Happy Holly Days and Merry Christmas!

FROM ALL OF US

Holiday Sale Success!

Well Blog Peeps, our sale came and went and we hope you partook and saved yourself some money!

The weather is seasonal here today - a storm has made its way into the Denver Metro area and the snowflakes should start to fall anytime now!

Thank you for your support, dear customers and friends, and we hope to see you again soon! Dont forget that our everyday low prices can save you money too!

Holiday Sale Has Been Extended One Day Only!

We have decided to extend our Holiday Sale through Saturday, December 17th! We will be open from 9am - 1pm so come on down and enjoy another day of savings!

Only 2 1/2 Days Left for our Holiday Sale!

Howdy Folks!

We have had an amazing turnout for our Holiday Sale and hope that you dont wait until the last minute to come save 10-20% on lift chairs, 4-wheeled walkers, walker accessories, shoes and scrub pants!

Also we offer Laurel Uniform Gift Certificates in any amount! They make a great gift for the wonderful medical professional, chef, service professional or business owner on your gift list!

Lastly, just a reminder that if you spend $50 or more at Laurel Uniforms, you get a free reusable tote!

Today is the Day Our Holiday Sale Starts!

Be sure to stop by to save 10%, 15% and 20% on lift chairs, 4-wheeled walkers, walker accessories, shoes and scrub pants!

HURRY! This sale starts today and ends Friday for in-stock, in-store items only while supplies last!

Our Holiday Sale Starts on Monday, Monday, Monday!

DONT FORGET and we hope to see you at our store for these great deals next week!

T-Minus Five and Counting...

That's right folks, only 5 more days until our super-amazing Holiday Sale!

Save 10-20% on items that are rarely or never on sale!

Lift chairs, 4-Wheeled Walkers, Walker Accessories, Shoes (yes, including Dansko!) and Scrub Pants are ALL ON SALE NEXT WEEK!

Be sure to mark your calendar so you dont miss this fine event! Hope to see you soon!

Next week we are having our Biggest Sale Ever!

How to Save for a Vacation

By: Mrs. G

In this economy, travel or vacations seem to be out of reach for most people. But maybe not. Here are a few ideas to help you earn and save your way to that trip you have been dreaming about!

Make Saving Automatic. Have a specific dollar amount directly deposited from each paycheck into a bank account that is specifically earmarked just for a vacation. Making this an automatic transaction will help to make sure that it doesn't get crowded out by other expenses or expenditures.

Use Credit Cards Wisely. Besides just spending wisely, and paying off your balance each month, make sure that you are using your credit cards to their best advantage. Some cards award frequent flyer miles and provide travel perks, such as reduced fees for checked luggage. But a card that gives cash back can also be useful, and provides more flexibility for spending your rewards. Make as many regular transactions as you can through your credit card and make those earned rewards work for you. Not a fan of credit cards? See if your bank offers a debit card with similar perks.

Save your Savings. Need some motivation to clip coupons and shop the clearance rack? Each time you make a purchase that saves you money, immediately deposit the amount that you saved into your vacation account. Write yourself a check or do a funds transfer. Using just $10 worth of coupons during your weekly grocery run will add over $500 to your vacation budget!

Have a Sale! Clean out your attic, basement, closets and garage and sell unused items. Dedicate all of your sale profits to your vacation fund. Kids may be more willing to part with old toys if they know a trip to Disney World is involved! Try websites like eBay or Craigslist, especially for larger items. Look for resale or consignment shops that will sell unwanted clothing or furniture for you.

Recycle for Money. Collect bottles, cans, plastic, copper, and turn it in for cash. One California mom fulfilled her lifelong dream of a trip to Italy with her husband by collecting everywhere she went, including work.

Change. Several times a week, empty out your pockets or pocketbooks of all coins and put them in a jar. Even a few dollars per week can add up over the
course of a year.

Happy Travels!

Top Ten Customer Favorites

From Medical Supplies to Uniforms & Apparel, here are our customer favorites!

#10 - Angelic Pet Pins
FOR PET OWNERS - To show your love for your pet.
FOR PET MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS - Wear this pin while assisting beloved pets in their final moments, and then present the pin to the owners to show you care and to show sympathy. Available in dog or cat. Measures 3/4" x 7/8".

#9 - 3 in 1 Universal Commode with Elongated Seat
3 in 1 universal steel commode, elongated seat, with removable back and pail. Elongated seat adds extra depth. Can be used next to the bed, over the toilet as an elevating toilet seat and also a toilet safety frame.

