CARF Wins Grand Prize in Workplace Awards CARF International, Tucson, Ariz, received the 2004 Workplace Excellence Award of Greater Tucson in the category of companies with 100 or fewer full-time employees. The grand prize award was given to the company that best exemplified human resource practice for companies its size in the Tucson area. CARF International is a not-for-profit accreditor of rehabilitation, employment, and aging service providers in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. The company was recognized for its integration of human resource objectives into strategic goals; awards to individual employees for significant contributions; dissemination of information to employees through all-staff forums, the Internet and company intranet, an electronic newsletter, and impromptu meetings; sharing information with employees about company goals, financial results, organizational events, and employee satisfaction survey results; goal-sharing rewards for team efforts in achieving budget objectives and balanced scorecard indicators; and ongoing community efforts and diversity initiatives. The Society for Human Resource Management of Greater Tucson, the Arizona Society for Human Resource Management State Council, and Tucson newspapers sponsor the annual Work-place Excellence awards. A panel of Phoenix area judges from the Arizona Society for Human Resource Manage-ment State Council selected the winners after extensive review. Pride Mobility Embarks on 2004 Seminar Tour and “RAMP” Pride Mobility Products Corp, Exeter, Pa, began its 2004 Seminar Tour, a 32-city expedition to train providers, physical therapists, and occupational therapists in the latest advances in the company’s services and technologies. Courses in this year’s seminar include: a two-part educational course, approved by the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Rehabilitation Science, on uniting clinical applications with quality of life options and justification for the high-end client assuring accurate and timely reimbursement; an introductory and advanced course on trouble-shooting; and courses on the innovations, applications, fundamentals, and business strategies for mobility products. In addition, Pride Mobility Products, along with other members of the mobility industry, formed the Restore Access to Mobility Partnership (RAMP) as a response to the December 2003 CMS clarification of the coverage and payment rules for motorized wheelchairs and other power-operated vehicles. RAMP will campaign to restore Medicare reimbursement benefits for patients requiring power wheelchairs. Other members of RAMP include the American Association for Homecare, Invacare Corp, the MED Group, Mobility Products Unlimited LLC, the Scooter Store, and Sunrise Medical. Burke Rehab Receives Accreditation, Opens Sports Center The Winifred Masterson Burke Rehabilitation Hospital, White Plains, NY, has been accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) for a period of 3 years for its medical rehabilitation programs— comprehensive integrated inpatient rehabilitation programs, and spinal cord systems of care and brain injury programs—and comprehensive integrated inpatient rehabilitation programs. The 3-year accreditation—the highest level of accreditation that can be awarded to an organization—was received after an intensive peer review process. In November 2003, the Burke Rehabil-itation Hospital opened a rehabilitation and sports center in Bronx, NY. Services at the new center include treatment for back and neck pain, gait and balance disorders, orthopedic and sports injuries, and neurological disorders. The new center will also provide programs for pre- and post-surgical problems. Amputee Coalition Enhances “Because We Care” Program The Amputee Coalition of America (ACA) replaced the current initial phase of its “Because We Care” program with a new program that offers more comprehensive information about amputation. Hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care facilities will now have access to an ACA/Because We Care bag, which contains the latest edition of First Step: A Guide for Adapting to Limb Loss, a copy of the bimonthly inMotion magazine, and the ACA Print & Video Resources catalog. The kit also includes general information about the ACA and its programs. Prior to the information product bag, the first phase of Because We Care involved a certificate program facilitated by American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists practitioners, who provided new and existing patients with a complimentary 4-month ACA membership. SME and AliMed Join Preferred Therapy Providers Network Preferred Therapy Providers Inc, Phoenix, Ariz, signed SME Inc, Wilming-ton, NC, and AliMed Inc, Dedham, Mass, as Preferred vendors in its national network of physical, occupational, and speech therapists. SME, which started in 1992, offers the physical therapy industry discounted prices and one-stop shopping through more than 700 vendors. As a Preferred vendor, SME will be able to provide products including: those for occupational therapy and athletic training, medical/surgical products, electrodes, soft goods, bracing, lymphedema bandages, taping supplies, linens, durable medical equipment, and capital equipment, in addition to physical therapy products. AliMed Inc manufactures and distributes health-related supplies, and has partnerships with more than 200 suppliers through which it distributes over 25,000 products. Millions in Funding Secured for ProCord The Shepherd Center, Atlanta, and Proneuron Biotechnologies received a $3.2 million commitment from The Marcus Foundation in March. The commitment will support the Shepherd Center’s participation in Proneuron’s international, multicenter, randomized-controlled Phase II study of ProCord, an experimental procedure for acute spinal cord injury. The Phase II trial began at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, Israel, in September 2003, expanded to Craig Hospital, Denver, and will this year expand further to the Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, and Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, West Orange, NJ. The commitment by The Marcus Foundation will also be used to fund the establishment of a cell-processing center in Atlanta.
