Making Progress

Through 25 years, and several hair-styles, Simon Margolis has found purpose in a profession often misunderstood. Vice president for clinical and professional development of National Seating and Mobility, Chattanooga, Tenn., and president and founding member of the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA), Margolis is one of six recipients of HomeCare magazine’s Caring Awards. Each winner was chosen for demonstrated commitment and service to the HME community.

Recently, HomeCare talked to Margolis about his career and his dedication to the rehab technology field.

HC: You’ve been in the durable medical equipment industry for 25 years. What motivates you?

Margolis: From my standpoint there isn’t anything else I would prefer doing. After a while, you start seeing the industry and the profession as a child: You give birth to it, follow it through infancy, and as it starts maturing, you want to make sure it’s prosperous.

Of course, there is no end to the challenges, but I find most challenges are really an opportunity to make something better.

HC: What are some of those professional challenges?

Margolis: Dealing with bureaucracy and having people consistently misunderstand what we do. [But] I don’t see what bureaucrats do as an attack on our field or discrimination against people with disabilities — they’re just doing their jobs.

HC: How have you tried to influence progress?

Margolis: Most people in this field have chosen to stay on the clinical track, where their dedication is to the client. Providing direct service limits me to the amount of hours in a day, but if I can get in the position where I can teach and affect policy, then that’s ideal.

The biggest part of influencing progress is making sure the world outside our industry understands who we are and what we do … If someone asks if getting equipment from a certified individual is better than getting equipment from an uncertified individual, I have to give him or her a cogent answer and make sure they understand our motivation.

HC: What’s on the horizon for the rehab and mobility segments of the industry?

Margolis: People once said the world is flat, and if you went far enough, you’d fall off. That’s what this industry feels like now. The conventional wisdom has always been that we talk about funding. I think it is access, meaning initiating change in the coverage criteria and the rules insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid use to allow people to have the technology we provide.

The challenge is to try to change the policy-makers’ minds one at time. Lawmakers don’t want to hear that individual companies aren’t making any money because in today’s economy, nobody is making much money. Sometimes to be successful at changing a system, money and payment come second to access to the technology by the consumer.

In addition to his day job, Simon Margolis is a founding board member of the National Registry of Rehabilitation Technology Suppliers, a member of the American Association for Homecare Rehab and Assistive Technology Council, and a member of the National Rehabilitation Association, the American Society for Training and Development, The American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists, and the American Management Association. He can now add HomeCare Caring Award winner to his impressively crowded resume.