Matthew Eversmann, whose character was played by Josh Hartnett in the movie about the 1993 18-hour battle in the most hostile part of Somalia, is in Waterloo to keynote VGM’s 2011 Heartland Conference. He will speak to Heartland attendees at Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center earlier that morning.

His topic at Grout will be “Dedication, Pride and Commitment.” He has lectured on his Somalian experience throughout the world, represented the Army on “Larry King Live” and “Dateline with Stone Phillips, and has spoken to students and faculty at West Point, Annapolis and the Air Force Academy. Eversmann has also appeared before audiences at Ford, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Goldman Sachs, Merck, RAND and USA Today.

Eversmann enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1987, and later spent eight and a half years in the Third Battalion , 75^th Ranger Regiment. He was a squad leader, a weapons squad sergeant, the battalion air operations sergeant, the battalion liaison sergeant and a platoon sergeant. He was also in charge of the regiment’s pre-Ranger course that helped train solders to pass the grueling Army Ranger School.

He has trained soldiers across the globe and was deployed to Mogadishu in support of Operation Gothic Serpent. In addition to attending many military schools, he received numerous awards and decorations, including the Bronze Star Medal with Valor for his service in Somalia.

Eversmann recently returned to the U.S. after serving 15 months in Iraq, and retired from the Army as an infantry company first sergeant after 20 years of service. He is the founder and president of Freeman Phillips LLC, a leadership development company, and the author of “The Battle of Mogadishu” (2004).

The presentation, sponsored by VGM Group, Inc., is by invitation only. For more information, call the museum, 234-6357.

For more information, call

Billie Bailey, 234-6357

The Waverly (Iowa) occupational therapist, advocates for People for Quality Care and Users First, both consumer advocacy groups for individuals with disabilities.

Wolff , a Waverly native, graduated from Wartburg College. She is employed by Taylor Physical and Occupational Therapy Associates at the Waverly Health Center. She organized stroke and Parkinson’s support groups, initiated the Bremer County Accessible Transportation Coalition and helped create a Parkinson’s Care Team at the Waverly Health Center.

She has lobbied for better wheelchair coverage at the Continuing Education and Legislative Advocacy (CELA) Conference with other consumers, therapists, suppliers and manufacturers who advocate for complex rehab technology for all Americans with disabilities. Wolff has also advocated with Users First Alliance and People for Quality Care.

Ms. Wheelchair America provides the opportunity for women who happen to be wheelchair users to successfully educate and advocate for the more than 54 million Americans living with disabilities. It is a competition based on advocacy, achievement, communication and presentation.

The Ms. Wheelchair America pageant will be August 1-7, 2011 in Grand Rapids, Mich.

“VGM is supporting Jennifer’s efforts, and would like other members to consider supporting their states’ Ms. Wheelchair representatives,” says Kelly Turner, director of People for Quality Care. “Our experience with this organization has been very positive and we’ve developed some long-lasting relationships with some incredible advocates.”

For more information, contact

Kelly Turner, 866-342-6643

Matthew Eversmann, whose character was played by Josh Hartnett in the movie about the 1993 18-hour battle in the most hostile part of Somalia, will speak to conference attendees from 8 to 9 a.m. on June 7 at Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center.

His topic will be “Dedication, Pride and Commitment.” He has lectured on his Somalian experience throughout the world, represented the Army on “Larry King Live” and “Dateline with Stone Phillips,” and has spoken to students and faculty at West Point, Annapolis and the Air Force Academy. Eversmann has also appeared before audiences at Ford, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Goldman Sachs, Merck, RAND and USA Today.

Eversmann enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1987, and later spent eight and a half years in the Third Battalion , 75^th Ranger Regiment. He was a squad leader, a weapons squad sergeant, the battalion air operations sergeant, the battalion liaison sergeant and a platoon sergeant. He was also in charge of the regiment’s pre-Ranger course that helped train solders to pass the grueling Army Ranger School.

He has trained soldiers across the globe and was deployed to Mogadishu in support of Operation Gothic Serpent. In addition to attending many military schools, he received numerous awards and decorations, including the Bronze Star Medial with Valor for his service in Somalia.

Eversmann recently returned to the U.S. after serving 15 months in Iraq, and retired from the Army as an infantry company first sergeant after 20 years of service. He is the founder and president of Freeman Phillips LLC, a leadership development company, and the author of “The Battle of Mogadishu” (2004).

The 10^th Heartland Conference, the premier educational event in the home medical equipment industry, will be June 6-9 in Waterloo, Iowa, VGM’s hometown. To register and view the schedule, visit www.vgmheartland.com.

For more information, contact

Carolyn Cole, 1-800-642-6065

carolyn.cole@vgm.com

K.C. Martin, the almost-new owner of SEMO Medical in Cape Girardeau, Mo., admits he was trying to be pro-active.

He purchased SEMO’s assets in July 2010, and on March 11, moved to a new location “that would help me better serve my patients.” So, on Feb. 26, he completed a change of address form for the U.S. Post Office to ensure there would be no interruptions in service.

No good deed goes unpunished. Region B sent a communication to SEMO’s old address, and when it was returned, his account was put on a “do not forward” status, he says. “That means they don’t pay,” he explains. “DNF ground everything to a halt.”

He sent out a plea via e-mail, looking for his ombudsman because he needed help.

“Peggy (Walker) was one of the first who responded. She did help me through pleading my case. She did a wonderful job for me , and gave me some other ideas on things we’ll be doing down the road.”

