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Medical Rehab

Join RCPA as we host the 2026 Annual Conference Power in Purpose: Promoting Possibilities from September 29 – October 2 at the Hershey Lodge. The event is a highlight for the Pennsylvania behavioral health, brain injury, children’s, early intervention, intellectual and developmental disabilities, medical rehabilitation, and physical disabilities and aging provider communities. RCPA staff and the Conference Committee are excited to release this year’s Sponsors, Exhibitors, and Advertiser Brochure, which features many opportunities to get in on the action and network with providers. Booth self-selection will also be available for exhibitors and exhibiting sponsors. In order to be considered for self-selection, a completed contract with payment must be submitted.

Network and Compete in Connections Hall
Connections Hall activities take place during the two busiest days of the conference, and many networking opportunities are available throughout the event. You’ll also be able to compete and have a chance to win “Best of Show!”

 

Exciting Sponsorship Opportunities
RCPA is privileged to have the backing of the finest organizations in the field for our conference. Through the use of sponsorship circles, RCPA is able to honor all supporting organizations.

Sign Up Now!
Sponsors, exhibitors, and advertisers who wish to be listed on the website, on the mobile app, and in the conference program must submit all materials by Tuesday, September 8.

The association looks forward to welcoming you at the conference! Space and opportunities are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis, and no reservation is considered complete without payment. If questions remain, please contact Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator.

Thursday, February 5, 2026
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm EST; 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm CST;
11:00 am – 12:00 pm MST; 10:00 am – 11:00 am PST
Register Here

This webinar is a follow-up to Dr. Bohl’s January 2025 webinar Understanding and Treating Pediatric Vision Impairments, including additional practical treatment options. Attendees may wish to review the former presentation prior to attending.

Presenter Bio:

Dr. Bohl earned her Doctor of Optometry degree from the University of the Incarnate Word Rosenberg School of Optometry in San Antonio, Texas, and completed a residency in neuro-optometric rehabilitation through the State University of New York College of Optometry. Dr. Bohl joined the team at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in 2017, where she supports individuals with vision impairments in the rehabilitation setting.

Objectives: At the end of this session, the learner will:

  • Review therapy techniques beneficial to pediatric patients with visual deficits;
  • Identify when to use techniques to benefit peripheral awareness, pursuits, saccades, visual perceptual skills, and functional binocularity; and
  • Adapt therapeutic interventions to adjust levels of difficulty and ensure appropriateness for different age populations.

Audience: This webinar is intended for all interested members of the rehabilitation team.

Level: Beginner – Intermediate

Certificate of Attendance: Certificates of attendance are available for all attendees. No CEs are provided for this course.

Complimentary webinars are a benefit of IPRC/RCPA membership. Registration fee for non-members is $179. Not a member yet? Consider joining today.

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to obtain public feedback on potential approaches to strengthen the American-made supply chain for personal protective equipment (PPE) and essential medicines. Building on lessons learned during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), CMS is exploring ways to reduce reliance on foreign-made medical supplies and enhance the nation’s readiness for future emergencies while supporting American workers and manufacturers.

The proposed rule requests comments on new avenues CMS may consider promoting domestic purchasing by hospitals that participate in the Medicare program, including the potential creation of a new “Secure American Medical Supplies” designation for hospitals committed to American-made purchasing and streamlined payment approaches to help offset the resource costs of domestic procurement.

Comments on the ANPRM are due by March 30, 2026.

RCPA continues to seek proposals for the 2026 Annual Conference Power in Purpose: Promoting Possibilities, which will be held September 29 – October 2 at the Hershey Lodge for a statewide audience. RCPA’s Conference Committee is looking for workshop proposals in every area for possible inclusion, particularly those that assist providers in developing and maintaining high-quality, stable, and effective treatments, services, and agencies in an industry where change is constant. The committee looks for presentations that:

  • Discuss strategies for C-Suite leadership to advance their organization with adapting to challenges and opportunities;
  • Provide guidance on building a culture of a committed workforce, including recruitment and employee development as well as effective remote workforce strategies;
  • Highlight new policy, research, and treatment initiatives, such as the use of artificial intelligence and technology in service provision;
  • Provide specific skills and information related to individual and organizational leadership development and enhancement;
  • Discuss advanced ethics practices and suicide prevention; and/or
  • Address system changes that affect business practices, including integrated care strategies, value-based purchasing, performance-based contracting, acquisitions and mergers, and alternative payment models.

