Author: Patty Busse

Wisconsin medical board adopts opioid prescribing guidelines

Posted on by Patty Busse

The Wisconsin Medical Examining Board adopted new guidelines for prescribing opioid painkillers aimed at combating heroin use, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

According to the article, the guidelines include:

  • Treating pain through other methods before prescribing opioids
  • Prescribing the drugs in the lowest dose possible
  • Issuing multiple prescriptions with specific refill dates rather than one larger prescription
  • Documenting a treatment plan to avoid addiction and overdose

For more details, see the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article .

After severe injury, man recovers, thrives, then helps others

Posted on by Patty Busse

SFM employees recently heard the inspiring story of a man who not only overcame a tragic accident that cost him both legs, but used the experience to help others.

Aaron Holm, founder of Wiggle Your Toes, a nonprofit that helps amputees, spoke at the company’s all-employee meeting in October.

Simple gesture leads to serious injury

His story starts on a cold January morning in 2007.

He got a call from his administrative assistant to say she was stuck on the side of Interstate 394 with a flat tire, and help was on the way. Fifteen minutes later, she called again to say her help was called to an emergency and wasn’t coming.

Holm drove out to pick her up, and figured he’d take a few minutes to change the tire while he was there, so that she could get her car to a repair shop. While working on the car, he was hit from behind by a vehicle traveling 55 mph.

Despite the severity of his injuries he was clear-headed enough to coach his assistant, who was in shock, through calling an ambulance.

Family and friends spring to action

As he lay in the hospital in the hours after the accident, Holm remembers thinking about his wife and three young children, and wondering how he’d go on to live a normal life again.

“I had no idea what the rest of my life looked like,” he said.

It didn’t take long before Holm, his family and friends sprang into action to find answers.

Within 24 hours of the accident, they divided into project teams that developed strategies to help him return to a normal, productive life.

“Within 48 hours of my injury, my house was being basically torn apart,” he said. “Ramps were being built, stair lifts were being put in,” and he was able to return home about 10 days after his accident.

Throughout his recovery, Holm found creative ways to speed up his progress. He used a liquid bandage product on his legs before going into physical therapy so that the prosthetics wouldn’t tear his skin and delay future sessions. He installed parallel bars in his basement so he could get in extra practice. He used golfing as a way to learn to walk on his prosthetics.

“My kids motivated me,” he said. “They were not slowing down and I couldn’t either.”

Holm starts hearing from others who lost limbs

He was able to return to his job at an engineering and IT staffing company, and his recovery had been so successful that he was getting calls asking for help from family members and friends of people who’d suffered similar injuries.

One such call led Holm to visit a man in the hospital who had lost both legs to the strep virus.

He’d been hospitalized for six months and was due to be released in a week.

He asked the man’s wife, “What have you done to your house so that he can get in?”

She’d been so busy taking care of their three kids, working full time and visiting her husband in the hospital, it had never occurred to her to start working on home modifications.

Holm was able to make a few calls and get a ramp installed within a day. At that point, he realized he wanted to do more to help people like her. That’s when he decided to quit his job to start Wiggle Your Toes.

Wiggle Your Toes is formed

Holm founded Wiggle Your Toes in December of 2008 to help those who have lost limbs. The organization helps those individuals in their recovery and rehab efforts by assisting with things like home remodeling, getting prosthetics or working with insurers.

In one example, the organization was invited by the Boston Medical Center two days after the Boston Marathon bombing to work with the individuals who had lost limbs in the incident. Most of them are doing well now, he said.

“To this day, we’re great friends,” he said. “We’ve had many of them up here in Minneapolis speaking at our events.”

Holm has also been invited to speak about the organization at the next South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.

In addition to his work with the organization, Holm also now works for Ottobock, the manufacturer of his prosthetics, as director of customer engagement. He heads the company’s U.S. Paralympic Committee and he manages the company’s partnerships with other groups like Wiggle Your Toes. He also visits Washington D.C. to educate legislators about prosthetics.

Looking back, Holm says he’s amazed by how far he’s come and what he’s been able to be part of.

