Adieu to an Industry I Love -- Mobility Management

Publisher's Note

Adieu to an Industry I Love

By Karen Cavallo
Aug 01, 2019

Karen Cavallo It is with a heavy heart that I retire as publisher of Mobility Management (MM). It is hard for me to say goodbye to industry colleagues who have contributed to every page of this magazine, provided free Webinar education to ATPs and clinicians, and served conscientiously on our advisory board with no more than a promise of dinner at the International Seating Symposium. Special thanks also to the handful of manufacturers that took a leap of faith and supported the magazine in the earliest days and today: Aquila Corp., Permobil, Quantum Rehab, Stealth Products, and Symmetric Designs.

Mobility Management magazine launched in the spring of 2002. What I did not know back then could fill Wikipedia, but I quickly found out just how dedicated the men and women in rehab are when it comes to finding a positioning solution for a child with spinal muscular atrophy, fighting for seat elevation or making the Herculean push for a complex rehab separate benefit under Medicare.

So much has changed for the industry since 2002, but the values and commitment of the people who make this industry is unchanged by the passing of time and continues to humble me.

I cannot leave without offering a word of thanks and praise to Laurie Watanabe. Laurie has shaped Mobility Management from the start and will continue to do so. She works tirelessly, yet somehow easily because it is a labor of love for her. Thank you, Laurie, for 18 wonderful years of collaboration.

I know the future of Mobility Management will be strong in her good hands — and those of its new publisher.

I am pleased to announce that David Kopf, Executive Editor of sister publication HME Business, became Mobility Management’s publisher on July 15. David has been part of our publishing family for more than 10 years and has worked with Laurie since 1995. They will make a great team together — and with all of you.

At its core, Mobility Management’s enduring mission is to build community and serve as an informational resource for complex rehab. You can look for continued innovation, next with the launch of a complex rehab podcast series and a “Top CRT Professionals under 40” awards program.

Yes, Mobility Management is in good hands.

But I will not soon forget my Mobility Management experience. It has been a real joy in my life.

This article originally appeared in the August 2019 issue of Mobility Management.