The committee welcomes any proposal that addresses these and other topics essential to brain injury, medical rehabilitation, mental health, substance use disorder treatment, children’s health, aging, physical disabilities, autism, and/or intellectual/developmental disabilities. Members are encouraged to consider submitting, and we highly encourage you to forward this opportunity to those who are exceptionally good speakers and have state-of-the-art information to share.

The Call for Proposals (featuring a complete listing of focus tracks) and accompanying Guidelines for Developing Educational Objectives detail requirements for submissions. The deadline for submissions is COB Monday, March 23, 2026. Proposals must be submitted electronically with the form provided; confirmation of receipt will be sent. Proposals submitted after the deadline may not be considered.

If the proposal is accepted, individuals must be prepared to present on any day of the conference. Workshops are 90 minutes in length. If the topic requires an in-depth presentation, a double session can be scheduled for a total of 180 minutes. At the time of acceptance, presenters will be asked to confirm the ability to submit workshop slides and handouts electronically two weeks prior to the conference. Individuals unable to meet this expectation may not have their materials available to participants during the conference.

Individuals are welcome to submit more than one proposal; however, we ask that you submit no more than three total. Notification of inclusion for the conference will be made via email by Monday, May 11, 2026. Questions may be directed to Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator.

The Department of Human Services (DHS) has launched a new website for the PA Rural Health Transformation Plan, containing information on goals as well as links to the full plan and news updates.

While a formal RFP process has not yet been released, providers can submit the following inquiry form. This brief survey provides each organization with an opportunity to introduce your agency and services you offer, ask questions regarding the Rural Health Transformation Plan, and identify the Rural Care Collaborative region(s) where you and/or your organization is based or provides services (see map below). Once submitted, DHS will review and respond to your inquiry as soon as possible.



Providers and stakeholders may also sign up for updates on the Rural Health Transformation Plan.

If you have any questions, please contact RCPA COO Jim Sharp.

Representative Tim Briggs originally scheduled a voting meeting for January 27, 2026, at 10:00 am to review amendments to HB 2042, known as the Safety in Youth Sports Act, which established standards for managing concussions and traumatic brain injuries of students participating in athletic activities. This meeting has been rescheduled to February 3, 2026, at 8:30 am.

Representative Briggs introduced HB 2042 in 2011. This meeting will include a discussion about proposed amendments to the original bill that will expand the scope of this Act to further provide for the proper management of brain injuries. The amendments include non-scholastic league and recreational sports and also provide information on Return to Learn. Representative Briggs will be incorporating this bill into the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes so that it is no longer a freestanding act.

The meeting will be held in Room 60 in the East Wing and will be livestreamed from the House Committee website.

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Inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRF) are reminded, as part of the Hospital Conditions of Participation (CoP), that one week of information must be submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Healthcare Safety Network (CDC NHSN) portal related to certain respiratory conditions (COVID-19, Influenza, and RSV). This information must be submitted in January, as defined in the Protocol for the NHSN Hospital Respiratory Data (HRD) Reporting:

“To meet the annual reporting requirement, annual reporters should report data using either the HRD daily data pathway or HRD weekly data pathway for one of the following full weeks in January 2026:

  • Sunday, January 4, 2026 – Saturday January 10, 2026 (due by Tuesday January 13, 2025 – past due)
  • Sunday, January 11, 2026 – Saturday January 17, 2026 (due by Tuesday January 20, 2026 – past due)
  • Sunday, January 18, 2026 – Saturday January 24, 2026 (due by Tuesday January 27, 2026)
  • Sunday, January 25, 2026 – Saturday January 31, 2026 (due by Tuesday February 3, 2026)”

Additional information on the Respiratory Reporting Requirements is available here.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released a revised Medicare Learning Network (MLN) booklet that contains revisions to telehealth and remote monitoring. Specific changes noted in this publication include:

  • The addition of a resource link for the latest telehealth information;
  • Additional information on how to suppress a practitioner’s home address in PECOS;
  • The removal of telehealth frequency limitations for subsequent inpatient, nursing facility, and critical care consultations;
  • Permanently allowing teaching and supervising physicians to supervise through virtual presence;
  • Continued payment to Rural Health Clinics (RHC) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) for medical telehealth services through December 31, 2026;
  • Starting in CY 2026, only adding services to the Medicare telehealth services list on a permanent basis;
  • The addition of 5 new CPT and HCPCS codes to the Medicare telehealth services list; and
  • For CY 2026, updates to the:
    • Medicare Economic Index; and
    • Originating site fee.

Members are encouraged to review the booklet for more details on these changes.