The Power and Potential of Becoming a Change Agent
Margaret Spence, RMPE
CEO, C. Douglas & Associates, Inc.
Almost everyone is trying very hard to fix something or change someone or improve somehow, but few people embrace change as a core competency. Change is hard, change tests your resilience, but change can be the most powerful tool deployed by leaders. Image for a moment the impact you could have as a risk manager if your organization embraced change as a core competency. What would you want to change? How would you identify the power and impact of change? What would you do to become an effective agent for change? This session answers all of these questions and more.
Margaret Spence, RMPE
CEO, C. Douglas & Associates, Inc.
A transformational keynote speaker, author, coach, business strategist, and visionary. For the last 30 years, Margaret has inspired organizations to value talent. The central tenets of her work, engaging employees in a shared vision, creating inclusive initiatives, and fostering collaboration across silos. Determined to create a glide path for diversity and inclusion in executive leadership, Margaret launched The Employee to CEO Project, a global initiative aimed at increasing the representation of women, with specific emphasis on minority women, in C-Level leadership roles.
Margaret's journey to the executive suite was nontraditional. She began her career managing workplace injuries and consequently, observed injured employees being discarded from the workforce. From a catapulting question written on a napkin in 1999, her company, C. Douglas & Associates, currently manages human resources oversight functions, workplace injury compliance, and a claims loss portfolio valued at over $109 Million for its multinational client base.
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Contract Review: Understanding Hidden Costs in Healthcare
Belva Hale
Vice President, Business Development, Sherrill Morgan
A contract or administrative services agreement is a necessity for every employer, but these documents can range from a hundred to a few hundred pages. Are you, as an employer, reading every word? Are you asking the right questions when in negotiations? Are there hidden costs in these contracts that you might not be familiar with? This session will explain what questions to ask when receiving contracts, which fees are being paid, and what might be hidden costs in these contracts.
Belva Hale
Vice President, Business Development, Sherrill Morgan
Belva has worked in various roles and departments during her 23-year career with local governments. Most recently as Director of Administration for the City of Bristol, Tennessee, she was responsible for the divisions of human resources, risk management, purchasing and information technology where she implemented a change in retiree health benefits, was instrumental in implementing a hybrid retirement plan, completed the purchase of a city wide ERP system and established a new comprehensive wellness program. Overseeing self-funded health insurance plans, health reimbursement arrangements, retiree health reimbursement arrangements and flexible spending accounts were also a key part of her responsibilities. Belva holds a B. B. A. from East Tennessee State University in business with a concentration in human resources management and completed the senior executive program at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business.
With 5 years of working with Sherrill Morgan, Belva assists employers in implementing self-funded health insurance plans which includes direct contracting with hospitals, Acquisition Cost Index and Own Rx for pharmacy, onsite health centers as well as ancillary benefits that work for the employer and provide the best benefit package for employees. With her varied experience, Belva is requested to speak at conferences for both human resources and risk management associates.
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Best Practices to Avoid a Cyber Attack
Tim Zimmerschied, CPCU, CIC, ARM-P, AAI, AMIM, ALCM
Area Senior Vice President, Satellite Branch Manager, Arthur J. Gallagher
Yvonne Moebs
Risk Manager, County of Guilford, NC
Hermant Desai
Director of Information Systems, County of Guilford, NC
A look behind the scenes from a broker, risk manager and IT director, on changing and updating protocols, procedures and hardware to create a best practice environment for cybersecurity.
Tim Zimmerschied, CPCU, CIC, ARM-P, AAI, AMIM, ALCM
Area Senior Vice President, Satellite Branch Manager, Arthur J. Gallagher
Yvonne Moebs
Risk Manager, County of Guilford, NC
Hermant Desai
Director of Information Systems, County of Guilford, NC
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Creating a Culture of Risk Management
Dean Coughenour, ARM
Director of Risk Management, City of Flagstaff, AZ
This entertaining and educational session will motivate and rejuvenate you to build an environment where employees feel empowered to protect not only themselves but each other. Videos will drive specific points in building a sustainable culture with audience participation. Personal stories will help the audience engage in how we impact each other through a decision of attitude, positive or negative. The story of the Duck verses the Eagle. Leave this presentation inspired recharged and ready to make an impact!
Dean Coughenour, ARM
Director of Risk Management, City of Flagstaff, AZ
Dean Coughenour is the Risk Manager for the City of Flagstaff and directs their Risk Management Department, managing an integrated risk and safety program with a focus on grass root implementation of the risk management decision matrix. Coughenour has over 30 years' experience in proactive Risk Management and has served on various boards and associations including Arizona Municipal Risk Retention board, City of Scottsdale Loss Trust Fund board past chair, is a past national board member of PERI, past president of PRIMA National and has held various other community leadership positions. He is a frequent speaker on Risk Management topics and speaks often at conferences and quarterly PRIMA chapter meetings through the PRIMA national speaker bureau.
