According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 22 million Americans are exposed to hazardous noise levels at work each year. Whether it’s sustained over time, like long-term proximity to sirens or loud machinery, or a one-time eve…
To be fair, the answer to this question — Can you be sure your facility is clean and free of the coronavirus (COVID-19)? — may not be “yes” for quite a while. But there are steps we can take to get as close to “yes” as possible. Every da…
The new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, originating in Wuhan in China, has been widely reported in the media and there’s a handy summary of what we know about it so far on the Sedgwick blog. The world has already seen more than 2,000 reported cases…
Last month’s mystery virus in Wuhan, China has officially made its way to the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the first case of the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the U.S. was announced on January 21,…
The first step toward improving mental health issues in the workplace is to raise awareness of these conditions and identify ways to assist those needing treatment. Sometimes, employers are surprised to learn the scale and scope of mental illnes…
On a weekly if not daily basis, there are media reports about the growing impacts of addiction to opioids. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 78 people a day are dying from the effects of opioid overdose.1 Families ar…
Employers receiving news about the spread of the Zika virus may be considering the risk for their employees and potential claims filed by individuals who contract the disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Z…
OSHA offers suggestions for preventing workplace assaults in healthcare settings. (image courtesy of OSHA.gov) Despite several unfortunate and tragic instances in the news recently, workplace violence rates as a whole have been declining. Accordin…
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 46 people in the U.S. die from an overdose of prescription painkillers every day.[1] Deaths from prescription painkiller overdoses have increased more than 400% among women and 2…
The current measles outbreak has received major news coverage in the United States because this highly contagious disease – declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000 after decades of childhood vaccine efforts – has begun to spread again. In Januar…
The possible spread of the Ebola virus to persons in the United States has raised concerns regarding the handling of insurance claims that might result from this disease. As the leading North American provider of claims management services, S…
I write this reflecting on the flurry of news around recent Ebola activity. There isn’t one of us in the healthcare risk management profession who wants our organization to be the subject of unfavorable news headlines, and it’s important to take le…
I think everyone reading this blog has been touched by alcohol or substance abuse in their lifetime, whether personally or through the experience of an acquaintance, a family member, a close friend, a classmate or a colleague. We know the dangers of …