#8 - Koi Lindsey Scrub Pant
Our best-selling scrub pant because they are incredibly comfortable and look great! Try for yourself and you will understand why our customers swear by them. Easy fit, low-rise pant features an adjustable draw-string waist, multi-needle stitching, adjustable hem leg, D-ring, two front pockets, two back pockets, cargo pocket and scissor pocket. Made of 55/45 cotton poly soft twill. 31" Inseam. Available in 25 Colors!

#7 - Sage Toothette Disposable Mint Oral Swabs
Sage Toothette disposable oral swabs with dentifrice allow gentle cleansing of teeth, mouth, and gums. Mint flavored swabs are individually wrapped. Available in bag of 250 or package of 20.

#6 - Scrub Pant, Unisex Drawstring 4100
Casual unisex pant features an adjustable webbed drawstring waist, one back pocket, and a cargo pocket with a cell phone pocket inside. 31" Inseam. Made of soil release poly/cotton poplin. Available in Ceil, Navy, Wine, Pewter, Black, Caribbean, White, Red, Teal Blue, Royal, Galaxy and Hunter.

#5 - Walker Glide Caps
Nova Walker Glide Caps - The perfect add-on to keep your walker gliding smoothly. Fits 1 1/8" outside diameter tube and all Nova standard walkers. Sold by the pair.

#4 - Apron, 3 Pocket Bib F10
Our most popular style bib apron! Features three divisional pouch pockets and a two piece slider neck adjustment.. Made of 65/35 poly cotton twill 7.5oz fabric. One size. Measures 24"L x 28"W. Available in Black, Burgundy, Hunter Green, Kelly Green, Khaki, Medium Green, Midnight Blue, Navy, Red, Royal Blue and White. Larger sizes and designer colors available - call for pricing.

#3 - Refillable Ice Pack with Ties
Makes coldtherapy easy! Clamp closure makes it easy to refill the ice bags for repeated use. Three-layer design protects the skin while keeping the moisture in the bag. Soft outer cover, absorbent middle layer and film inner layer. Use your own ice. 4 ties, bag measures 6 1/2" x 14". Sold by the each.

#2 - Classic Baggy Chef Pant 4005C
This classic baggy chef pant is made with 100% premium cotton twill. Features 2" elastic waist with a brass zipper, 2 large front pockets and one rear pocket. 7.5oz. Availabe in black or yarn dyed houndstooth and chalk stripe.

#1 - Medicine Cups
Disposable plastic graduated medicine cups are suitable for liquid or dry medications, as well as many household and industrial uses. Gardners use them for seedling starters! Each 1oz. cup is graduated in 1/8 oz, drams, CC, ML, and tsp/tbs increments. Sold by the sleeve, 100 cups per sleeve. Available in cases of 50 sleeves.

Avoiding Holiday Crowds

Yes, I know. December is the busiest month of the year for most people, but its also the month where people gain the most weight (on average 5-8 pounds)!

I don't know about you, but I really dislike crowds. And December is the worst with everybody and their brother at the malls and monster box stores.

I have figured out that if I try and finish my holiday shopping earlier in the season, I can avoid the holiday crowds at the mall AND at the gym. Starting around early November and all through December, the gyms and recreation centers are basically empty. This means that I can use any cardio machine, all of the weights and tracks are at my disposal and the gym-rats are much less intimidating.

Plus, I can indulge in those holiday treats and get through the season without the added bulge!

Top 10 Alternative Dinners for Turkey Day

10. Lasagne
Who doesnt love the cheesy, cozy, warm and wonderful Italian feast that is lasagne?

9. Stuffed Pork Chops
For meat lovers, this is a great "other white meat" option. If only I could figure out how to keep it moist?

8. Taco Bar
Why not lay out a whole smorgasborg of Mexican type ingredients so everyone is happy and stuffed at the end of the feast?

7. Roasted Chicken
But then, if you go through the hassle, why not just do a turkey? It tastes like chicken!

6. Cornish Hen
Because everyone can have their own miniature turkey!

5. Tofu Turkey
We are only about 15 miles from Boulder. This is an ode to our neighbors.

4. Steak
Personally, I would rank this at number one, but I realize that I am a true carnivore. Some people are not.

3. Goose
There are still people who hunt their Thanksgiving dinner these days!

2. Ham
Our family actually has ham at Christmas since we have turkey at Thanksgiving. Yes, we like to shake things up a bit.

