study of 591 wheelchair users<\/a> with spinal cord injuries found that breakdowns were common and often disabling. <\/p>\nNearly two-thirds reported needing at least one repair within a six-month period.<\/p>\n
Among those, more than a quarter experienced serious consequences tied to the delay or failure to repair\u2014most often being stranded without mobility.<\/p>\n
In the most severe cases, 18.2 percent said they were left entirely stranded.<\/p>\n
State-level oversight reviews show a similar pattern. <\/p>\n
A Connecticut Wheelchair Repair Task Force, drawing on an informal survey of 73 users, found that 56 respondents waited at least a month for repairs, with many reporting delays stretching beyond six months. <\/p>\n
The task force also documented how the repair pipeline itself contributes to those timelines: in-home assessments averaged 24 to 27 days, compared with just two to four days for evaluations conducted remotely or in a shop. <\/p>\n
Once replacement parts arrived, installation in the home typically required another 25 to 27 days\u2014 effectively adding months to even routine fixes.<\/p>\n
By November 2023, the task force reported substantial service backlogs among major suppliers. <\/p>\n
NuMotion had 740 open service orders affecting 622 customers, while National Seating & Mobility reported 687 orders across 445 customers. <\/p>\n
Industry representatives attributed delays to a combination of constrained parts supply chains, prior authorization requirements, staffing shortages, transportation challenges, and the time required to conduct in-home service visits.<\/p>\n
At the same time, providers told the task force that the structure of the system itself limits capacity: most assessments are conducted in users\u2019 homes rather than in centralized facilities, extending travel and turnaround times for technicians.<\/p>\n
The task force ultimately did not reach consensus on remedies.<\/p>\n
Disability advocates urged enforceable timelines requiring in-home assessments and repairs within four business days, or six calendar days after all external steps were completed.<\/p>\n
Industry representatives opposed statutory deadlines, arguing that repair timelines depend on variables such as parts availability, authorization processes and field logistics that cannot be uniformly controlled.<\/p>\n
While Bakoyiannis could not fathom the idea of proving need by attempting to shower or cook without proper equipment, the timeline itself never surprised her.<\/p>\n
A new chair, she said, takes about a year. Repairs take a couple of months.<\/p>\n
Bakoyiannis said she typically needs repairs at least once a year, a rhythm shaped by New York City living, where batteries drain under constant use, wheels wear down on uneven sidewalks, casters rust after rain and snow, joysticks begin to fail from daily strain, and footplates eventually break. <\/p>\n
When something fails, she said, the long process begins again. A technician first evaluates the chair. Documentation is sent to her physician. The physician signs forms. The supplier submits paperwork to the insurer. The insurer decides whether the repair is covered. Only then can parts be ordered and work scheduled.<\/p>\n
At 31, Bakoyiannis had built her life around the promise of her profession.<\/p>\n
Sitting in her waterfront Williamsburg apartment, she seems to embody what many native New Yorkers strive for: a life built entirely in the city that raised them.<\/p>\n
She earned her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University in Brooklyn and built her early career in its hospitals, clinics and classrooms.<\/p>\n
Now a clinical psychologist, she works full time in private practice while continuing postdoctoral clinical work. <\/p>\n
She also teaches as an adjunct assistant professor of undergraduate psychology at Brooklyn College, moving between patients, students and supervision across the same boroughs she has long called home.<\/p>\n
Still, she said, the repair process is often dictated by technicians\u2019 schedules, leaving wheelchair users to adjust their lives around when appointments are available.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of disabled people work,\u201d Bakoyiannis said. \u201cI can\u2019t just be home all day waiting for someone to maybe show up.\u201d<\/p>\n
She described repeated difficulty getting responses from National Seating & Mobility. <\/p>\n
She said she left messages that were not returned and had to call repeatedly to follow up on repair requests.<\/p>\n
In one case, she completed a video evaluation for a footplate issue and was told someone would contact her. No one did, she said. <\/p>\n
Eventually, she scheduled an in-person appointment herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think that it\u2019s anyone\u2019s individual fault,\u201d she said. \u201cI think there\u2019s just not enough people that work there.\u201d<\/p>\n
In five years, Bakoyiannis will go through the process again: submitting documentation meant to prove what her body already knows.<\/p>\n
And then, once the chair is finally approved, the slow return of the same maintenance cycle she is already living through now. <\/p>\n
By then, the system will not feel more flexible than it does today, she said. <\/p>\n
It will only feel familiar.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou really have to hold these two systems\u2019 hands,\u201d Bakoyiannis said. \u201cAnd make sure they\u2019re actually communicating to each other.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"According to data analyzed by Patch, the number of suppliers billing Medicare for power-wheelchair equipment dropped from 5,552…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":306272,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-306271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306271\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/306272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}