“Providers are supposed to notify the National Supplier Clearinghouse of any changes within 30 days, BUT when they process their application, it will definitely take longer than 30 days. So you shouldn’t change your address at the post office until the NCS process is complete,” Walker, VGM Group reimbursement adviser, explains.

“K.C.’s provider number was frozen and things didn’t look good for his business. I did some research, got to the proper person at NSC and they released the number. That made it possible for the company to bill,” she continues.

Walker’s assistance helped Martin make a decision about what he’ll be doing the first week in June.

“I had some other plans, but I’m coming to Heartland now!” he says.

But first we’ll focus on the celebrating!  In honor of our 10th Anniversary we’re giving away 10 Free Heartland Registrations!  And its easy to win.  Just Like us on Facebook! Starting April 11, and continuing for 5 weeks, we’ll select two people per week from our Facebook page to win. Drawings will be held on Fridays April 15, 22, 29 and May 6 and 13.

But there is no need to wait to win, you can register online now!  And if you are selected as one of our winners, we will refund your registration fee OR you can elect to bring a second person from your company for FREE!

Everything you need to know about Heartland Conference 2011 is available online now including the complete education schedule, the course descriptions and all the travel info you need to get here!  Check it out at www.vgmheartland.com!

Here’s the fine print of the contest: You MUST be a registerred attendee for Heartland 2010 inorder to be eligible.  So make sure you register online for Heartland TODAY!  Online registration only takes a few minutes, and for a chance at $500 who can’t spare 3 minutes?

You have until 5 pm central time today to get your registration completed and your testimonial submitted.  The Heartland Conference department will announce the contest winner in this blog, tomorrow, May 4. 

Good luck to you all!

Want to learn something about billing, operations, and rehab? 

Retail sales, respiratory and accreditation?

Reimbursement, Power Mobility, Web Trends, Referral Sources, Support Surfaces, Accessibility, Medicaid, Leadership, Certification, Sleep, Compliance, Fraud and Abuse, Intake, Inventory Control, Customer Service, Home Modification, Documentation, Ethics and more?

You can do it all at Heartland Conference!  You can spend three days in classes from all 8 tracks and get a wide breadth of information.  Or you can get in-depth knowledge of one specific area by spending all three days in classes specific to one track. 

One more great feature of the track-hopping freedom that Heartland offers is that we also don’t make you choose any of your sessions ahead of time.  We’ve all registered for a conference that wanted to know exactly which sessions we were planning to attend even though the conference was six months away.  How do you know which topics will be of most interest to you months from now?  Things are changing so quickly in the HME industry that it’s just not realistic to expect that you know now what you need to learn in June. 

Well not Heartland Conference!  In fact, we don’t ever ask which sessions you’re going to attend.  You are free to change your mind right up until you walk through the door to the classrooms. 

Attend classes in any track, no session selection required.  As Burger King would say, you can have it your way at Heartland Conference (Whopper not included with registration).

This means that we have something for everyone on your staff, so bring them all!  The more the merrier.  And the more people you bring, the more you save!  Bring a group of 5 or more from the same company and save $25 off each registration ($125 savings).  Or bring a group of 10 or more and save $45 off each.  That’s a minimum of $450 in savings!

Waterloo, Iowa, home of VGM and Heartland Conference, is located at the intersection of US Highways 218, 63 and 20, and Interstate 380 and very near Interstates 80 and 35. We are easily accessible by car from almost anywhere. 

So pack up 5 or 10 of your staff, send them down the road in a van, double them up in $80 a night hotel rooms and expect an excellent road trip, unrivaled education and networking, staff bonding, and unforgettable memories all for an unbelievably low price.

With Heartland’s all-inclusive pricing, for only $345 you receive education, meals, transportation and entertainment!  There is no better deal in the HME industry. 

Pair that with the reasonable prices in Iowa where a gallon of gas and a bottle of beer at the local tavern are both still less than $3 and you’ve got a winning, and money-saving, combination!

You’ll see that the header of www.vgmheartland.com features a number of testimonials about the Heartland experience that we received after last year’s conference.  If you have attended Heartland in the past and your comment isn’t listed there, please Share Your Story with us by clicking on Testimonials in the upper right-hand corner of this page and tell us why you attend Heartland in the Comments section.  Please remember to include your name and your company name in your comment. 

Everyone who submits a testimonial will be enterered into a drawing to win $500!  We will draw the lucky winner on Monday, May 3, so make sure you get your comment in before then.  The $500 could be used for your conference registration, or your travel and hotel expenses, or to buy a new wardrobe, or whatever you like. 

While the saying goes that “a picture is worth a thousand words” we think that a couple words are worth $500.  Share Your Story with us and win!

We keep our registration price low as an exclusive membership benefit to all VGM Group members.  With all the educational sessions and the networking opportunities for only $345, you can’t afford to miss Heartland Conference this year!

With Heartland’s all-inclusive pricing, for only $345 you receive education, meals, transportation and entertainment!  There is no better deal in the HME industry and there definitely is no better conference experience!

VGM’s Heartland Conference is a three-day educational opportunity exclusively for VGM members offering the latest industry insights from the experts in health care, unrivaled networking, and VGM’s famous hometown hospitality. 

In addition to all the great education and networking that you’ve gotten in the past, we are adding new features and benefits to the 2010 conference which makes it an even better value than its been in the past!

Mark your calendars for Heartland Conference 2010, June 7-10 in Waterloo.

Our web site is currently being updated with all the info you’ll need to know as well as online registration.  Check back often for new details and to read our weekly blog on all the Heartland news that’s fit to print.