1. Lobster
For the non-red meat eaters, and those on the east coast, and probably the west coast, this one is for you! Plus there is something special about lobster compared to any other shellfish.

What is your favorite non-turkey, Turkey Day dinner?

Fun, Spirited Scrubs with Holiday Prints!

We have new scrubs with HOLIDAY PRINTS!
Stock up and show your holiday spirit this season with these fun new scrubs!

V-Neck top in Happy Snowman - $15.49
























V-Neck top with Winter Pals - $24.49



















Mock Wrap top with Cocoa Penguins - $14.00

























Snap-Front in Festive Swirl - $14.00

























Click to Shop All of Our Holiday Prints!

Want to Live Longer?

UOAA UPDATE 11/09 Mercer County, via Metro MD

Want to live longer? Then go out and mingle, mingle, mingle.

A recent community health study reveals that socially active people lived longer than their quieter neighbors. Reported in the American Journal of Epidermiology, the study took into account such variables as cholesterol, drinking and height-to-weight ratio, as well as others, such as smoking, which could be expected to have an effect on longevity.
For men, passive solitary leisure activities such as television viewing and reading were "positively associated with mortality." Frequent social contact with other people substantially lowered the risks of dying in the 12 years the study has been in existence.
For women, the association between solitary leisure activities and the risk of dying was even more positively associated. Marital status for women was less significant than for men in the study.

Nursing During The Great Depression

by Scrubs • November 7, 2011

What was it like to be a nurse in the Great Depression? There’s plenty of historical information available about what was going on in the industry as a whole…but what most of us really want to know is the answer to questions such as “What was it like to be a nurse back then? What motivated people to choose this profession? What do I have in common with the nurses who came before me?”

Let’s take a look at the big-picture facts and hear some personal anecdotes from nurses who were just graduating from nursing school at the time.

The New Nursing Profession Suffers a Blow
The decade of the Great Depression came at a critical time in the history of nursing. The concept of educating nurses as healthcare professionals had just begun to catch on. Nursing schools with high-quality programs were becoming established. For the first time in U.S. history, being a nurse was seen as a respectable career path for women.

Hazel Joy, RN: “People sort of looked up to nurses. You had to study for three years—intense study, really. I was always proud to be a nurse and I think all of us were at that time.”

On the public health front, malnutrition, overcrowding, poor sanitation and other side effects of extreme poverty caused by the sudden economic decline took an enormous toll on human health. However, the rise in the number of people seeking hospital care didn’t lead to the creation of more nursing jobs. In fact, many hospitals and nursing schools closed due to lack of funding.

Results of Widespread Unemployment
Hospitals instituted entirely new rules for scheduling. Previously, most nurses were expected to work at least 12 hours a day, six or seven days a week (sound familiar?). Now, hours were cut back to eight hours a day, with no more than 48 hours in a week. This policy change allowed more nurses to be employed. General duty staffing became the norm. But some staff did still serve as private duty nurses, caring for just one patient at a time. With funding low, nurses often had to use whatever equipment was available to help patients pull through. Just like today, seeing a patient get well was the best reward.

Ida Carthel, RN: “I did private duty nursing for a two-year-old child, a beautiful little girl from a nearby town. A rattlesnake had bitten her several times on her legs. We had to stay with her because she was delirious. You know how you’ve heard they do these ‘X’ marks to suck the venom out of the patient’s flesh? We used breast pumps for that and it worked. You call that improvising, and we did! She recovered…she was such a doll.”

Low Wages and Restrictive Working Conditions Prevail
The pay wasn’t great (some hospitals had to cut salaries or stop paying altogether for a time), but the work was steady and offered some stability. Of course, just like now, a paycheck was only a temporary incentive. It wasn’t enough to make a person stay in the profession if they weren’t cut out for it.

Hazel Joy, RN: “Yes, it was a job at first, a way to make a living, and then as time went on, you had to like it. And you had to have some input into what was going on, and you had to feel a part of the team in order to get some satisfaction out of the job.”

In a time when few men or women could find a job at all, many young unmarried women still saw going to nursing school as a way out of poverty and insurance for their future. They just had to stay single or they would be kicked out! These thrifty women learned to live on very little as they pursued their dream.

