Medtrade: where else can providers from accross the country not only learn how they can expand their businesses, but also take in a little power soccer?
After a brief vacation in Orlando, Medtrade made its return to the Big Peach with an eye on giving HME professionals options for expanding their businesses. The event ran from October 20 to 23 at Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center and offered a mix of education and product offerings geared for growth.
On the expo floor, hundreds of exhibitors showcased the latest in a DME, as well as business services that can help providers. Highlights included:
- Ideas in Retail, Point-of-Purchase & Small Spaces — This area of the floor demonstrated POP displays that are either vendor supplied or racks that you can fill with your choice of products to create a custom POP display.
- NRRTS Complex Rehab Pavilion — This grouping of booths highlighted equipment and services to meet the complex needs of people with disabilities who have significant mobility and postural deficits.
- Emerging Companies Pavilion — This special exhibit displayed new companies entering into the HME market.
On the education front, Medtrade’s conference sessions included a new track called Niche Markets, which discussed side businesses that can bring providers additional revenue and possibly blossom into a provider’s main business. There were six sessions; titles included:
- Home Modifications: Essentials for Success.
- Integrating Modern Therapeutic Shoes into a Comprehensive Treatment Plan for Diabetes Patients.
- Is Your HME Company Providing Quality Ventilation Services?
- They’re not Mystery Ulcers — They’re Pressure Ulcers: How to Sell More Support Surfaces.
- Avoid Pitfalls and Develop a Profitable Home Accessibility Business.
- There Really IS No Place Like Home: Evaluation, Equipment and Options for Aging In Place.
Power Soccer Gives Attendees a Kick
Providers taking a break from looking at ways to boost their bottom line got a chance to watch athletes from The United States Power Soccer Association (USPSA – www.powersoccerusa.net) show off their skills during two exhibition games on day three of Medtrade right on the expo floor.
Power Soccer is the first competitive team sport designed and developed specifically for power wheelchair users. Athletes’ disabilities include quadriplegia, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, and many others. The game is usually played in a gymnasium on a regulation basketball court. Two teams of four players attack, defend, and spin-kick a 13-inch soccer ball in a skilled and challenging game similar to traditional soccer.
The game has already taken on international appeal. In 2006, seven countries held a summit in Atlanta to standardize the laws (soccer has laws, rather than rules), and form an International Federation. From that meeting, the first World Cup was held in Tokyo, Japan, and the first U.S. National Team competition was formed.
“The United States team has dominated international competition,” said Dominic Russo, president of the USPSA. “We will try for our third world cup next year in Australia or Canada.”
The sport’s growth has been fast, kept in check only by time and funding. MK Battery is the USPSA title sponsor, which helps defray some of the considerable expense associated with the sport.
“The biggest challenge is the cost of travel,” Russo said.
“These players are incredibly skilled,” adds Kevin Gaffney, group show director, Medtrade. “It was our pleasure to make room for the game on the Expo floor and show attendees what this growing game is all about.”