EasyStand

Another great year is coming to an end. In 2009, Altimate Medical celebrated twenty years of helping people stand, since our very first EasyStand was sold in September of 1989. 2009 also marks the first full year of the EasyStand Bantam for kids being on the market! We are excitedthat more children are standing, and more physical therapists areprescribing the Bantam after seeing what it can do with their own eyes!

Now, here are some of my favorite blog posts of 2009:

International Travel for Wheelchair Users

Al’s Story about how the EasyStand came to be

MS Achievement Center - and the amazing people who go there

College Students with Disabilities - What they need to Know!

Schools - How you can use Stimulus Funds for Assistive Technology

John Locke on LOST - Walking on a deserted island vs. Wheeling in the U.S.

Rehabilitative Benefits of the Nintendo Wii - for Occupational Therapy and Fun!

Standing and Bone Density - The Strongest Evidence we’ve Found

What can happen when you work with a great medical team

Eye-Opening photo shoot - Evolv and Bantam

Adaptive Yoga - The latest trend for wheelers

A “not so obvious” benefit - How standing improves motor skills

Indications and Contraindications of a Standing Program

Ways the EasyStand Factory and Employees are “Going Green”

Why being in a wheelchair is like being Paris Hilton

Suppliers, therapists, customers, and families: Thank you for working with us. We appreciate your business, feedback, comments, and enjoy having the opportunity to serve you. If you’re just here to read our blog, that’s great too. Thanks for joining us in 2009, and we hope you will connect with us in 2010 as well. Happy New Year!

It always seems that the most challenging aspect of creating a new catalog is what photo feature on the front cover, and this year was no exception. With our focus on the new pediatric stander, the EasyStand Bantam, we knew that wanted to make it center stage on our catalog cover.

After many drafts, many more than I expected : ), we chose this beautiful photo of Chloe and her mom. We first met Chloe (who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy) at a photo shoot at SPOT Rehab in St. Cloud, Minnesota a couple months ago. With a captivating smile, and a personality to match, Chloe won our hearts! To us at Altimate Medical, this photo symbolizes what we work for everyday: to improve the lives of kids and adults with disabilities by helping them stand up.

Chloe’s mom Lisa knows how vital standing is for her daughter, “It is very important for Chloe to stand in her stander to help keep her muscle tone. We looked at other standers but chose the EasyStand because it is easy for us to use, well-built, and aesthetically pleasing… Chloe uses her stander to eat meals also sometimes just to play.”

Meeting Chloe, and others like her,makes creating our catalog seem more like writing a book. With each page we are telling a story about our standers through photos and testimonials from people who love to stand. As I flip though that catalog pages it bring back many customer memories.

Download the 2010 EasyStand Product Catalog

What do you think of our new catalog? Did you feel that it portrayed a story?

This is a 5 Part series on Interviewing Tips for Physical Therapists a resource available from PediaStaff:
Part 1: Preparing for the interview.
Part 2: Phone vs. Face-to-face Interviews.
Part 3: During the Interview.
Part 4: Answering & Asking Questions.
Part 5: Following up after the Interview.

THE FOLLOW-UP LETTER
This letter is often the deciding factor in choosing between two equally qualified candidates or winning the position when you are right on the edge of having sufficient experience or qualifications. Don’t neglect it.

The key to a successful interview is in your hands. That key, simply stated, is that you must convince the company that you can do the job better than others, and that you WANT the job. Being there is not enough to tell them you want the job. Don’t assume…TELL them.

Remember: You are both there for a purpose. The interviewer’s purpose is to determine in his/her mind that you are the most qualified person for this position. Your purpose is to convince him/her that you are…Sounds simple? It really is as long as you believe in yourself!

WRAPPING UP THE INTERVIEW IN YOUR FAVOR
Typically, don’t expect to walk out of an interview with an offer in hand. Regardless of how strong an impression you’ve made, it is likely the interviewer(s) will need a little time to digest the information received and discuss your qualifications.

End the interview on a positive note. Tell the interviewer that you are interested and excited about the job (assuming you are, of course?), and that based on what you’ve learned, you feel confident that you could make a contribution to their organization.

You might ask what the time frame will be for a decision to be made.

Thank the interviewer for his/her time and say how much you’ve enjoyed the talk, and how profitable you’ve found the interview. Make a graceful exit.

Immediately after the interview, do two things:

• 1. Call your recruiter and give them an overview of how you perceived the interview went. He will serve as a crucial intermediary in clarifying any misunderstandings and assist in negotiation of the compensation package.
• 2. Within 24 hours of the initial interview, write a follow-up letter to the principal hiring authority. Mail copies to your personnel contact at the company and any other key decision makers with whom you may have talked. Thank them again, confirm your continuing interest in further discussions, and stress any major points that may have been covered during the interview that confirm your qualifications for the position. List three reasons why you are qualified for the position and three reasons why you want the job.

Be sure to subscribe to our blog to guarantee that you will not miss Parts 1-5 of this series. This is just one of the many PediaStaff resources available on their website.