By Bonnie Prater
WSIA Training Coordinator

Hello,

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season.  It was great to see so many of you at the Winter West Conference last month.

How about those mountain passes?  Do you think winter is ever going to end?  I just spent the last two days in my car trying to get home (Ellensburg).  Thursday, I waited for hours on the approach to Steven’s Pass, along with hundreds of other drivers, just willing it to reopen.  I finally gave up and turned around.  Today, I spent hours getting home via White Pass.  I have never been so happy to see Yakima in my life!  Please drive safely if you have to make a trip across the mountains anytime soon.

Okay, back to the business at hand.  There is a lot going on with regard to training.  Our WWCP Medical Information course got underway as of January 8, 2008.  Claims Management will start on April 8, 2008.  If you are interested in the WWCP Claims Management course, set a reminder to register on-line at the WSIA website in March.  If you would like to learn more about our WWCP designation program, please check HERE at the website for an overview, or contact me directly.

The next training class will be Claims 1 and 2, being held at the Heathman Lodge in Vancouver, on February 7th & 8th.  If you are new to claims, or would like a refresher on the basics, this is the class for you.  Due to popular demand, we have beefed up the calculations portion of these two classes, so please take advantage of the opportunity to review both calculations and legal/policy topics at the same time.

The Webinar series I told you about last month is in the works.  The first Webinar, IIU’s Time Loss Calculations, will be on February 27th.    The second Webinar, IIU’s Loss of Earning Power Calculations, is scheduled for March 5th.   Starla Treznoski, one of the Trainers from the Department and I, will guide you through the processes of wage, time loss, and LEP calculation.  The final Webinar, IIU’s Permanent Partial Disability Calculations, will be on March 12th.  Starla and fellow trainer, Valerie Estes, will join me in helping you understand calculating and paying PPD awards.

And…don’t forget to register to attend WSIA’s Spring Conference being held March 14th in Tacoma at the Best Western Tacoma Dome Inn.  (Spring…isn’t that a lovely word?)

Our Certification Review class is scheduled for March 19th, the day before the next Department Certification Test.  This class is only open to WSIA members. The pass ratio on the last Test was only 40% but the testers who took our class had a much higher, 63% pass rate.  Make sure you register for the Webinars and the Certification Review class early.  Registration will close at least a week before the classes to allow us time to send out pre-work (i.e. – homework!) to the attendees.

Lastly, Claims 3 & 4 will be held this spring (there’s that word, again), on April 3rd & 4th, at the Heathman Lodge in Vancouver.  Please see our website for a description of these classes.

Please note that the Department will be presenting training on the new Vocational Rehab rules and processes in the near future.  Dates have not yet been set, but we anticipate seeing them present that training in a variety of locations in Western Washington, Eastern Washington, and Southwest Washington.  Watch for communication from the Department and WSIA on this important training you won’t want to miss!

One last thought…Be on the lookout for a Training and Programs Survey from me.   I am in the process of preparing and sending this survey out to our membership to gain insight on your training needs and wants.  Your feedback is important so please take the time to complete the survey when it reaches you.

Take care and keep thinking SPRING! 

Bonnie Prater

WSIA Training Coordinator

bonnie.prater@wsiassn.org

Posted 5 February 2008

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