Workshop on reducing worker's compensation claims planned for April 5

It's the perfect storm when rising workers compensation and health care costs collide to have a major impact on a company's profits.

The issue of injury prevention, improving employee health and helping companies save money on worker compensation claims are the major focus of a morning workshop Carolina Physical Therapy and Spine Center will hold on April 5 at Summit Pointe Conference Center in Spartanburg.

Registration is at 8 a.m. The workshop will run from 8:30 a.m. until 12 p.m.

Registration fees are $79 per person.

Safety managers, risk managers, benefit administrators, plant managers, case managers, personnel directors and rehabilitation nurses are among the target audience for the workshop.

Workshop topics are "Signs of the Storm: Storm Clouds", "Strategies: Plugging the Holes", "Perspectives from the Crow's Nest"; and "Navigate the Storm: Righting the Ship."

These topics will provide information on the worker's compensation issue from the different perspectives of DDL and Associates CEO Donna Hopkins and Chief Operating Officer David F. Nota. Hopkins started the company with the goal of providing industry with ways to help them control rising health care costs.

Graham Widrick, a certified Ergonomic Assessment Specialist, has been an industrial physical therapist for eight years. He currently works for Carolina Physical Therapy and Spine Center.

Widrick will speak at the April 5 workshop.

"One of the things we stress intervention. An employee who is experiencing discomfort with their back or elbow is going to be lot better off if they seek treatment within the first two weeks of the injury instead of waiting six months later," Widrick said. "An injury that is treated early on might allow an employee to avoid surgery and will enable them to be much more productive at work in the long run."

Carolina Physical Therapy has experienced particular success in rehabing back injuries through its use of the DRX 9000 machine, which has reduced back pain in 86 percent of patients. An upper chest harness and shoulder support is used to distribute the applied force evenly to reduce pain from bulging and herninated discs.

The workshop is designed to provide companies with similar ideas for helping their workers stay healthy and better control health care costs. Workshops are also planned for April 26 at Marriott Courtyard in Wilmington, N.C., and Doubletree Guest Suites on May 5 in Durham, N.C.