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Keys to Success: Performance Indicators for Pools
Michelle Carter
Executive Director, Tandem Collective
Defining key performance indicators (KPIs) is both art and science, and don’t always come easily, but the right KPIs will help you measure and report on success to your board and stakeholders, as well as signaling when it’s time to make changes. A lack of good KPIs will impede your ability to measure progress, change course as needed, and achieve the outcomes you and your stakeholders expect. Learn how you can apply them to your own member-centric operations.
Michelle Carter
Executive Director, Tandem Collective
Michelle is a helper, problem-solver, and strategist inspired by the secret superhero club that is public entity pooling. As Tandem Collective's founding Executive Director, she matches pools with seasoned Project Partners to effectively address complex risk management issues. She is an alum of Wells College and a Certified Association Executive (CAE).
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Medical Treatment & Costs Associated with COVID-19
Deborah Watkins
Founder and Chief Disruption Officer, Care Bridge International
COVID-19 Symptoms, Treatment and Costs
Officially named a pandemic on March 11, 2020, the novel COVID-19 virus is part of the family of coronaviruses. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus, including cough, fever, chills, muscle pain, sore throat, loss of taste or smell, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing and/or other less common symptoms of nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.
While most people are asymptomatic and recover with minimal, if any care, the elderly or people having pre-existing comorbid conditions such as cardio-pulmonary conditions, obesity, diabetes, kidney disease or immunosuppression are at greatest risk for more severe symptoms. Treatment may consist of inpatient hospitalization on mechanical ventilation.
Treatment costs for mild to moderate symptoms of COVID -19 costs can range between $400- $3500 for an evaluation by a medical practitioner including lab work or other diagnostic tests. For severe symptoms, to treat COVID-19 related pneumonia, bronchitis, lower respiratory infection or life-threatening Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), costs may increase significantly for an average six-day inpatient stay ranging between $9000-$20,000, or upwards of $55, 000 to $78,000 or even more for intensive care monitoring and mechanical ventilation.
Long-Term Complications
Long term complications require ongoing care, post-hospitalization and may include respiratory compromise, cardiomyopathy, neuro/cognitive impairment, depression and/or anxiety and physical deconditioning, as well as associated medical care including various therapies and medication.
By: Deborah Watkins
Founder and Chief Disruption Officer, Care Bridge International
Summary of Qualifications
Deborah is a seasoned, results-oriented and versatile clinician and insurance executive; offering extensive experience in all facets of complex medical claims integrating technology, evidenced-based clinical and technical processes, quality assurance, case management and life care planning principles.
Responsibilities
- Visionary Leadership of the company startup operations, including the delivery of outstanding global solutions for to forecast medical treatment and costs for claims using BIG data machine learning and dashboard analytics.
- Direct teams of experts in assisting businesses seeking to improve their claims automation while reducing costs in utilizing a scalable business method.
Business Experience
Deborah is the CEO of Care Bridge International, Inc., delivering Analytic- Powered Outcomes™ using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to forecast medical treatment and costs for Claims. As the Former CEO of the global leader in full service Medicare Secondary Payer Compliance, Deborah received the 2010 Oracle Titan Award and Gartner 1to1 CRM Silver Award for a technology, data analytics implementation. She spearheaded an effort with the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) to produce “Medicare Set Asides and Workers Compensation” presented at the 2014 Annual Issues Symposium and September 2014, Research Brief.
She is experienced in claims management of catastrophic/complex/ chronic disease populations and recognized for excellence in clinical strategy and Return-to-Work outcomes. She has held key roles in major group health, workers compensation and group benefit insurance companies. Deborah was involved in the Federal Medicare+Choice pilot program, the precursor for Medicare Advantage Plans, and among the first to adopt case management for high-risk Medicare patients utilizing patient-centered medical home (PCMH) practices.
Professional Affiliations
- International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC)
- American Association of State Compensation Insurance Funds (AASCIF)
- Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA)
- Claims Litigation Management (CLM)
- Silicon Valley Insurance Accelerator (SVIA) NewTechMatch Partner
- American Association of Nurse Life Care Planners (AANLCP)
- Sigma Theta Tau International Nurses Honor Society (STTI)
Education
Deborah has an executive master’s in healthcare leadership (MBA/MPH) from Brown University and a Master of Science in nursing.
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Keeping Up with First Responder Presumption Laws
Jody Moses
Managing Director, Public Entities, Pools and Associations, Sedgwick
The legal definition of presumption law, how it is established in a variety of jurisdictions and the widening of the ‘first responder’ classifications amdist the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed during this podcast.
As a result of the pandemic, there are now states considering legislation that will include COVID-19 in its presumption laws, as well as expanding the list of to whom these laws will apply as a first responder. These laws typically only apply to public sector personnel. However, as the pandemic continues, they will most likely extend into the private sector due to the wide variety of those that are now included in the first responder category.
Some main presumptions for first responders include:
- Cancer
- Lung and Respiratory
- Bloodborne Pathogens
- Heart and Vascular
By: Jody Moses
Managing Director, Public Entities, Pools and Associations, Sedgwick
Summary of Qualifications
Jody is based in Orange, California. She manages the design and implementation of customized claims management solutions for public entities, risk pools and associations. She is responsible for developing and delivering strategic direction, business growth goals, service delivery models, and pricing and design for these industry segments.
