For Carey Britton, ATP/SMS, CRTS®, it has never been about a job, but serving his customers with the upmost professionalism, always striving to enrich their lives. Carey, an Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) and CRTS®, serves on the NRRTS Board of Directors, the NRRTS Executive Committee and is a member of RESNA, and VGM.
Carey was presented with the NRRTS Distinguished Service Award during the 2019 National CRT Leadership & Advocacy Conference in Washington, D.C. Carey states, “I was humbled to be nominated and to receive an award issued by an organization of my peers…It is one of the highest honor one can receive.”
Carey has been in the CRT profession for more than 25 years and is known to be efficient, caring, and an advocate for the special needs’ community. He is known for mentoring and educating others in the industry.
Carey’s wife Debra speaks proudly about her husband, “Carey has a heart of gold when it comes to his clients. He mainly works with special needs children. He has a soft spot for them and all the kids he works with just smile when they see him. That’s all he needs to make his day.”
Carey travels to many different clinics in Florida and gets involved in events for the special needs’ community. He can often be seen at family fun events where he volunteers to speak to families and others in the community about equipment and life.
Carey is well-respected by his colleagues and is known as someone they can count on to come to the rescue, no matter what time of day. Mary Pengelley, PT, DPT, ATP tells us in her nomination letter, “Carey is the guy that the clinic therapist calls and asks if he has a “…”( fill in the blank with any odd piece of adaptive equipment) because they want to try it with a child and he somehow procures the item and lends it to the therapist for a month to try out.”
Mary continues “he has the ability to assure families who have become accustomed to feeling frustrated, vulnerable, and frightened about getting what is needed for their children that he will do whatever is necessary to take care of their equipment needs.” Katie O’Hara, PT writes, “Carey has played an integral part in providing custom wheelchairs to children with special needs in our community. He is a wealth of knowledge in the area of seating and mobility and I rely greatly on him for his advice and expertise. His passion for this field is not only reflected in his knowledge, but also in his dedication to his clients.”
Carey is also known as an educator in the field of Complex Rehab Technology. He organizes continuing education classes locally for therapists and families. He is a regular speaker at The University of Miami, Department of Physical Therapy DPT Program and University of Miami Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Pediatric Physical Therapy Program. University of Miami’s James Moore, PhD, PT says, “Carey provides lecture and demonstration on the evaluation, prescription, and fitting of frequently used equipment to support independence for children and adults with activity and participation restrictions. His participation with the PT faculty exemplifies the inter-professional collaboration required to successfully manage patients. Carey continually makes a significant contribution to our community, the field of CRT, and the profession through advocacy, public awareness, clinical practice, education and teaching, as well as service provision.”
Carey, an Industry Leader for over 20 years, advocates for CRT whenever he gets the opportunity. He regularly attends the CRT Leadership & Advocacy Conference in Washington,D.C. He takes time to attend other advocacy events to promote fair policies for the equipment clients need desperately but access is limited by insurance. Clinical Director of Progressive Pediatric Therapy Mary Pengelley shares that “Carey is the man who calls up major wheelchair manufacturers to discuss problems or make suggestions for bettering their products based on his experience in the field.”
Carey’s Regional Area Director, National Seating and Mobility Bill Denny sums up Carey’s dedication to his profession.
“He always puts clients first and has developed a strong following in Florida based on his follow-up knowledge, and integrity. He fights tirelessly for our industry and regularly goes to Washington to inform Congress on what is needed for the patients that he serves. His is always willing to help others, share his knowledge and instill a passion in those he works with…it is an honor for me to work with him each day.”