No More Gloom and Doom

No More Gloom and Doom All those Safety and Wellness programs that employers implemented over the past several years are finally paying off, big time. Disability Management programs are cost effective, and the statistics are proof. The Bureau of Labor Statistics* reports that the: Nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses among private industry employers in 2006 (last full year of reporting) occurred at a rate of 4.4 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers –a decline from 4.6 cases in 2005. The rate of such injuries and illnesses in 1997 was 7.1 cases per 100 workers. The difference between 7.1 cases and 4.4 cases is a very dramatic difference and one that should convey a significant message to employers. One other key statistics in the report cited above is that the number of total cases of injury and illness was highest among mid-size companies (employing between 50 and 249 workers), higher than the rate in large-size companies. Larger companies (over 250 employees) are most likely to have intensive Disability Management programs in place and staffed accordingly. Large-size companies generally have in-house resources such as Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) available to address employee health issues in a timely or even preventive way. As a consequence, these companies do better than mid-size companies in terms of their injury/illness rates. Major sports teams, for example Major League Baseball, have long since learned to manage on the basis of raw statistics. If mid-sized companies were to do the same, these statistics on the value of Disability Management would yield significant and cost-effective results. ____________________ * United States Department of Labor/Bureau of Labor Statistics: “Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in 2006”

When the Wounded Return

When the Wounded Return Whether you are for or against the war, we all respect the service of the men and women fighting overseas. They face immense hardships, and they all certainly look forward to a peaceful and easy transition back to their lives at home. But what happens when, after being injured, soldiers aren’t cared for as they should be, staying in treatment facilities with less than optimal conditions? An August 18, 2008, article in USA Today details the conditions of one establishment for wounded soldiers, Fort Sill. Author Gregg Zoroya wrote, “Mold infests the barracks that were set up here a year ago for wounded soldiers after poor conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center triggered a systemwide overhaul, soldiers say.” He continued, “Images of mold growing on walls of wounded-soldier bedrooms at Walter Reed last year, along with issues of bureaucratic delays in health care, led to an overhaul of the Army’s wounded-care system.” While measures were taken to expedite the treatment process for soldiers, many items still need to be addressed. You can read the whole USA Today article here. Do you think there is a better way to handle the return of our wounded soldiers? Is the government doing enough to assist the men and women who have bravely served our country? Which of the two political parties do you think is best suited to accomplish these tasks?