WATERLOO, Iowa--This week, nearly 1,000 HME providers, manufacturers and speakers are expected in Waterloo, Iowa, for the VGM Group’s Heartland Conference 2008.
Set to kick off tonight, the primary conference venue will be the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center, and the Waterloo Center for the Arts will also be used. While the annual event is famous for its hog roast, officials say this year’s conference will offer more than the perfect pig.
“The Heartland Conference hosts a record number of educational offerings this year,” said VGM's Sara Bauer, vice president of education, noting 90 speakers will present more than 100 sessions in eight tracks: executive, operations, rehab, regulatory, products and technology, reimbursement, respiratory and sales and marketing.
< Additionally, Bauer said, “attendees can receive up to eight different types of continuing education credits.”
A variety of special sessions--including Billing Boot Camp, the Certified Environmental Access Consultant (CEAC) exam, U.S. Rehab technical training, Assistive Technology Supplier/Practitioner training and Wound Care/Bariatrics--will run during the week before Heartland’s official close on Thursday. Individuals will sit for the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) exam on Friday.
According to VGM President Ron Bendell, "The Heartland Conference is critically important to the industry at this time because [providers] will obtain the latest information with regard to managing competitive bidding and other reimbursement issues such as the [Deficit Reduction Act], understanding and coping with government fraud, abuse and other regulatory initiatives and developing methods to expand their business opportunities.
"The conference allows providers to network with other providers and learn how others are coping with and thriving in today’s ever-changing environment.”
For more information, visit www.vgmheartland.com.