Page 6 - Mobility Management, January/February 2022

Feature Series
COVID-19’S
WIDE REACH
HOW THE PANDEMIC HAS IMPACTED CRT... & WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT
By Laurie Watanabe
In late January, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) began reporting that the number of COVID-19 cases in the United States was dropping. The Public Health Agency of Canada reported a similar downward trend in that country.
If your response was more a weary sigh than jubilation... you’re not alone. It is clear that COVID will continue to cast a long and wide shadow, even if the virus fades relatively soon.
Complex Rehab Technology (CRT) stakeholders have taken blows from all sides. Clinicians, suppliers, and service tech- nicians were deemed essential workers early in the pandemic — but that meant exposure to higher-risk environments, such as hospitals overrun with COVID patients. Lockdowns sepa- rated occupational and physical therapists and CRT suppliers from clients in skilled nursing centers and other facilities. Manufacturers paid more for raw materials; manufacturers and
6 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2022 | MOBILITY MANAGEMENT
suppliers faced skyrocketing shipping costs. And the industry had to buy massive amounts of masks, gloves, and disinfecting wipes, while being unable to pass these costs on to consumers or funding sources due to existing, pre-pandemic allowables.
SUPPLY CHAINS & SHIPPING WOES
From the metals that make wheelchair frames to the computer chips that enable power chairs to move, materials and compo- nents shortages have led to delivery delays. Even when a seating system or a wheelchair is ready to go, shipping slowdowns cause further delays.
Compounding the issue: shortages and delays greatly vary.
Darrell Mullen is an RRTS for Tango Medical in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.
“For delivery dates, for instance, we have one manufacturer
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