Book Teaches Couch Potatoes How to Get Fit on the Sofa

Many Americans want to have their cake, and eat it on the couch, according to a recent national survey by the North American Spine Society (NASS), conducted by Harris Interactive. The poll of 1,045 US-based adults found that 46% of those surveyed defined themselves as "couch potatoes," while 53% defined themselves as "athletes."

NASS kicks off its fifth annual Spine Health patient education campaign with a focus on helping "couch potatoes" get fit without ever stepping foot in a gym. As part of this year's Spine Health campaign, NASS has released a paperback exercise book, The Couch Potato Workout: 101 Exercises You Can Do At Home, by Joel M. Press, MD, NASS president and medical director of the Center for Spine, Sports and Occupational Rehabilitation at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. The book features tips and interesting facts on how to incorporate exercise into a daily routine. All proceeds from its sale will be used to support rehabilitation research at NASS and RIC.

Governors Offer Licenses to Certified Athletic Trainers

After nearly 20 years of consideration, Michigan and Utah have granted licenses to certified athletic trainers. Recently, Governors Jennifer M. Granholm (Mich) and Jon Huntsman, Jr (Utah), signed athletic training practice acts into law in their states. The new legislation brings the tally to 44 states requiring some government regulation of the athletic training profession, with 33 states currently offering licensure.

"This legislation reflects the evolution of the athletic training profession in terms of our members' education and acknowledgement of the need for their professional abilities," says Chuck Kimmel, ATC, president of the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA), which represents 30,000 members. "The successful quest for licensure is intended to make life better not only for athletic trainers who practice in Michigan and Utah, but also for the people they treat."

When the Michigan Athletic Trainers' Society (MATS) first began its quest for licensure in 1976, it faced opposition from other health care groups and a long-term governor who opposed big government. In 1998, when organization members testified during the legislative process, it had only 218 members. Today, MATS' membership has grown to 1,100 trainers, and has garnered the support of the health care industry.

"For athletic trainers in Michigan and Utah, the new legislation is extremely important, because these states now officially recognize them as credible health care professionals contributing to the care of individuals," says Keith Webster, ATC, chair of NATA's Governmental Affairs Committee.

Health Care Companies Merge

Presagia, a health information management corporation in Montreal, completed a merger with California-based AtWork Resources Inc (AWR) in May. Before the merger, AWR was a vendor of return-to-work (RTW) and disability management solutions. The combined company will operate as Presagia Corp, with its head office in Montreal.

The integrated Presagia-AWR offering will provide employers with a broad range of data related to employee health and wellness, as well as workflow tools to manage various health, wellness, and disability-related initiatives. This data will enable managers to identify, monitor, and analyze employee health cost drivers.

"AWR continually seeks new ways to enhance the value-proposition of our RTW and disability management solutions," said Peter Davie, cofounder of AWR. "Merging with Presagia will allow our customers to benefit from Presagia's technology and experience in the development and implementation of global enterprise applications."

Following the merger, Davie will become director of consulting at Presagia and AWR cofounder Robert Hall will become director of business development. "This merger makes sense for us, and above all for our customers who will benefit from the synergies created," said Hall.

Marva L. Sadler

Sadler Named President

Hoggan Health Industries, a Salt Lake City-based manufacturer of medical diagnostic tools and commercial wellness and rehabilitation equipment, recently named Marva L. Sadler as company president. She replaces Lynn Hoggan.

Sadler joined Hoggan Health last November as executive vice president. In her new position, she will direct sales and marketing, oversee the company's finances and accounting, and provide direction for manufacturing, design and engineering, as well as research and development.

"Hoggan Health is at a point of incredible growth as it expands both its medical diagnostic tools, and commercial wellness equipment divisions," Sadler says. "It is an exciting opportunity for me to be a part of this dynamic stage of business and work with this talented team as we continue the Hoggan legacy."

Prior to joining Hoggan, Sadler was chief operating officer at eLeaderTech Inc.