By Herb Sherburne
WSIA Training Coordinator

Once again, I want to thank all those who assisted me in the presentation of last year’s very successful training programs; 472 individuals attended WSIA training programs in 2004-05.

WSIA’s Industrial Insurance University will again be presenting a variety of classes during our 2005–2206 program year. Below is information on the classes scheduled in September, October and November of 2005.

Washington Workers Compensation Professional (WWCP)

With the completion of the Vancouver “Claims Management” class, we now have 36 individuals who’ve earned the current Washington Workers’ Compensation Professional designation. To date, 78 individuals have attended one or more of the three WWCP course series.

The facilitators in Spokane, Dawn Bristlin and Karen Mahnken, and Vancouver’s facilitators, Bonny Robertson and Sherri Phillips, deserve special recognition. They were the first to facilitate a course outside the Seattle area. They did an excellent job coordinating the classes, locating guest speakers and helping students grasp the concepts of session topics.

We conducted another “Facilitator Training Session” in June, 2005. Facilitators trained during that session are responsible for the 2005–2006 WWCP series. Their participation allows us to offer classes in Kent, Portland and Richland this year.

WWCP Schedule

Please contact me at the WSIA office if you would like to learn more about the WWCP classes – (800) 736-7296, or send me an e-mail.

Claims Training Series 1 – 4

As we have for the past two years, we’ll present our Claims Training series twice this year. Nearly 250 people attended last year’s courses.

Claims 1 & 2, which deal with basic issues (initial claims investigation, communicating with providers, time loss/LEP/PPD calculations, etc.), will be presented in September 2005 and again in February 2006.

Claims 3 & 4, which address advanced claims issues (hearing loss, pensions, vocational rehab, etc.), will be presented in November 2005 and April 2006

WSIA Legal Seminar

Gibby Stratton, of Craig, Jessup & Stratton, will present a two-day workshop that provides both basic and in-depth coverage of the issues that challenge even the most experienced Workers’ Comp professionals. The workshop will be held October 20-21, 2005 in La Connor, Washington. You’ll be able to register online for this seminar in September.

How to Self-Insure Workshop

Each year, we present a workshop to help current State Fund employers understand the complexities of becoming self-insured. The workshop will be presented in November 2005. We plan to have the date and location finalized by early September. Watch the Web site for future details.

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