Irma Earngey, RN: “I know that some nurses worked in some hospitals in Fort Worth, [Texas], in the 1930s for room and board and maybe $15 a month. I know that is hard to believe, but remember you could buy a pair of shoes for $2 and you could get a dress for $2 or $3. There wasn’t much money, but it went a long way.”

Nursing Shortages Arise
During the mid-1930s, the situation eased a little. But by this time, the general lack of support for the nursing profession had already created a big problem. There weren’t enough well-trained nurses to go around. This issue took decades (and lots of government educational funding) to fix. Yes, nursing shortages are nothing new. Fortunately, there have always been those who feel the calling to the healing profession too strongly to ignore.

Cleatis Treese, RN: “I think all my life I wanted to be a nurse. Mother said I never had a baby doll that was well. It either had a fracture or something had to be bandaged. So all my life I wanted to be a nurse. There was just never any doubt. Now my father was an invalid and he pushed me too, you know. He thought nurses were just the thing. And then I was a Lutheran, and so my minister just thought he would like to have one of his people go to the Lankenau Hospital [in Pennsylvania] to be a nurse. It just all fit in.”

Quotes derived from The Lived Experience of Registered Nurses, 1930-1950: A Phenomenological Study by Beverly Knowles Byers, BSN, MS, MSN

Better Living Corner: Bariatric Equipment

"My father needs bariatric equipment. Do you carry any?"

Bariatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the causes, prevention, and treatment of obesity. - Wikipedia

Bariatric equipment is typically designed for those who are 300 or more pounds in weight. And yes, we do carry bariatric equipment! Here are just a few:

Bath Bench with aluminum anodized fram and havey duty blow molded seat. Adjustable from 17"-19" height and measures 17"W x 16"D. 500lb capacity. NO9013 $48.08






















Mini Mack Walker with oversized padded seat, 8" solid tires, adjustable handle from 30"=34.5", measures 17"x12.5". 400lb capacity. NO4215 $226.79






















22" Transport Chair is lightweight, heavy duty and extra wide with desk arms. 22" Padded seat, 12" solid rear wheels. 400lb capacity. NO332R $290.74

How to Be Kind

Did you know www.WikiHow.com actually gives instructions on HOW to be KIND?

STEP ONE:
Understand what kindness is and is not. At its most basic, kindness is about caring genuinely for others around you, wanting the best for them, and recognizing in them the same wants, needs, aspirations, and even fears that you have too. Kindness is warm, resilient, patient, trusting, loyal, and grateful. Piero Ferrucci sees kindness as being about "making less effort" because it frees us from getting knotted up in negative attitudes and feelings such as resentment, jealousy, suspicion, and manipulation. Ultimately, kindness is deep caring for all beings.

STEP TWO
Be kind to yourself. Many people make the error of trying to be kind to others while not focusing on being kind to themselves. Some of this can stem from not liking aspects of yourself, but more often than not, it's sourced in the inability to know yourself better. And unfortunately, when you don't feel rock solid within yourself, your kindness to others risks falling into the deluded types of kindness described in the previous step. Or, it can lead to burn-out and disillusionment because you've put everyone else first. Self-knowledge allows you to see what causes you pain and conflict, and enables you to embrace your contradictions and inconsistencies. Self-knowledge allows the space to work on things about yourself that you're not happy with. In turn, self-knowledge helps to prevent you from projecting your negative aspects onto other people, thereby empowering you to treat other people with love and kindness.

STEP THREE
Be present. The greatest gift of kindness to another person is to be in the moment in their presence, to be listening with care, and to be genuinely attentive to them.

STEP FOUR
Be happy, joyful, and grateful. These emotions rest at the heart of kindness, allowing you to see the good in others and the world, enabling you to press through the challenges, despair, and cruelty you witness and experience, continuously restoring your sense of faith in humanity. Maintaining an optimistic attitude ensures that acts of kindness are committed with genuine joy and cheerfulness rather than with reluctance or out of a sense of duty or service. And keeping your sense of humor ensures that you don't take yourself too seriously and take life's contradictory and contrary moments with good faith.

STEP FIVE
Reflect on the kindness of other people. Think about the truly kind people in your life and how they make you feel. Do you carry their warm glow around in your heart every time you think of them? It is likely that you do because kindness lingers, warming you even when the hardest challenges face you. When other people find a way to love you for who you are, it's impossible to forget such trust and confirmation of worthiness, and their kindness lives on forever.

