Nathan Watkins, executive vice president, Convaid; Susan Johnson, director of sales and marketing, Convaid.

Dealer/Provider spoke with Nathan Watkins, executive vice president, Convaid, Palos Verdes, Calif, and Susan Johnson, director of sales and marketing, Convaid, about the early intervention market for wheelchairs and how reimbursement issues have affected the industry.

Dealer/Provider: What special considerations are taken in a chair for children aged 18 months to 3 years?

Johnson: Many parents are used to having a commercial stroller, which is common for young children. For early intervention products, it is a transition—a time when parents are coming to terms with a child’s disability, so they really want a family friendly product. Also, parents need something that is portable. In addition, it needs to take into account growth because in the early intervention years, there is a lot of growth.

Watkins: The chair also should have a nonmedical appearance because parents may not be prepared to put their children into a chair at this time.

Dealer/Provider: How have changes in reimbursement affected your company?

Johnson: Most of our products are funded by Medicaid. As a result of funding cuts, there has been a lot more scrutiny regarding what products are being approved. In the past, our chairs were considered strollers and secondary chairs and were labeled as a second piece of mobility equipment. Now states are not funding a second piece of equipment, so we have tried to add more features and seating to our chairs so that they are somewhere in between the standard wheelchair and the stroller style. This way, we can give parents the strollers they want with convenience and portability, and yet still have the wheelchair feature set that is needed.

Dealer/Provider: What is the future of the early intervention market?

Watkins: The early intervention market is addressing the needs of children at an earlier age, and the chairs are becoming smaller. It also seems that the chairs are becoming better looking.

Johnson: Because of advances in medical technology, there are a growing number of successful premature births. As a result, there is an increasing number of children with disabilities. Also, with better education and head start programs, diagnoses are done earlier and the result is a growing market. DP