“I never would have imagined,” he said, “laying on the side of the road or laying in my hospital bed that I would be telling my story as a success story.”

Minnesota implements new rules for prescribing opioid painkillers

Posted on by Patty Busse

Each day, 91 people die from an opioid overdose in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .

To prevent injured workers from ending up with painkiller addictions, the state of Minnesota has adopted stronger requirements for prescribing physicians.

The new rules for long-term opioid prescriptions  took effect in Minnesota on July 13, 2015.

Now, before prescribing long-term opioids, doctors are required to:

  • Affirm that the patient cannot maintain functions of daily life without the medication, doesn’t have somatic symptoms disorder, doesn’t have a history of failure to comply with treatment, and doesn’t have substance abuse disorder.
  • Ensure that all other pain management options have been exhausted.
  • Determine whether the following circumstances are present, and whether they constitute contraindications for long-term opioid use: history of respiratory depression, pregnancy or planned pregnancy, history of substance abuse, suicide risk, poor impulse control, and regular engagement in an activity that could be unsafe for a patient on opioids.
  • Complete a scientific assessment to determine the patient’s risk for abuse.
  • Explain the potential consequences and complications of using opioids long-term to the patient.
  • Enter into a written contract with the patient that includes a provision for drug testing at the doctor’s discretion.

This is not intended to serve as legal advice for individual fact-specific legal cases or as a legal basis for your employment practices.

Nebraska Supreme Court reverses workers’ comp ruling

Posted on by Patty Busse

A co-op employee who was injured while moving a grill for a company party might not be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits under a Nebraska Supreme Court ruling, Omaha.com reported .

The Nebraska Supreme Court’s reversal of the workers’ compensation court’s ruling hinged on the lower court’s omission of one word — “direct,” according to the report. The high court asked the workers’ compensation court to address whether the company received a “substantial direct benefit” from the man’s attendance at the event as is required to determine eligibility for workers’ comp, not just a “substantial benefit.”

How one school district prevents falls among staff

Posted on by Patty Busse

Independent School District 911, Cambridge-Isanti Public Schools , implemented a stepladder program to decrease falls from chairs, and got much more.

“By putting stepladders around our schools, giving teachers and other faculty easy access to them, we not only decreased the incidence of falls, but also saved our district time and money,” said Pamela Mix, human resources specialist.

As part of the district’s monthly incident and accident review process, it became evident that falls from faculty standing on tables, chairs and other unauthorized surfaces was a problem. The district’s safety and health committee decided the most effective way to decrease the risks of such falls was to provide stepladders in easy-to-access areas in every building in the district.

Previously, ladders were kept in custodial closets under lock and key, making them difficult for teachers to access. Placing stepladders throughout the departments saved employees time that would have been spent searching for a ladder.

To start the program, the safety and health committee worked with principals, head custodians and site staff to set criteria for which type of ladder to purchase. The criteria included things like maximum weight, means of storage, product material and number of steps or rungs. Based on the criteria, the committee gathered a variety of stepladders for trial.

After trying the ladders in a variety of ways and locations, the committee was able to make a selection and rolled out the stepladders to all schools within the district.

Program a success

Having the support of all school administrators and department heads was key to the success of this program. They helped communicate the expectations for use and storage of the stepladders, and reiterated the importance of safety.

“The feedback has been positive across the board. Our faculty is using the stepladders regularly and likes how easy they are to carry, use and store,” Mix said. “And since the implementation of the program, we have not seen one incident report of a fall from a table, chair or other unauthorized surface. We feel the program is a complete success.”

“As a bonus, this program encouraged others throughout the district to talk about safety in general. It got conversations going,” Mix said. “It showed that our employees are important and that we will provide the equipment they need to stay safe.”

This is not intended to serve as legal advice for individual fact-specific legal cases or as a legal basis for your employment practices.

