In this session at the WSIA 2020 Annual Conference, Joel Stacks, Director of the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, shared the latest updates on the state’s workers’ compensation system. The governor has recently announced his plan to re-open Washington. That decision was driven by data with considerations on whether they had the infrastructure available related to testing, identifying cases and tracing. They started opening essential services, with a plan to move on to parks, construction, curbside retail and so on. To re-open, they began with a focus on prevention. This included five key elements: Social distancing – Redesign
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At the 2020 WCRI Annual Issues & Research Conference, a panel discussed the importance of mental health for injured workers. The speakers were: Dr Leslie Boden – BU School of Public Health Francis Callahan, Jr – MA Building Trades Council Mary Christiansen – Southern California Edison Dr Kenneth Larsen – New England Baptist Hospital Dr Randall Lea -WCRI, moderator Dr Boden started by presenting results from a study done in New Mexico on injured worker mortality. The 19-year study of over 100,000 workers linked data from workers’ compensation, social security, and the national death index. The study showed showed a
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At the 2020 WCRI Annual Issues & Research Conference, Dr L. Casey Chosewood from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) talked about their efforts around total worker health. Total worker health is defined as policies, programs and practices that integrate protection from work-related safety and health hazards with promotion of injury and illness prevention efforts to advance worker well-being. The five essential elements of Total Worker Health are: Demonstrate leadership commitment to worker safety and health at all levels of the organization. Design work to eliminate or reduce safety and health hazards and promote worker well-being. Promote
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At the 2020 WCRI Annual Issues and Research Conference, a session discussed key findings from various WCRI studies. The presenters were: Carol Telles – WCRI Dr Randall Lea – WCRI Dr Rebecca Yang – WCRI Trends in Hospital Inpatient Metrics Hospital inpatient payments accounted for 17% of total medical payments in the typical study state. Range was 12% to 23% in study states. The long-term trend is a decrease in the percentage of claims with hospital inpatient care. A big factor in this trend is increased use of outpatient surgical centers. The study showed an increase in costs per inpatient
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At the 2020 WCRI Annual Issues & Research Conference, Vennela Thumula with WCRI talked about their studies on opioid dispensing trends and alternatives for pain management. Between 2014 and 2018, they saw decreases in opioid prescribing in all study states. The biggest decreases were seen in California and New York which implemented new drug formularies during the study period. The highest prescribing is still seen in Louisiana and Arkansas. The average Morphine Milligram Equivalent (MME) dispensed decreased in every study state except Delaware. The biggest reduction was seen in New York. Offsetting the decrease in opioid prescriptions was an increase
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At the 2020 WCRI Annual Research & Issues Conference, Dr Bogdan Savych with WCRI discussed their study reviewing how injuries, claims and outcomes vary by age. The US population is aging. In 2000, around 13% of the population was over age 65. It is projected that by 2030 over 20% of the population will be over age 65. People are also working longer. Since 2000, the percentage of people over age 65 still working has increased by over almost a third and the percentage over age 75 still working is projected to more than double between 2000 and 2028. This
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At the 2020 WCRI Annual Research & Issues Conference, a session discussed perceptions vs reality with regard to generational differences in the workplace. The presenter was Dr Jennifer Deal, Senior Research Scientist with Center for Creative Leadership. Her study surveyed 6000 millennials along with 7000 older professional, managerial and executive staff. The different generations highlighted in the study were: Baby Boomers (1946-1963) Gen X (1964-1980) Millennials (1981-1995) Gen Z (1996-2010) Among the study findings: 69% of Millennials said the demands of work interfere with home and personal life. This compares to 61% of Gen X and 48% of Boomers. One
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Government drivers are 10% more likely to cause preventable collisions than any other set of drivers. In this session at the PARMA 46th Conference and Expo, Barbara Egan of Lytx DriveCam detailed these collision trends. Drivers are distracted. Vehicles are increasingly complex, drivers are fatigued, skills and risk acceptance vary. The three prevalent collision behaviors in government fleets are driver unbelted, late response and following distance. Lytx recorded 80% of government fleet drivers were not wearing their seatbelts, despite organizational policy. Late response results from the driver not paying attention to what is happening down the road, waiting to slam
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Risk management is assigned to different departments depending on the needs and organizational structure of each public agency. In this session at the PARMA 46th Conference and Expo, panelists discussed various organizational structures and their related pros and cons. Speakers included: Steve Robles, Assistant Chief Executive Officer for Risk Management and Privacy, County of Los Angeles Scott Mann, Risk Manager, City of Sunnyvale Tony Giles, General Manager, California Joint Powers Risk Management Authority (CJPRMA) Different types of organizations configure risk management differently. Why does it matter? It is about access to resources and decision makers, the risk manager’s level of
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There can be numerous challenges faced during the emergency phase and into the recovery phase of a disaster. At the PARMA 46th Conference and Expo, a panel of County Risk Managers discussed what worked and what failed in their disaster planning, and how a community can survive and bounce back from the unthinkable. Speakers included: Kerry John Whitney, Risk and Emergency Services, County of Napa Janell Crane, Risk Manager, County of Sonoma Julia Ogonowski, Risk Manager, County of Butte Every disaster is different. From earthquakes to wildfires, these panelists experienced disasters with multiple fatalities and significant damages to infrastructure. Their
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