Experienced providers know how important wheelchair seating and positioning is for quality patient care. Without the best positioning possible, people confined to a wheelchair can suffer from pressure sores and discomfort. But keeping up with the latest advances can be a challenge for busy rehabilitation professionals.

Miller’s Rental & Sales, with three offices in northeastern Ohio—Akron, Canton, and Cleveland—has spent decades improving the quality of wheelchair seating and positioning for patients. Nine years ago, the company’s officers realized they could use their experience to help referral sources in the rehabilitation community stay on top of the latest seating and positioning advances by hosting an educational seminar.

“We wanted to put on a program where we could have—not only our existing referral therapists—but other therapists attend a 1-day seminar in order to earn CEU [continuing education unit] credits and gain some valuable information about the products, processes, and funding,” says Johnny P. Miller, sales manager.

Approximately 60 occupational and physical therapists attended the first seminar. Last October, 218 therapists attended the eight annual educational seminar, and many therapists register year after year, Miller says.

Therapists are required to earn a certain number of CEUs each year to keep their license, so the fact that Miller’s seminars count toward their CEU requirement is a big draw. But Miller’s also actively markets its seminars to existing and potential referral sources. Karen Hyre, a senior administrative assistant at Miller’s, sends out mailers to the company’s referral sources. She also sends an announcement to anyone who has ever attended a seminar in the past. In addition, she sends information about the seminar to state health facilities, including Medicaid offices.

This year, seminar coordinator and rehabilitation department manager Dan Craig also purchased a list from the Ohio Physical Therapists’ Association in order to send material to members in northeast Ohio. “This is one way to get new people to come,” he says.

Miller’s keeps the cost down for attendees by charging vendors $400 to set up a booth at the seminar. Therapists pay only $60 to attend, thanks to support from manufacturers, who, in turn, get direct access to the therapists helping patients and patients’ families decide which products to use. “The vendors who participate believe they get to be in front of more decision-makers than they do at some trade shows,” Miller says. “A therapist may work with 70 to 80 people in 1 year, and that figure is significant. It is important to be able to show new products, answer questions, and talk one-on-one with therapists.”

Once each October seminar is complete, work begins the following January on preparing for the next seminar, Craig says. To make each seminar just a little better than the one before, the organizers listen carefully to participant feedback. For example, last year some attendees said they could attend only two workshops, there were too many choices, and time was too short in each session to permit discussions. As a result, Miller’s decided to change the structure of the afternoon sessions. Instead of having two workshop sessions with a choice of four workshops in each, this year there are only two afternoon workshops: “Effective Forces of Support Surface Selection,” presented by the keynote speaker Stephen Sprigle, PhD, PT, and “Pediatric Seating” presented by Susan Johnson Taylor, OTR/L. The workshops will run from 1:30 pm to 4:45 pm. “Each workshop will provide in-depth coverage of the topic,” Miller says. “After the workshop session, attendees will have time to explore the exhibits.”

The morning schedule will remain the same. Sprigle, a biomedical engineer and physical therapist with a doctorate in biomechanics, will present the keynote address, “Pressure Ulcers: Definition, Causes and Cures.” With over 15 years of experience in biomechanics and rehabilitation engineering—including research, product development, and clinical service—Sprigle has a wealth of information to share with attendees. The director of the Center for Rehabilitation Technology at Helen Hayes Hospital in West Haverstraw, NY, he will discuss causes, cures, and a staging system to categorize pressure ulcers by visual inspection.

In the past, company president John Miller always gave the luncheon speech, but this year David Williams, president of the American Association for Homecare Re/hab Technology Council, will instead give a Washington update.

The quality of the seminar speakers raises Miller’s profile in the community and gives the company added respect among attendees.

Another advantage is that many therapists who are not currently doing business with Miller’s attend the seminars. This provides an opportunity for the company to reach out to these individuals. A large portion of Miller’s staff is present all day to network with the therapists. At lunch, a Miller’s representative sits at each table of 10.

Miller’s also sets up a booth in the vendor area to promote its Home Access Department, which installs ramps, stair glides, and porch lifts. “This booth allows us to acquaint therapists with other aspects of our business besides the customized fitted seating system for wheelchairs,” Miller says.

Finally, the company often arranges private educational sessions with the keynote speaker for its employees. This year Craig asked Sprigle to come in a day before the conference and do an all-day educational presentation at the company for all evaluators (salespeople), fabricators, and customer service representatives. Sprigle will provide the employees with a basic understanding of the cause and effect of pressure sores, and discuss pressure sore management and computer-driven pressure mapping. “We want our people to do more than just get the [pressure] readings on the screen and print them out,” Craig says. “We want them to understand what the readings mean.”

In the afternoon, two or three Miller’s custom-fitted seating system clients will come in so that Sprigle can review what was done and give the staff advice.

It is impossible to put a dollar value on networking and information, Miller says. But the seminars are definitely part of the company’s success. “We plan to continue these seminars long into the future.”

Vicki Gerson is a contributing writer for Dealer/Provider.