Newsmakers

SOMERSET, Pa. — DeVilbiss Healthcare has
appointed Alan Panzer as president and CEO. Panzer
most recently served as president of United States
Surgical/Valleylab Co. for Covidien, and prior to that, as
president of Tyco Healthcare Vascular Therapy. His earlier
experience includes sales leadership positions at The Kendall
Healthcare Co. and Pfizer. “I am excited to join DeVilbiss. As its
new CEO, I am committed to accelerate new product launches as well
as enhance service to provide compelling solutions for dealers,
providers and patients,” Panzer said in a press release. “Important
in our goals are to lead the industry in driving clinical
effectiveness, enhanced comfort and therapy compliance.” DeVilbiss
said it is “at an important time” in the company’s growth with the
creation of a new dedicated sales force, the launch of its
IntelliPAP sleep therapy product line and upcoming introductions of
new ambulatory oxygen lines. Bryan Carey, who has
been serving as interim president and CEO, will serve as a senior
advisor to Panzer during the transition, the company said.

PHILADELPHIA — Alliance Seating &
Mobility, a division of The Scooter Store, has hired
Ted O’Neill, a complex rehab specialist with 35
years of experience, as Assistive Technology Supplier (ATS) in
Pennsylvania. O’Neill has been a RESNA-certified ATS for 12 years
and has served on the board of directors of the National Registry
of Rehab Technology Suppliers (NRRTS) for three years. Previously,
he worked as an RTS for Associated Medical Specialties in
Philadelphia and the Chesapeake Rehab Equipment in Collingdale, Pa.
In 1992, he started Teamworks, a branch of Reliant Care, which
Chesapeake purchased in 2005. O’Neill was also president of
Mid-Atlantic Health Associates, a Newton Square-based organization
specializing in rehab equipment sales, and a manager at Accurate
Medical Service and Mark One Hospital Products. Created in 2007 to
provide complex rehab, ASM has grown from three locations to more
than 20.

TUSCON, Ariz. — The board of directors of the
Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities
(CARF) has elected Cathy Ellis, PT, to
serve a one-year term as board chair beginning Jan. 1. Ellis,
director of physical rehabilitation and the clinical director of
the spinal cord program at the National Rehabilitation Hospital,
Washington, D.C., was seated on the CARF board in 2006 and
previously served on the organization’s board of trustees from 2000
to 2005. “In the coming year, CARF will continue to expand our work
to improve the lives of persons served in the human services
fields,” she said.