Working to protect access to complex rehab technology (CRT), more than 160 stakeholders attended the recent 2018 National CRT Leadership and Advocacy Conference on April 25 and 26 in Arlington, Va.
Produced by a partnership between the National Coalition for Assistive and Rehab Technology (NCART) and the National Registry of Rehabilitation Technology Suppliers (NRRTS), the annual event brings CRT stakeholders together in one place for education, networking, and advocacy efforts focused on taking the CRT access message directly to Capitol Hill.
To that end, 160 attendees representing providers, manufacturers, consumers and consumer organizations, clinicians and clinical organizations, family, caregivers, and researchers, including 30 who were CRT wheelchair users, visited 240 Congressional offices. NCART noted that Initial reports from the meetings were positive and indicated strong Congressional awareness and support for pending CRT legislation.
“We continue to increase the level of CRT awareness and support in Congress and these Washington activities play a major role,” NCART Executive Director Don Clayback said. “Nothing sends a stronger message than a personal visit to their D.C. offices and with good follow up we’ll secure additional cosponsors and get the needed CRT legislation passed.”
“It’s gratifying to see a large group of the CRT community coming together in one place to move the mission of protecting CRT access forward,” NRRTS Executive Director Weesie Walker added. “We want this National CRT Leadership and Advocacy Conference to continue to serve as a catalyst for more effective information sharing, collaboration, and advocacy. We appreciate our sponsors for making it possible to bring CRT consumers to the Hill as they have the most powerful message.”
CRT stakeholders that couldn’t attend the conference can email and call their Congress members using the tools at www.protectmymobility.com.”