In these uncertain times, it’s nice to know there are still a few things you can count on. One of them is the upcoming Workers’ Compensation Research Institute’s Annual Conference, its 38th. This year’s is scheduled for Boston on Thursday and Friday, 16 and 17 March. I say ‘scheduled for Boston,” because, well, one never knows, right? Omicron is raging right now. Almost makes me think you can catch it from someone three counties over.* If in early March Omicron persists, or some other variant of you know what barrels down the Massachusetts Turnpike, we might end up going remote again. But, as Alexander Pope so nicely put it, “Hope springs eternal in the human breast.”
WCRI has scored a hit this year in having Dr. Robert Hartwig deliver the Keynote speech. Bob is one of the smartest people you’ll ever meet, and his presentations can be exhausting. He delivers more data than there are cargo containers in the port of Los Angeles, and he does it in Gatling gun style. Hint: Load up on the caffeine, so you’ll have a chance to keep up with him. Although his presentation is titled, Impact of Disruptions Caused by COVID-19 on Workers’ Compensation, I’ll be interested in his thoughts on the drop in Real Wages over the last year, despite wage growth, and whether he views the spike in inflation as more permanent than temporary. Bob’s presentation will be worth the price of admission, and then some.
The rest of the first day is loaded with important, if wonky, data, such as Dr. Bogdan Savych’s presentation on the Impact of Consolidation of Care and Vertical Integration on Professional Prices. Might be a good idea to keep the coffee coming.
I’m particularly looking forward to the presentation on Vaccines, Variants, and Long-term Medical Effects of COVID-19, which is mid-morning, Friday. Frankly, I wish that had been laid on for Thursday, because, what with air reservations, Friday can sometimes be more sparsely attended than Thursday. Regardless, we should know a lot more about the variants by early March than we do now, so I would suggest this is an important presentation.
You can register for the conference here. If you’re in the workers’ compensation business, I urge you to do so.
Congratulations to the excellent staff at WRCI, led superbly by Dr. John Ruser, for soldiering on during these trying times and for keeping their eyes squarely focused on the mission.
One more thing: Congratulations also for WCRI’s decision to forgo holiday cards this year. Instead, the Institute is donating the money that would take to the Greater Boston Food Bank, one of the largest in the country. The need has been great over the last two years and the Greater Boston Food Bank has saved many of my Massachusetts neighbors in the community from food deprivation. Job well done. Thank you.
* It’s a story for another time, but, in spite of my best efforts, I still do not understand the rationale, presuming there is any, behind the intransigence of the unvaccinated. For instance, yesterday in Boston, brand new Mayor Michelle Wu gave a presser on her decision to require proof of vaccination, beginning next week, for everyone entering public places in the city. That’s restaurants, gyms, bars, etc. This became difficult for her, because a fairly large crowd, carrying homemade signs (they must have known this was coming, somehow), squirreled their way into Boston City Hall’s great big lobby and did their level best to drown her out. Democracy around here is getting messy, but at least it was peaceful.
