Passion for Protecting Lives

Each year, the judges of the Teddy Awards diligently evaluate applications based on numerous criteria for success, including performance, innovation, sustainability and teamwork.

But our panel this year was quick to point out that those criteria — while vital — don’t always tell the whole story.

The judges, all professionals in workers’ comp fields and most of them Teddy Award winners themselves, connected on a deeper level to those applications that were rife with the intangible qualities that fuel their own companies’ success: imagination, enthusiasm, energy, and most of all, passion.

It’s passion, fueled by a family legacy in the business, that drives Harder Mechanical Contractors’ Jennifer Massey, corporate director of safety, health and claims management, to ensure that her co-workers’ lives aren’t diminished or cut short like so many in generations past. And it’s the same passion that drives her team to protect every worker as fiercely as they would their own families.

Harder Mechanical just hit 16 million man hours with zero lost-time accidents. Zero. Those results stem from the combination of a comprehensive safety program, combined with an unwavering determination to put every injured teammate back to work immediately, in every circumstance.

It’s passion and imagination that are behind the relentless and savvy marketing campaigns that Excela Health’s Laurie English, senior vice president and chief human resources officer, and her team use to keep staff actively engaged with injury prevention on a daily basis. Campaigns featuring character mascots and catchy mnemonics keep Excela’s injury prevention message at the forefront of employee’s minds at all times.

The 2017 Teddy Award winners had programs that were rife with the intangible qualities of imagination, enthusiasm, energy, and most of all, passion.

The same keen sense of visual safety communication is also evident in the company’s unique color-coded flag system to display vital safety information at a glance, and help prevent disruptions that lead to needle-sticks and other injuries.

It’s also passion — mixed with grit — that allowed Target’s Amanda Lagatta, director of insurance and claims, and her team to maintain a steady downward trend in losses and claims despite losing one-third of the company’s risk management staff.

The company credits its success to its culture of caring, putting the needs of its 341,000 team members first. Target’s advocacy-based workers’ comp assistance center gives injured workers access to skilled and compassionate representatives that offer answers and reassurance throughout their recovery.

And it’s passion for making employees part of the solution that fuels the robust “360-degree” safety and training program employed by Hampton Roads Transit.

Under the guidance of Human Resources Compliance Manager Danielle Hill and her team, employees are fully engaged in safety and workers’ comp from Day 1 on the job. And bus drivers attend eight intensive weeks of training that includes a driving simulator as well as classroom work.

Ongoing training is focused on safety but goes far beyond it, including programs that teach employees to eat healthier, get fit and stay fit. The company is partnering with a physical therapy provider on stretching and exercise training videos designed specifically for bus drivers and maintenance personnel.

Congratulations to all of the winners of the 2016 Teddy Award, sponsored by PMA Companies. They have earned our respect and our admiration for their devotion to their most important asset: their people. &

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Read more about the 2016 Teddy Award winners:

Bringing Focus to Broad Challenges: Target brings home a 2016 Teddy Award for serving as an advocate for its workers, pre- and post-injury, across each of its many operations.

The Road to Success: Accountability and collaboration turned Hampton Roads Transit’s legacy workers’ compensation program into a triumph.

Improve the Well-Being of Every Life: Excela Health changed the way it treated injuries and took a proactive approach to safety, drastically reducing workers’ comp claims and costs.

The Family That’s Safe Together: An unwavering commitment to zero lost time is just one way that Harder Mechanical Contractors protects the lives and livelihoods of its workers.

More coverage of the 2016 Teddy Awards:

Recognizing Excellence: The judges of the 2016 Teddy Awards reflect on what they learned, and on the value of awards programs in the workers’ comp space.

Fit for Duty: 2013 Teddy Winner Miami-Dade County Public Schools is managing comorbid risk factors by getting employees excited about healthy living.

Saving Time and Money: Applying Lean Six Sigma to its workers’ comp processes earned Atlantic Health a Teddy Award Honorable Mention.

Caring for the Caregivers: Adventist Health Central Valley Network is achieving stellar results by targeting its toughest challenges.

Advocating for Injured Workers: By helping employees navigate through the workers’ comp system, Cottage Health decreased lost work days by 80 percent.

A Matter of Trust: St. Luke’s workers’ comp program is built upon relationships and a commitment to care for those who care for patients.

Keeping the Results Flowing: R&I recognizes the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago for a commonsense approach that’s netting continuous improvement.