The 4 most effective tactics to avoid workers’ compensation litigation

Posted on by Patty Busse

On-the-job injuries can cost your company time, productivity, money and even employee morale. These costs are compounded when you become engaged in a legal battle with your injured employee. Here are four ways you can prevent most workers’ compensation claims from ever getting to that point:

  • Stay in contact with the employee, and reassure the employee that he or she will have a job to return to. 
    Many times injured employees seek out attorneys because they are concerned about their livelihoods. Hearing that you want them back and are looking forward to their return can greatly reduce an injured workers’ anxiety.
    Read more about staying in contact with injured employees
  • Think hard before firing an injured employee. 
    Terminating an injured employee can put you at risk of a lawsuit for retaliatory discharge. It can also end up costing you more in wage-loss benefits, because injured employees will continue drawing benefits on your policy if they are unable to return to work, regardless of whether they’re still employed by you. If you’re having performance issues with an injured worker, see our past post on disciplining employees with work injuries for tips.
  • Address disciplinary issues with employees right away. 
    If you need to discipline or terminate an employee, it becomes much more difficult to do so after that employee has reported a work injury. Addressing performance issues early on can save you from future problems.
    Read more on dealing with problem employees before an injury occurs
  • Promptly investigate any reports of retaliation or discrimination from the injured employee or coworkers.
    If you hear that an injured worker is facing retaliation for declining to perform duties outside of doctor’s restrictions, or being treated differently in any way, address it immediately.

Injured employees do have the right to retain an attorney if they so choose, but by giving them confidence that they’ll be treated fairly, employers can lessen the likelihood that they’ll feel the need to do so.

This is not intended to serve as legal advice for individual fact-specific legal cases or as a legal basis for your employment practices.

CEO Q&A: Company’s emphasis on safety starts at the top

Posted on by Patty Busse

Founded in 1988, ADO Products has become an industry leader in manufacturing insulation accessories, ventilation products and protective wear. All the while, CEO Jim Andrews has been making sure that employees — which now number about 65 — have a safe place to do their work. We asked Andrews how he does it and how others can do the same.

Where did your focus on safety originate?

We’re just celebrating 26 years in business, and I look back at the past with a lot of fondness. Nobody gives you a blueprint on how to start a business, and it’s been a learning process all along. In the beginning, we wanted to have our own business to provide some financial security, but more importantly we wanted to create a place that was a better type of work environment than where we came from. That ties into the philosophy of safety in our business.

First and foremost, you want somebody to be able to come to work and feel safe. One of the biggest concerns of every human being is that they want to feel safe, and we’ve built an environment where they have that.

How did you get started with controlling safety?

It’s not something that just happens overnight. It’s a process. We started with a safety committee around 20 years ago, and it’s met regularly ever since, living and breathing safety. It’s been an evolving process, to the point where we’ve begun reporting every incident that could have become an accident. We make it clear that it’s everybody’s responsibility to keep the workplace safe and clean. If you see a spill, you clean it up. If you see anything that might be unsafe, you report it. We address it immediately and put a corrective action plan in place. We preach it and we reward it.

How do you reward safety?

We try to keep it fresh and alive. We’ve organized all kinds of special events to keep safety on people’s minds, like our safety slogan contest. Every 90 days without a lost-time accident means we throw a pizza party. We just celebrated 10 years without a lost-time accident, and it could have been even longer.

How have your employees responded to your commitment to safety?

People around here live it. They understand that safety is of value, and they get it. If you asked anybody who works here what the number one priority in this company is, it’s safety over profits. We will never sacrifice safety for profits.

How has SFM helped with safety controls?

We’ll rely on SFM’s loss prevention people to come in and help us with another set of eyes. That’s really been great for us. We use the safety materials regularly, and conduct our safety training with SFM’s resources.

How do you measure the return on the investment you’re making in safety?

To me, safety is not an investment – it’s just a way of life. We do have the experience rating to go by, and ours is good enough to save us quite a bit on premiums, but for us it goes beyond saving money.

What’s your advice for other business leaders to ensure a safe workplace?

Think about it like you’re having guests in your home. The people who work with me are kind of like my guests, and that’s how I treat them. There’s really no difference in my mind between keeping guests safe in my home and keeping employees safe in the workplace. Would I want to have guests come over to my house and slip and fall because there’s ice all over the sidewalk? No. Would I want my guests to be subjected to furniture falling apart because they sit on it? No. If you look at safety that way, it carries forward in all aspects.

