Organizers Comb Through Proposals, Build Program

The 2015 National Workers’ Compensation and Disability Conference® & Expo plans to strengthen the disability track, reflecting the growing concentration on risk management approaches that integrate disability and workers’ compensation.
By: | March 6, 2015

The 24th annual National Workers’ Compensation and Disability Conference® & Expo takes place Nov. 11-13 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The conference is produced by LRP Publications, which also publishes Risk & Insurance® magazine.

WCconf_24thAnnualOccupational as well as nonoccupational injuries and disabilities will be the focus of some sessions at this year’s conference. During the annual program planning meeting, the conference’s top advisors decided to increase the discussions of disability, while still providing plenty of workers’ comp-related sessions.

“We will be strengthening the disability track to broaden the definition of ‘disability’ beyond workers’ comp, to other claims,” said Roberto Ceniceros, conference chair and senior editor at Risk & Insurance® Magazine. “We want to expand the audience that can benefit” from the conference.

Roberto Ceniceros, NWC&DC conference chair; senior editor, Risk & Insurance magazine

Roberto Ceniceros, NWC&DC conference chair; senior editor, Risk & Insurance magazine

Disability Management remains one of five tracks housing the sessions (see box). While it will receive increased attention, Ceniceros said that won’t detract from the emphasis on workers’ comp.

“Our new program cochair Bill Wainscott [manager of workers’ compensation and occupational health at International Paper] is super strong in workers’ comp,” he said. “So we’re strengthening our traditional focus on worker’s comp.”

The increased focus on disability resulted from evaluations submitted by previous conference attendees. “The input we receive from attendees is invaluable in helping us build the next year’s conference program,” Ceniceros explained. “It gives us direction and guides us through the whole process.”

Building the Program

Members of the conference advisory board are currently combing through the hundreds of speaking proposals submitted. Program cochairs Wainscott and Denise Gillen-Algire, director of managed care and disability corporate risk for Safeway Inc., have begun the arduous task of carefully reading and analyzing the proposals to whittle them down to those that will be included.

“We received many great proposals on a wide variety of topics — current trends and issues of concern to workers’ comp and disability practitioners,” Ceniceros said. “We especially look for those that emphasize education; information that attendees can take back to their workplaces and put into action.”

Dan Reynolds, Editor-in-Chief, Risk & Insurance

Dan Reynolds, Editor-in-Chief, Risk & Insurance

This year, conference organizers are getting help from Dan Reynolds, editor-in-chief of Risk & Insurance. “Dan is part of the team helping to select the proposals along with Bill and Denise,” Ceniceros said. “I’ll weigh in with my thoughts after the others. That’s the process.”

Once the list has been narrowed down by the chairs and Reynolds, the additional members of the advisory board will offer their opinions. This year’s advisors include:

Kathryn Caverly, senior director of product planning at LexisNexis; Dr. Marianne Cloeren, medical director of Managed Care Advisors Inc. and chair of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine’s Council on Occupational and Environmental Medicine Practice and a member of the ACOEM board of directors; Jill Dulich, senior director at Marriott Claims Services; Kenneth Eichler, director of regulatory and outcome initiatives at Work Loss Data Institute; Max Koonce, senior director of risk management at Walmart; John T. Leonard, president and CEO of MEMIC; Maureen McCarthy, senior vice president and manager of workers’ compensation claims and managed care at Liberty Mutual; Joseph Paduda, principal of Health Strategy Associates, and author and blogger for ManagedCareMatters; Rebecca Shafer, president of Amaxx Risk Solutions Inc.; Mark Sidney, vice president of claims for Midwest Employers Casualty Company (a W.R. Berkley Company); Patrick J. Walsh, vice president and chief claims officer of corporate claims at Accident Fund Holdings Inc.; Mark Walls, vice president of Communications and Strategic Analysis at Safety National and founder of the Work Comp Analysis Group on LinkedIn.

“The advisory board members are all very accomplished workers’ comp and disability professionals,” Ceniceros said. “They represent all different facets of the industry such as employers, insurers, vendors, and others.”

Popular Sessions

Once again, conference leaders are honing in on the needs of employers in building the program. Attendees will see many new speakers and cutting-edge issues, mixed in with several returning sessions.

“The ‘60 Tips in 60 Minutes’ session continues to be very popular,” Ceniceros said. “While we have not yet identified the panelists for it, we know they will represent a mix of professions and personalities. People tell us they really enjoy the fast pace, entertainment of the session — and, of course, the great information provided.”

Risk Scenarios Live! will return for a third year. The multimedia-driven session offers an interactive discussion of a typical workers’ comp claim as it develops, giving attendees the chance to weigh in with their thoughts and recommendations at certain points and hear from an expert panel.

Also returning will be the bloggers. The top social media posters in workers’ comp and disability will be back to opine on the top issues of the day based largely on input from readers throughout the year.R6-14p42_Profession.indd

Visit the conference website for more information.

Nancy Grover is the president of NMG Consulting and the Editor of Workers' Compensation Report, a publication of our parent company, LRP Publications. She can be reached at [email protected].

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