WHCA Announcements
Early Incident Reporting Saves Money and Headaches
Claims reported within a week are 44% less expensive than those reported at four weeks! Please report claims to us immediately by calling your ERNwest Claim Manager, reporting claims via email at claimsreporting@ernwest.com, or reporting claims securely online in our ERNwest Reporting Portal.
December Topics
Return to Work (RTW) Tip
Offer a Reasonably Continuous Modified-Duty Position
The single most powerful tool an employer has in controlling its workers’ compensation costs is immediately providing meaningful work.
DECEMBER TIP: To keep your rates as low as possible, offer a reasonably continuous modified-duty position (work that you believe to be available for the foreseeable future) that fits within the restrictions provided by the medical provider and matches the workers’ pay and work pattern before being injured.
Focus on Safety (FOS)
Working with Combative Residents
Understanding the causes of aggressive behavior from those living with dementia goes a long way towards developing plans to prevent or mitigate the behaviors. The WorkSafeBC webbook below provides a brief overview of dementia and the common causes of aggressive response behavior, along with suggested interventions. The purpose is to provide some understanding of how clinical care approaches and interventions can prevent or minimize the risk of injury to workers when caring for people with dementia.
Dementia: Understanding Risks and Preventing Violence | WorkSafeBC
When you have worked with one person living with dementia, you have worked with one person living with dementia. Despite the unique nature of this disease in each person, there are some common techniques to use as a starting point to prevent resident agitation and combative behaviors.
Working with Dementia: Safe Work Practices for Caregivers Video Discussion Guide | WorkSafeBC
Spot the Hazards
This photo has been staged to show a number of safety hazards and dangerous work habits. See how many you can find! Download the 2021 Spot the Hazards Calendar.
Workers’ Comp News
Are Your L&I Premiums as Low as They Could Be? (Part 1 of 4)
Labor and Industries recently adopted premium base rates for the upcoming 2022 calendar year. While their press release cites a 3.1% increase, this is an average across all risk classes and could be higher or lower for your company. Now is a great time to ask yourself if there’s more you could be doing to lower your premium rates in the future. Over the next four installments of this newsletter, we’ll review commonly overlooked strategies for lowering your rates.
The Medical Only Discount
When calculating your rates, L&I discounts the claim by $3,450 if the only benefits paid have been for medical treatment. In most claims, this discount removes the claim from your rate calculation completely. If any wage replacement (time loss, loss of earning power) or permanent partial disability (PPD) have been paid, the discount disappears and you’re hit with the full cost of the claim.
Earning the Medical Only Discount
You can control whether or not time loss or loss of earning power is paid under the claim with two simple strategies:
- Return all injured employees to work within their work restrictions as soon as possible. Identifying light-duty work ahead of time and utilizing our Return to Work Form is the easiest way to return injured employees and keep your medical-only discount. Download the Basics of Return to Work.pdf
- If your employee must miss work, bridge the time between their injury and their return by continuing their regular wages, known as Kept on Salary (KOS). Download the Basics of Kept on Salary.pdf
With increasing labor costs, supply chain shortages, and rising inflation, every dollar saved counts. For more information on these cost-saving strategies please contact:
Stephanie Scheurich, WHCA Group Manager, at sscheurich@ernwest.com.
Other News
Suicide Prevention – Doctors, nurses, veterinarians, and other health care professionals who proactively address their mental health are better able to optimally care for patients and sustain their resilience in the face of mental health concerns such as burnout, depression, stress, and suicide risk. Go to Suicide Prevention for Healthcare Professionals | AFSP for more information.
Safety Committees 101 – Safety committees are an integral part of a functioning safety program. As a reminder: if any shift has 11 or more employees working you must establish a safety committee. Safety committees must be equal parts employee and management or have more employees than management. They elect the chair to run the meetings. Management members may be chosen by management; however, employees must volunteer or be elected by their peers. Membership terms are for 1 year but may be renewed.
Safety committees have one purpose: to provide suggestions for how to maintain and improve employee safety in the workplace. They do this by reviewing the Accident Prevention Program, analyzing employee incidents and reviewing safety complaints and inspections.
There are templates for safety committee agendas and minutes on ERNwest.com/WHCA web page (password: StayHealthy). Training is also available to help safety committees get on track.
December Training
WHCA Onsite Training
Contact Shamus Harmon at (253) 237-0840 or SHarmon@ernwest.com to understand the latest protocol and set up a training time. Download a list of current training and a quick FAQ.
ERNwest Focus-on-Safety (FOS) Webinar Series
Each month ERNwest offers topical discussions about safety strategies unique to your industry. Go to ERNwest.com/training for a full list.
OSHA Recordkeeping: Clean-up Time!
Oh No! You have just been appointed to keep track of the OSHA 300 recordkeeping log. You are new to recordkeeping and have no idea what you are doing? Relax, let us guide you through the process, and help answer your most burning questions. In this training, you will learn what is OSHA 300 Recordkeeping, who is required to keep logs, when should you post your summary reports, why should you keep them, how to record injuries and how long to keep records. This course is perfect for employees who are new to the recordkeeping process or want a refresher.
12/14/2021 | 10:00 AM | OSHA Recordkeeping Nuts & Bolts
12/16/2021 | 10:00 AM | OSHA Recordkeeping Nuts & Bolts
01/20/2022 | 10:00 AM | OSHA Recordkeeping Nuts & Bolts
01/20/2022 | 1:00 PM | OSHA Recordkeeping Nuts & Bolts
01/25/2022 | 10:00 AM | OSHA Recordkeeping Nuts & Bolts
01/25/2022 | 1:00 PM | OSHA Recordkeeping Nuts & Bolts
ERNwest Ongoing Webinars
ERNwest presents insurance industry topics monthly. Get training details and register online at ernwest.com/training.
- Understanding Industrial Insurance
- What is Retro?
- Fundamentals of Claims Management
- Using Kept on Salary (KOS) and Modified Duty Effectively
WHCA Resources
COVID-19
WHCA COVID-19 Resources
ERNwest COVID-19 Resources
WHCA Safety at ERNwest
Access general safety resources. ernwest.com/whca. (Password: StayHealthy)
WHCA Pays You Back!
The association, through the Retro program, will reimburse up to $2,500 per year when you buy equipment needed to keep your staff working safely. Access the Safety Rebate Form for a complete list of covered items and for instructions to get started. Download the 2021-2022 WHCA Safety Rebate Form.
Administrator / Executive Director Training
Whether you are new to the Washington Health Care Association (WHCA), new to retro, new to your position or just have questions, you’ll find helpful information about the benefits and requirements of WHCA retro membership and how ERNwest can help you succeed with Washington Workers’ Compensation. | Welcome to WHCA Retro
ERNwest Contacts
WHCA Retro Questions?
Stephanie Scheurich, WHCA Group Manager (253) 237-0837 | SScheurich@ernwest.com
WHCA Safety Questions?
ERNwest Safety Department Safety@ernwest.com
Shamus Harmon, WHCA Safety Manager (253) 237-0840 | SHarmon@ernwest.com
