About Us

People On Wheels' editor and founder is Nancy Cotterill. Formerly a business editor and award-winning writer, she was plunged into the world of wheelchairs when her husband, Jim, suffered a spinal injury and was paralyzed while on vacation with the family in Michigan. Through months of intensive rehabilitation he regained the use of his arms and legs and continues to work on rehabilitation. Nancy became his care-giver and with Jim, who is now chairman of the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana Foundation, learned that tragedy can sometimes be the mother of great and good things.

In the midst of these changes in her own life, Nancy became dedicated to making a difference in the lives of those who by illness or injury have come to depend on a wheelchair. "When Jim came home from rehab, I became all three shifts of nurses he had had in the hospital...I learned first hand that information on the broad base of issues all chair users face is the primary need." People On Wheels provides that information.

People On Wheels is the web-based central news and information outlet for the three to four million users of wheelchairs in America and their care-givers and families. Our visitors share many of the same health issues, need the empowerment of a central information system, and are increasingly computer literate. The computer being, at times, the only lifeline to an outside world.

PeopleOnWheels.org web site provides a sense of community for those who use wheelchairs or care for someone who uses a wheelchair. It is a place to see what the American wheelchair community is doing, a place to check the progress in the research community and it provides a positive and uplifting view of others who use wheelchairs in the United States.

Eventually, it is our dream to have a team of experts in Medicaid law in every state that we can refer people to who feel they have not received correct information from their local administrators. Like the Indiana man who was told he had used up his "lifetime supply" of catheters by a Medicaid agent--he risked his very life by trying to disinfect them for reuse. Misinformation is everywhere and we want to help.

We have established an advisory board to aid us in direction and growth:

• Dr. Henry Feuer, Nationally known neurosurgeon who speaks and writes on
  spine related issues
• Sam Schmidt, of the Sam Schmidt Spinal Cord Research Foundation and Sam Schmidt Motor Sports
• Denny Armington, CEO of The Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana

Our Board of Directors includes:

• Jeff Miller, President CEO, Junior Achievement of Central Indiana
• Jim Cotterill, President of Hamilton's Health Aid Services
• Jon Polack, Attorney with Sommer Barnard and Chair of the Intellectual Property Group
• Chris LaMothe, President & CEO, Ascendanci Ventures LLC
• Sarah Cotterill, Attorney with Ice Miller, specializing in health care issues

As this site is just a temporary venue until we can raise the necessary funds for the full service PeopleOnWheels.org site, we hope you'll visit us often and check out the additions we make to serve you.

Please Contact Us if you have information to share!

Site Plan

Our plans call for the development of a colorful, thought provoking destination site with areas of interest as follows:

• People On Wheels News Links: This section will consist of headlines and “click throughs” that will call up relevant news reports and articles from the web-based sources in which they appear. These will be updated regularly to keep them current.
• People On Wheels Travel: People in wheelchairs have a great deal of difficulty traveling. Therefore, the travel section will provide wheelchair-bound individuals with the advice and information they need to travel safely with tips and warnings from others who travel in wheelchairs and will feature guest columnists who will relate both positive and negative travel experiences. This part of the site alone will be a huge benefit to this community.
• Equipment News will provide news and critical review of new technologies and opportunities for improvement in positioning and mobility functions.
• Scientific/Medical News will provide the latest research, and findings of those who are working to develop new drug stratagems, cures and treatment options.
  
• Our plans also include upbeat pictorial and written histories of high achievers in wheelchairs. These “Big Wheels” will include such figures as President Franklin Roosevelt, Olympic Hall of famer, Randy Snow, physicist Steven Hawking and three time Peabody Award Winner, four time Emmy winner, John Hockenberry. Similarly, the “Kids On Wheels” section will profile youthful high achievers with the object of providing role models for children in wheelchairs.
• Columns: It is our intention to provide space for columns on various issues and respond to the community we serve in a positive and progressive way, adding to our editorial repertoire as needed to reflect the interests of our readers.
• People On Wheels Links will allow easy access to specialty sites, i.e. wheelchair sports, research, travel, etc.
• Books: A page of the best books on a range of important topics
• Job Link: An on-line link to jobs available to those with various levels of mobility.
• On site Donation Page: Managed by Pay Pal or other secured web-based credit handling vendor
• People On Wheels Update: Finally, and potentially most importantly, People On Wheels will research, write and provide information on issues that affect this group and disseminate them to the general public effort to increase support and awareness through the wire news services and via the web. They will also be posted as a part of the News portion of the People On Wheels web page.

Important Notice:

This Site Does Not Provide Medical Advice:  The contents of this site, such as text, graphics, images, and other material, are for informational purposes only.  The content is does not constitute and is not intended to offer medical advice, nor should it be considered a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.  Visitors to this site should always consult their own physicians or other qualified health care provider with any questions regarding a medical condition.  If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately.   

Links.   There are links from this peopleonwheels.org to third party websites. Accessing those third party websites or sources requires you to leave peopleonwheels.org. People On Wheels does not control or endorse those third party websites or any of the content contained therein and is in no way responsible or liable for any of those third party websites, including, without limitation, their content, policies, failures, promotions, products, services on or actions of those websites and/or any damages, losses, failures or problems caused by, related to or arising from those websites. People On Wheels encourages you to review all policies, rules, terms and regulations, including the privacy policies, of each website that you visit, because your use of such third-party websites is at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of use for such sites. 

Cookies. People On Wheels uses cookies to enhance the user experience and to track user traffic patterns for the purpose of, for example, determining the usefulness of the information on our website and the effectiveness of our navigational structure. Cookies are files your web browser places on your computer when you visit a website. Depending on your browser, you may be able to reject cookies or indicate when a cookie has been sent. People On Wheels does not correlate the cookie information with data about individual users, nor does it share this information or sell it to any third party.

Privacy Policy: People On Wheels is concerned about the privacy of our members. We protect that privacy by adhering to the national standards established by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

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