As Las Vegas celebrates its Centennial, Medtrade Spring 2005 will also be celebrating with additional educational resources and more opportunities for networking. With 87,000 square feet of space, VNU Expositions anticipates more than 500 exhibitors. “Medtrade Spring offers home health care providers an excellent venue for meeting with manufacturers to see first-hand the latest technology that is designed to provide solutions for them and their clients,” says Zuzette Estevez, group show director for VNU Expositions. More than 5,500 industry professionals will be exhibiting products from rehabilitation/mobility and respiratory/sleep to billing systems and store display solutions. Advocates Corner, where attendees can participate in determining the future of home care through free online lobbying resources, will be featured among the exhibits and will also offer information from various state associations.

The exhibits are only half of the story—VNU also plans to hold about 70 educational sessions this year. Of the educational sessions, the Dueling Accreditation summit is generating the most excitement, according to Denise McClinton, press representative for Medtrade Spring. This session will compare the process, price, and benefits of each accreditation organization. Last year’s event had standing room only, and this year is bound to be no different.

Education units will be offered through the half-day Continuum of Care workshop, where practitioners, clinicians, and therapists can participate in tracks for respiratory therapy, sleep-disordered breathing therapy, rehabilitation, assistive technology, home health nursing, and orthotics/prosthetics, while earning 4.5 hours of continuing education units. “Attendees at Medtrade Spring will hopefully gain new ideas through the educational sessions and the exhibits to streamline their businesses in ways that enable them to provide cost-efficient and quality care to their customers,” McClinton says. “I hope they also use this time to come together as an industry to celebrate successes and create a plan of action to prepare them for the challenges that are ahead.”

For the first time, Medtrade Spring will be offering a session conducted in Spanish. The focus of the session is on the Medicare Modernization Act. “Since it is a 3-hour session, there will be lots of discussion on the implications of the act and how it is impacting providers today,” says McClinton. Another much anticipated event is the session, Fame and Fortune: HME Style. This will be a panel-type discussion with representatives discussing retail, marketing, customer service, and legal issues. The panel will talk about what it takes—from start to finish—to have a successful HME provider business.

The educational sessions will begin on April 5; the exhibit hall will be open on April 6 and 7, and the Party by the Pool will be on Wednesday, April 6 from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. If there is time between the Medtrade sessions, Vegas is offering special events to commemorate its 100th birthday. Between the educational sessions, networking opportunities, and the city’s Centennial Celebration, Spring Medtrade 2005 will be a blend of learning and celebration. “I hope that people walk away not only with new ideas of how to make their business profitable and stable… but also with excitement about what they do,” McClinton says.