TN Workers' Compensation Conference Goes Virtual
Are you ready to rethink recovery?
NASHVILLE – Workers’ compensation professionals from across the state will have the opportunity to learn from industry experts during the 23rd Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Education Conference. Registration is now open for the event that has been rescheduled for Oct. 26 – 30, 2020.
Due to concerns associated with COVID-19, this year’s conference will be conducted online in a virtual setting. 90-minute sessions are scheduled for the mornings and afternoons of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of that week and afternoons only on Tuesday and Thursday. These sessions will allow live interaction with the presenters. All sessions will be placed in a “content library” for on-demand viewing that will be open until Nov. 13.
The conference will once again feature nationally recognized speakers, as well as local industry experts, each of whom have extensive experience in the workers’ compensation field.
Tammy Bradly is vice president of clinical product development for Coventry and a certified case manager with more than 25 years of comprehensive industry experience. She holds several national certifications, including certified case manager (CCM), certified rehabilitation counselor (CRC), certified program disability manager (CPDM), and critical incident stress management (CISM). Ms. Bradly will address the birth of Telemedicine and its benefits to workers' compensation today and in the future
Chris Mandel is SVP of Strategic Solutions for Sedgwick and was named Risk Manager of the Year in 2004 by Business Insurance and the Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. He also writes the “Claims Management” column at IRMI and serves as the Director of the Sedgwick Institute. Mr. Mandel will discuss the threats and opportunities that will be faced by workers’ compensation systems in the coming decade.
Fred Baker is a member in the Cookeville, Tennessee, office of Wimberly, Lawson, Wright, Daves, & Jones, PLLC. His law practice includes an emphasis in workers' compensation and employment discrimination, as well as ADA and FMLA compliance, and he is the editor of the Tennessee Workers' Compensation Handbook. Mr. Baker will present his annual report on significant court cases that have been decided pursuant to the 2013 reforms, including how those cases may have changed the interpretation and application of the law.
Worker’s comp ethics revolve around three concepts--time, money and risk. If employers and employees perceive that each is acting in an ethical manner, then all other concerns are moot. Three separate sessions highlighting ethical conundrums will be highlighted, with one presentation led by Kate Payne and two presentations led by Judges of the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims. Ms. Payne is an Associate Professor of Nursing at the Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Center for Biomedical Ethics, Education & Research at Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, and has been a nurse for over 38 years working in a variety of roles, including direct caregiving, teaching, consultant and leader.
COVID-19 and its implications in a workers’ compensation claim will be discussed by the Bureau’s Medical Director, Dr. Robert B. Snyder, Assistant Medical Director, Dr. James Talmage and Dr. David Aronoff, Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
The conference will also have a virtual exhibit hall where participants will be able to interact with various service providers.
Participants can also take part in a fundraising activity benefiting Kids’ Chance of Tennessee. The nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization provides children whose parents were killed or catastrophically injured in a work-related accident with college scholarships.
Applications will be available to document continuing education credits for attorneys, rehabilitation providers and human resources professionals. Certificates of attendance will be provided for other disciplines.
The conference is sponsored by the Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, in association with the International Workers’ Compensation Foundation (IWCF), a non-profit corporation dedicated to workers’ compensation education and outreach. Select Physical Therapy, part of the Select Medical Outpatient Division, is serving as Platform Sponsor.
The goal of this conference is to educate those who participate in the Tennessee workers’ compensation system, regarding current and pending rules, procedures, policies and forms and to provide an opportunity for dialogue among these participants.