and a terrific overall experience. Hosted and staffed by the Hatfield, PA office, General Manager, Crystal Lee said, “This event in Edison just keeps getting better and our team finds a tremendous amount of value in meeting with customers and clinician’s from around the region.”

Great job and a big thanks to both of these teams for hosting our ATG Rehab booth and welcoming customers.

To learn more about the Abilities Expo, click here:
www.abilitiesexpo.com

With big smiles, ATP’s Rob Wells and Kurt Boyer welcome guests in Edison.

ALSA is reporting the 2011 Advocacy Day to be one of the most successful in the event’s history. Just shy of 50 Members of Congress signed onto the ALSA Registry Dear Colleague letter urging the Appropriations Committee to provide $10M for the National ALS Registry in 2012. In Addition, 65 Members signed onto the letter supporting $15M in funding for the ALS Research Program at the Department of Defense.

To learn more about the ALS Association and your local chapter, click here:
www.alsa.org

To see complete photo’s from the event, click on this link and enter the password:
http://scottfoto.zenfolio.com/f60445946
Password is: Gehrig (case sensitive)

Cody Verrett & Eamonn Casey welcome guests at the ATG Rehab sponsored lecture.