STEP SIX
Cultivate kindness for the good of your own health. Improved psychological health and happiness comes from thinking more positively, and kindness is a positive mental state. While kindness is about giving and being open to others, giving kindness returns a sense of well-being and connectedness to us that improves our own mental state and health.

STEP SEVEN
Practice the kindness effect. Stephanie Dowrick recommends that we practice what she calls the "kindness effect". She says that this requires us to allow ourselves the freedom to be kind for the sake of other people and for ourselves. In reaching to others, she confirms that it's impossible to be kind to others without this kindness also reflecting back on ourselves, increasing our connection with the world, and decreasing our personal problems.

STEP EIGHT
Expand your circle of kindness. It can be very easy to be kind when we're unconsciously doing what Stephanie Dowrick terms "patronizing kindness". This refers to kindness given to those people we feel are truly in need (the sick, the poor, the vulnerable, and those who align with our own ideals). Being kind to people close to us, emotionally (like family or friends) or in other ways (from the same country, of the same color, gender etc.), is also easier than being kind to those the philosopher Hegel called "the other". The trouble with curtailing it to "convenient" cases is that we fail to recognize that we need to be kind to everyone, no matter who they are, their level of wealth or fortune, their values and beliefs, their behavior and attitudes, their place of origin, their likeness to ourselves, etc. By choosing to be kind only to those we feel are deserving of kindness, we are unleashing our own biases and judgment, and only practicing conditional kindness. Real kindness encompasses all beings and while the challenges you'll face when trying to put this broader notion of kindness into practice will sometimes be trying, you'll never stop learning about the depths of your ability to be truly kind.

STEP NINE
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle". Attributed to Plato, this saying is a recognition that everyone is undergoing some challenge or other in their lives and that sometimes, it's all too easy for us to lose sight of that when embroiled in our own problems or anger against them. Before committing an action that might impact another person negatively, ask yourself a simple question: "Is this kind?". If you cannot answer this in the affirmative, this is a reminder to change your action and approach immediately.

STEP TEN“Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.” These are the words once said by Princess Diana. The practice of random acts of kindness is alive and well as a conscious effort to spread more kindness; there are even groups that have established themselves to perform this essential civic duty!

STEP ELEVEN
Be polite. Although being polite is not an indication of kindness in itself, genuine politeness demonstrates your respect for those you're interacting with. Being polite is the kind way of getting people's attention and putting your point across.

STEP TWELVE
Show kindness through loving animals and the living world. Loving animals and caring for pets is kindness in action. Nothing compels you to care about beings of another species, especially in a day and age where the tools of human domination are so powerful. And yet, the very act of loving an animal and respecting the animal for its own value is an expression of deep kindness. As well, being kind to the world that sustains and nurtures us is sensible as well as kind, ensuring that we don't poison the very elements that assure us a healthy life.

STEP THIRTEEN
Transform your life. Changing how you live and how you view the world might seem daunting. But take a note of Aldous Huxley's prescription for transforming your life: "People often ask me what is the most effective technique for transforming their life. It is a little embarrassing that after years and years of research and experimentation, I have to say that the best answer is–just be a little kinder." Take Huxley's many years of research to heart and allow kindness to transform your life, to transcend all feelings and actions of aggression, hate, despising, anger, fear, and self-deprecation, and to restore strength worn away by despair.

Source: http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Kind

Learn Something New Everyday

Most people learn how to do a few things very well in the course of their lifetime. We become experts at several things, usually tied to our jobs, or our way of life. Then, as we grow older and retire, we may pick up a new hobby or interest and become experts at those things in later years.

But, have you thought about simply learning something new, something simple, each and every day? With the internet, taking just ten minutes to learn something new is just a click away!

MonkeySee.com is a watch, learn and discover website where you watch videos, created by experts, of the topic you wish to learn about. Most of the videos are relatively short, so learning something new is quick and easy. MonkeySee categories include Auto & Mechanical, Electronics & Gadgets, Hobbies & Crafts, Home & Garden, Careers & Education, Food & Drink, Safety, Travel and much more! Visit www.monkeysee.com to sign up.

iMinds.com allows people to learn new things from a credible source while on the go. They publish original, short audio podcasts about liberal arts topics (history, economics, current events, business) that are approximately 8 minutes in length. They are available via iTunes or Audible.com for $.99 each, or longer, multi-track lessons are sold for $3.99 to $24.99 (for 6 tracks, up to 72 tracks). Visit www.iMinds.com for more information.

