Injured and Aging Workers: Maximizing the Fit Between Worker and Work

Injured and Aging Workers: Maximizing the Fit Between Worker and Work


Injured and Aging Workers: Maximizing The Fit Between Worker and Work
Monday, July 18, 2005	Faculty
Four Points by Sheraton Hyannis Resort, Hyannis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts	Schedule
Summary
Better management of injured workers is always a goal of medical, vocational and employer professionals. A new challenge adding urgency to the overall system is the rising age of workers. Fears of injury, disability and loss of productivity are held by the employees themselves as well as employers, medical professionals and vocational experts. Newly designed systems and concepts that are working well with injured workers hold the same answers for the aging workforce. This program analyzes opportunities for managing both injured workers and the aging worker. The commonality is a system that can reduce costs and lost workdays for the injured and also be used to implement preventive measures for workers undergoing normal aging changes. A healthier and more productive workforce is possible whether injury or aging is the focus. This conference provides specific knowledge and new methods for proactive injury management and productivity enhancement.
What Will You Accomplish By Attending?
At the completing of this seminar you will be able to:
� Define roadblocks in establishing productive work for both injured and aging workers, � Understand the constraints of the current medical "restriction" system and forms, � Understand the impact of medical and employer communication gaps on the injured, ill or aging worker, � Determine cost segments between the date of injury, return to light duty, return to modified duty and full duty, � Describe the changes in physical functioning with normal aging, � Understand the distinction between normal aging and cumulative trauma, � Discuss American and European research and ideas in managing aging workers, � Identify multiple solutions to keep the aging workforce healthy and productive, and � Delineate components of a single job function matching system that works for employers, medical/vocational providers and employees and understand its use in work return and in proactive programs for the aging population.
Distinguished Faculty
Susan Isernhagen, PT, of DSI Work Solutions, Duluth, MN, is a developer and practitioner in the fields of work injury management and prevention. She specializes in occupational health and created many of its fundamental programs: the first functional capacity assessment, functional job description and functional prework screen process. Her published peer-reviewed research includes reliability of assessing functional capacity performance and identifying predictors for return to work. Susan is editor/author of two textbooks used worldwide: Work Injury Management and Prevention, and The Comprehensive Guide to Work Injury Management. Dennis D. Isernhagen, PT, of DSI Work Solutions, Duluth, MN, is a consultant and practitioner in the field of work injury prevention and management. He specializes in the design, development and implementation of work injury prevention and return to work systems for employers. He also consults with healthcare professionals on the development/enhancement of occupational health and rehabilitation services provided to employers. He has authored numerous book chapters and articles for professional and trade journals on subjects relating to work injury prevention and management, including A Model System: Integrated Work Injury Prevention and Disability Management, Threats and Opportunities in Work Injury Management, and Building Occupational Health and Rehabilitation Programs on the Consumer's Actual Needs.

Tuition

The $295 tuition includes a continental breakfast, lunch with faculty, a workshop manual not available elsewhere, and a dynamic learning experience. Click here for registration information.

Continuing Education Information

Click here for Continuing Education Information.

Schedule

Monday, July 18, 2005

7:30-8:00	Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:00-9:30	Analysis of delayed return to productive work after injury: survey results � Employers' difficulty with "restrictions" � Doctors problems with job descriptions � Employees' confusion on their role � Lack of emphasis on specific work ability: The ACOEM Guideline dilemma
9:30-10:00	Implementing a faster and more effective method of modified work � Light duty vs. transitional work � Modified work: Three options for modifying the original job � Sequential upgrading�avoiding lost productivity and reducing costs
10:00-10:20	Break and Networking Opportunity
10:20-12:00	Instituting a model of job function matching that meets needs of employers, medical providers and employees � Objective vs. subjective methods � A common form and a common language � Job relatedness keeps workers as workers not patients � The dynamic system that is progressive and defensible
12:00-1:00	Lunch (Provided with Faculty)
1:00-2:30	Aging changes we can expect throughout the work lifespan: what's normal! � Normal changes in strength, endurance, motion, balance and coordination � Normal changes in vision, hearing, temperature adjustment and learning � The employer's view of the "normal" changes: positive and negative � Work capacity research: three age groups divided into genders: surprising data
2:30-2:50	How "wear-out" and aging interact. Can we determine relative causation?
2:50-3:10	Break and Networking Opportunity
3:10-3:45	American and European prevention models: proactive systems � Work Ability Index � Lifespan Functional Fitness
3:45-4:30	5 core solutions, customized to the worker and employer needs � TARG analysis: Trends of Age Related Groups � Job and age related specific exercise design � Ergonomics and task rotations � Education and problem solving: the buy in for worker involvement � Job function matching: the core answer over the work lifespan
4:30-5:00	Open Discussion