FRO M T H E N RRTS OF F IC E
HAPPY 30 BIRTHDAY NRRTS!!! TH
Written by: GERRY DICKERSON, ATP, CRTS ®
It’s hard to believe that 30 years have passed. In 1992, gas was $1.05 per gallon, a pound of bacon was $1.92 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 3301. For many of us, there were small children of our own running around. Now we have small children of our children running around! I look at my grandkids in absolute wonder of their little bodies and their development and how they remind me of their parents. Then I stop and think, “Were did the time go?” So much has changed in the world, and yet so much remains the same. We still struggle everyday with providing appropriate interventions to people who need them. We have yet to convince the world at large that it’s not “just a wheelchair.” A great deal of work still needs to be done. Having said that, it’s time to celebrate NRRTS and NRRTS' 30 years of commitment. We owe a great deal of gratitude to the visionaries who realized the necessity for an organization that supported the needs of people working in the field providing interventions and protecting the folks receiving those interventions with a Code of Ethics and a Standard of Practice. One of those visionaries, the first president of NRRTS, was Adrienne “Adee” Falk Bergen. I was very fortunate to work with Adee in a clinical setting. I learned a great deal from her over the years, and we became great friends. There are many adjectives to describe Adee and her knowledge, commitment and passion for her patients and for NRRTS. Smart, articulate, tough and understanding are just a few. It was an amazing thing to watch when a funding source denied one of her requests. “No” was not an option. This from a letter Adee wrote to the profession on September 28, 1994: “Everyone continues to be excited about NRRTS … suppliers, manufacturers, reps, clinicians … everyone! Our name is popping up in all kinds of places on a
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DIRECTIONS 2022.1
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE, PAST AND PRESENT, WHO GIVES OF THEIR TIME, EXPERTISE, KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL TO THIS ONE-OF-A KIND ORGANIZATION. state and national level. Policymakers know who we are and are excited about what we have to offer consumers. As of September 15, 1994, we have 274 paid registrants, 124 applications in process, and 42 applications approved that have been invoiced for payment. If everyone qualifies, and if everyone pays, then we will have over 400 registrants when we meet in Atlanta.” Geez, remember meeting in person? Today, NRRTS has 975 total Registrants: 277 from Canada and 698 in the U.S. This is something that could not have happened without the uncounted thousands of hours of committed volunteers and paid staff over the last 30 years. I’m going to try and convince a couple of other historians to work on an issue of DIRECTIONS dedicated to the people and history of this great organization. Happy birthday again to NRRTS, and thank you to everyone, past and present, who gives of their time, expertise, knowledge and skill to this one-of-a kind organization. Till next time,
CONTACT THE AUTHOR
Gerry may be reached at GDCRTS@GMAIL.COM
Gerry Dickerson, ATP, CRTS ®, is a 40-plus year veteran of the Durable Medical Equipment and Complex Rehab Technology industries. Dickerson, president of NRRTS, works for National Seating & Mobility in Plainview, New York. Dickerson is the recipient of the NRRTS Simon Margolis Fellow Award and is also a RESNA fellow. He has presented nationally at the RESNA conference, ISS and the National CRT conference and is a past board member of NCART.