TheWeek.com is a weekly current events magazine that summarizes the news of the previous week. They draw on a variety of sources to present a short, but balanced overview of issues, and if you want to dig deeper, they provide links to original sources. The Week provides a great way for busy readers to learn about current evens. Visit www.theweek.com for more information.

Curious about how the heart works, or how far the pitchers mound is in baseball? Visit www.HowStuffWorks.com. From the makers of The Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, this site provides information clearly and in layman’s terms.

Want something simple and quick? Go to www.wikipedia.org and click on “Random Article” on the left hand side. Wikipedia is a free, online encyclopedia that anyone can edit and contribute information to. While the articles can be interesting, double checking references listed at the end of each article is a good idea.

Source: http://mashable.com/2009/09/24/learning-resources/

Better Living Corner: I want to continue to live alone

"I want to live alone, but want an affordable home safety system that can help me if I am unable to get to the phone and dial 911."

We have two pendant systems to choose from that will allow you to live alone, yet give you the peace of mind in the event you are disabled and cannot help yourself.

Both of our systems require you to wear a pendant at all times, and both can call 911 at the simple push of a button, no matter where you are in your home. These systems require NO monthly fee, the only expense is the initial purchase. Both are water resistant and easy to setup!

Guardian Alert 911 allows you to speak directly through the pendant to a 911 operator. LO30911 - $159.07

Freedom Alert allows you to speak directly through the pendant to four different phone numbers. Call family, friends, neighbors and of course a 911 operator. This sytems allows you call someone other than emergency services if your issue is not life-threatening. LO35911 - $270.93

"Why Don't You Take Medicare/Medicaid?"

As a medical supply provider, we get asked the question "Why don't you take Medicare/Medicaid?".

A little over two years ago, we made the very difficult decision to exit our relationship with CMS, or Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which is the US federal agency which administers Medicare, Medicaid. At that time, in an effort to reduce fraud, CMS was requiring providers to become "Accredited", which is a very lengthy and expensive process. For larger chain providers, this was not as big of an issue, but for mom-n-pop shops such as ourselves, this was a daunting task.

Couple the accreditation requirements adding substantial overhead, with the already low reimbursement rates, and it simply no longer made business sense.

As the years have come and gone, the government has added competitive bidding to the requirments for some areas of the nation. In an effort to reduce spending by streamlining vendors and subsequent billing, suppliers - and by suppliers we mean BIG suppliers - have to submit and win a bid to supply certain areas of consumers with DME products that are paid for by the government. Again, this was an issue for mom-n-pop shops and we were simply squeezed out because of the format provided to those that wanted to submit a bid.

Just last week, HME News, the business newspaper for the home medical equipment provders, discovered that accredited providers were potentially having to go through the accreditation process all over again. Why? Because, "WellPoint, a health plan that owns and administers Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in 14 states, has notified providers in Georgia that to remain part of its network, they must be accredited by one of only three accreditation agencies by March 1, 2012."*

This is a huge blow for two reasons.

For one, CMS gave a list of ten accreditation agencies for providers to obtain accreditation from. This means that if a provider chose one that is NOT one of the three WellPoint has approved, a provider has to switch accreditation agencies. It is unknown what that process entails, since nobody anticipated any reason to have to switch. And as stated previously, this is a very lengthy and expensive process, especially for a small mom-n-pop shop.

Second, WellPoint has only notified Georgia providers, but their industry stakeholders say that this is a "national policy". If they successfully make this a national policy, it opens the door for other healthcare plans to require suppliers to change their accreditations as well.

How does this effect you, the consumer? Several ways, actually. If you enjoy buying your Medicare/Medicaid products locally, these requirements will ensure that mom-n-pop shops can no longer provide them. Most smaller suppliers are interested in providing quality over quantity, which means lesser quality products will be the only option for Medicare/Medicaid recipients. Also, it is widely known in the industry that one of the biggest issues with these changes is service. If your wheelchair malfunctions, service and repairs will be very difficult to find.

Accusations that corporations are making money hand over fist is false. Several of our local competitors have closed their doors in the past few years. In this economy with these requirments, its survival of the biggest corporation, not survival of the fittest (or best). And unfortunately, we feel its the consumers that will suffer.

*HME News, November 2011, Accreditation: Medicare's requirement not foolproof by Liz Beaulieu