Health & Safety Smarts - Addressing One of the Toughest Issues in Workplace Health & Safety – The Quagmire of Soft-Tissue Injuries

In this session, you’ll learn several ways of dealing soft-tissue injuries that ensures care for the employee while helping effectively manager the associated costs to the your business. Even when the injury isn’t work-related, an organization has to deal with time away from work or restricted duty as well as what is often significant costs in the claims that hit the employee medical plan. And when these injuries are work-related, it can impact your OSHA log, add potential for creating a reserve in your Workers Comp funds, and impact your Employer Modification Rate (which, depending on the type of business you’re in, may also impact who you’re able to with for the next several years).
 
We’ll be sharing ideas on how you can successfully navigate these issues when they happen AND put steps in place to prevent some of them in the future! This session will include perspective from the points of view of the injured employee, the employer, and the medical professional.

About the presenters:

Wes Dove is the founder of Dove Development & Consulting, a company committed to providing premium leadership and personnel development resources to organizations and individuals who want to reach that next level. Wes is an independent certified coach, trainer, and speaker with The John Maxwell Team and a Certified Human Behavior Consultant using The DISC Model of Human Behavior through Personality Insights. Wes served on the 2016 and 2017 John C. Maxwell Transformational Leadership Award Selection Committees as well as the 2017 LIVE2LEAD Simulcast Advisory Committee, providing mentorship and guidance to more than 300 simulcast hosts around the world.

Prior to founding Dove Development & Consulting, Wes did extensive work in behavior based safety, including training and team development throughout North America. Wes studied Human Resource Management at Columbia Southern University and holds a professional certification in human resources through the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM-CP) with nearly 20 years of experience in safety, human resources, and personnel development in manufacturing, mining, and construction. He has been a member of the Society for Human Resources Management and the Shenandoah Valley SHRM chapter since 2014, currently serves on the board of directors for the Shenandoah Valley Workforce Development Board, and recently completed terms on the board of directors for the Blue Ridge Safety Association and the American Subcontractor’s Association of the Shenandoah Valley.

Dr. Dennis DaPonte is a Chiropractic Physician here in Harrisonburg, who is Nationally Board Certified in both Chiropractic and Physiotherapy. He graduated from Life University on an Advanced Neurology Track where he began his specialization in Soft-Tissue Rehabilitation. Dr. DaPonte then had the opportunity to intern with the Director for the official A.S.C.C. Clinic charged with the care of the1996 Atlanta Olympians. 

Since graduation Dr DaPonte has earned numerous certifications in Soft-Tissue management and Functional Rehabilitaion. Dr DaPonte is committed to advancing a patient-centered, evidence-based approach to drug-free pain relief. As both a former employee with chronic pain, and now a current employer, he understands the importance of having an effective and efficient plan to return his patients to work.