LAS VEGAS – The Spring version of the nation’s premiere HME trade show is underway at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. The majority of educational sessions take place today (Mon, March 30), but HME providers can still register and visit hundreds of exhibitors on the Expo Floor on Tuesday, March 31, and Wednesday, April 1.

Attendees can register online by clicking here, or in person at the Bayside B Section of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Exhibitors are making final preparations, and the environment is teeming with inspiration thanks to an enormous variety of products.

Some educational sessions, such as The Best New Retail/Cash Opportunities, on Tuesday, March 31, at 1:30 pm in South Pacific C, are open to all attendees. This particular session is part of the biannual Innovative HME Retail Product Awards, sponsored by HomeCare Magazine. The awards honor HME products that are particularly suited for retail sale.

The purpose of the competition is to promote and recognize products that contribute to providers’ bottom lines though cash sales. Ten finalists for the three awards will be featured at the Greatorex session, and subsequent voting will determine the top three winners.

New Blood
Just as new providers are prowling the halls of Medtrade Spring, so too are new exhibitors. This year, 45 companies are showing their wares for the first time at any Medtrade show. “Another 15 have participated at Medtrade [the Fall show in Atlanta] but never at Medtrade Spring,” explains Kevin Gaffney, group show director (pictured), Medtrade. “Seventy-nine companies are ‘new’ in the sense that they did not participate last year at Medtrade Spring.”