What your employee handbook should say about workers’ compensation

Posted on by Patty Busse

Incorporating workers’ compensation into your employee handbook shows your staff that you take work injuries seriously. It can also save you trouble with legal issues and employee relations down the line.

Consider including these points in your policy:

  • Employees must report work injuries right away. 
    Be sure supervisors know the importance of prompt reporting, and to pass along any reports of injury to your claims coordinator as soon as they hear about them.
  • Employees will be brought back to work as soon as they are medically able.
    Even if an injured employee can’t return to his or her regular job right away, providing transitional work as soon as possible reduces your claim costs and increases the likelihood that the employee will recover smoothly.
  • Fraud is not tolerated.
    Workers’ compensation fraud is punishable under state law. Let employees know that you and SFM have zero tolerance for fraud and actively pursue offenders.

For more details, see SFM’s sample employee handbook policy .

Including these items in your employee handbook is a great start, but it’s a good idea to communicate these same ideas in other ways, such as a training class or employee newsletter.

This is not intended to serve as legal advice for individual fact-specific legal cases or as a legal basis for your employment practices.

How to discipline employees who’ve experienced work injuries

Posted on by Patty Busse

By Kathy Bray, Esq.

After an employee is injured at work, many employers are at a loss regarding how to address employment performance concerns.

Disabled status does not excuse performance expectations

Simply because an employee sustained a work injury does not excuse that employee from performing the duties and expected standards of the job.

You can turn to the Americans with Disabilities Act  (ADA) for guidance in evaluating performance concerns. Ask yourself:

  • Is the performance deficiency due to a physical inability to do the job, which may require some reasonable accommodations or light-duty consideration for a period of time while the employee continues to recover from the injury?
  • Or, is the substandard performance due to factors unrelated to the work injury or impairment?

Once you’ve determined the cause of or reason for the poor performance, the next question should be: How are other employees treated when similar performance issues arise? The injured employee should be treated consistently.

After the performance problem is evaluated and a plan of action decided upon, it’s important to take prompt action. Problems can arise later if the employee’s performance concerns are not addressed right away. If you later raise the alleged deficiencies as a cumulative reason for discipline or termination, the employee may have reason to cry “pretext” because your silence implies approval and condones the performance.

Remember the steps:

  • Is performance concern due to limitation from the work injury?
  • If not, then how are other employees treated when similar concerns arise?
  • Finally, promptly and properly document the concern, and address with the employee in an appropriate manner, consistent with the employment practices and policies.

Rule violations punishable — work injuries aren’t

Sometimes an employee is injured while violating a workplace rule. For example, imagine an employee sustained a back injury while carrying the garbage to the outside dumpster, but failed to complete the maintenance log during the shift to document custodial activities. If other employees are written up for failure to document tasks in the maintenance log as part of their jobs, then it is fair and appropriate to write up the injured employee, also. What you may not do, however, is discipline the employee for sustaining an injury. Failing to document in the maintenance log is not the injury; suffering an injury is not the action subject to punishment.

Perhaps an employee is injured while driving the forklift at excess speed. Negligent or reckless behavior may still result in a compensable work injury. Such behavior may separately be the subject of discipline, and that discipline at times may even include termination.

Document employee concerns immediately

As soon as an employer recognizes that a significant disciplinary action or termination of the injured employee is necessary, you should thoroughly review the circumstances of the disciplinary event and the employee’s personnel file to identify whether any basis for employment law claims may exist. If any basis for concern is found, you should immediately contact employment counsel to assist in evaluating the potential risks and alternative courses of dealing with the situation.

You must insure that the separation decision is based upon valid reasons, and that the reason for discipline or termination is well-documented. If the reason for discipline or termination of an employee is merely a pretext for treating the employee differently or more harshly because he or she had a work injury, you may face legal liability exposures for discrimination or retaliation on both the state and federal level.

This is not intended to serve as legal advice for individual fact-specific legal cases or as a legal basis for your employment practices.

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