Today’s must-read list: Give disabled workers every reason to remain part of your work force – an article discussing a report by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) on the Stay at Work/Return to Work process. The report discusses the psychological, emotional, and economic impact of disability on the individual. Read the full report: Preventing Needless Disability by Helping People to Stay Employed (PDF).
Peter Rousmaniere’s column in Risk & Insurance this month – How to Avoid Getting Scalped – a look at Ambulatory Surgical Centers and their lack of transparency in billing practices. It’s worth a read.
Rhode Island – Looks like Ohio may have some company in terms of workers comp scandals. Business Insurance reports that Governor Carcieri is calling for the termination of Beacon Mutual Insurance Company’s CEO Joseph Solomon after a recent report detailed questionable practices and preferential pricing. Insurance Journal reports that Solomon and the VP of underwriting have both been suspended without pay, at least until a meeting scheduled for today. This is a big shakeup for an organization that writes about 90% of the state’s workers comp policies. Beacon Mutual was created by the state in 1991 as a nonprofit independent corporation.
Scaffolding – In Boston, work has resumed at the site of the recent scaffolding collapse. The state is considering proposals that would assign scaffolding inspections to the Department of Public Safety, as is the case with cranes at construction sites. This political football will no doubt be tossed around for awhile. Meanwhile, a new scaffolding collapse in Milton Keynes , UK has dominated the headlines this week … another worker killed. The BBC depicts the collapses in pictures. (via rawblogXport).
Employee Mutiny – You know things are bad when your work force quits en masse, leaving only a note on the door. Hospital Impact discusses this event, and raises other issues of employee morale and work force motivation in an interesting post that we found via Rita at MSSPNexus.
Tags: ACOEM, Peter Rousmaniere, return to work, Rhode Island, scaffolding