Jody joined Sedgwick in 2019 through the acquisition of York Risk Services Group and brings to the combined organization 25 years of specialized claims administration experience. A frequent speaker and workshop leader at regional and national public entity risk management conferences, she actively works with public entities to analyze and influence legislative and regulatory changes that directly affect their risk management programs.
Jody is a certified workers’ compensation claims adjuster with expertise in the complex California workers’ compensation system; she is also a licensed general adjuster and has earned the Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designation.
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Q&A with Public Risk Managers Responding to COVID-19
Matt Hansen
Director Of The Risk Management City and County of San Francisco
Jennifer Hills
Director of Risk Management for King County
Marilyn Rivers
Director of Risk and Safety and the Safety and Compliance Officer for the City of Saratoga Springs
In continuation of the Risk Management Response to COVID-19 webinar, experienced risk managers from coronavirus hotspots provide more insight outlining mitigation and recovery methods in response to the pandemic. For instance, there are a number of resources that can be implemented if your entity is looking for solutions regarding safety, cleanliness, cyber security and HIPAA laws with each individual case. One example would be the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) COVID-19 website. This website provides information involving maintaining transit, regular businesses, airports, railway systems and more amidst the pandemic. The website also features OSHA’s guidance on COVID-19 re-integration.
Seeing as the municipalities of note within the COVID-19 hotspots are various sizes, it's important to acknowledge that mitigation efforts can be adjusted prior to their application regardless of the size of the entity. For more methods to manage and prevent further COVID-19 risks, be sure to listen to the full podcast above!
By: Matt Hansen
Director Of The Risk Management City and County of San Francisco
Summary of Qualifications
Matt Hansen serves as the director of the risk management division for the City and County of San Francisco. Additionally, Matt served on the US Technical Advisory Group for ISO 31000, as well as a director on the Boards of the Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA) and the Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI). Prior to joining City and County of San Francisco, Matt has held both public and private sector posts leading the Risk Management operations of school districts (including San Francisco Unified and San Diego Unified), technology & consulting firms, and performing catastrophe response and team management for insurers. Matt holds a master's degree in public administration.
By: Jennifer Hills
Director of Risk Management for King County
Summary of Qualifications
Jennifer Hills has been the Director of Risk Management for King County, Washington since 2003. King County, which includes the Seattle-Bellevue metropolitan area, is the 13th largest County in the United States serving a population of over 2 million. King County, through its 15,000 employees, provides direct and regional services such as public health and community services, parks and recreation, wastewater treatment, and criminal justice. King County also operates the regional transportation network including bus, light rail, streetcar, and passenger ferry services, as well as the King County International Airport.
Jennifer is responsible for establishing a culture of balanced risk-taking using a risk-value framework, implementing ERM, and managing a broad risk management program.
Jennifer received her B.A. in Business from the University of Washington, and her ARM-P and CRM designations. In 2018, Jennifer was named Public Risk Manager of the Year by the Public Risk Management Association and was named to the Risk and Insurance Management Society’s Risk Management Honor Roll.
By: Marilyn Rivers
Director of Risk and Safety and the Safety and Compliance Officer for the City of Saratoga Springs, NY.
Summary of Qualifications
Marilyn Rivers is the Director of Risk and Safety and the Safety and Compliance Officer for the City of Saratoga Springs, NY. She possesses a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry with a minor in Physics and a Masters in Education. Her professional certifications include The Institutes’ CPCU, ARM, and AIC designations.
Marilyn currently chairs and facilitates her City Safety Committee and the Saratoga County Local Emergency Planning Committee composed of representatives from the federal, state and local governments who serve alongside area business leaders. She is a Director-at-Large for the National Safety Council’s Government and Public Sector. You may hear her on PRIMA Podcasts and Webinars speaking on a variety of risk and safety management basics. She hosts interns each semester from local colleges hoping to inspire future risk professionals.
Marilyn is active within her local community as a member of Lions International and is a recipient of their Melvin Jones, Robert J Uplinger and Knights of the Blind Awards for community service.
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Tips and Resources to Manage Through the COVID-19 Crisis
Marco Guardi
Regional Risk Control Leader, Arthur J. Gallagher
In addition to the CDC guidance on pandemic plans, your entity or organization should have a continuity of operations plan when faced with such a crisis.
With regards to the education sector, a continuation plan may include home-based activities for K – 12 as well as some online instruction and/or programs. If there has been a contamination in a specific education location, options may include use of an alternate location with access to full instructional content.
Things to consider amidst the COVID-19 crisis:
- School calendar changes
- Employees’ concerns when operating within an organization
- Who is at risk and how can they work from home or remotely?
- Detailed communication to all stakeholders
Due to the current status of this pandemic, it is important to look not only to the CDC but your state and local health departments as well. It is also imperative to consider employee welfare, human resources and payroll options when managing and monitoring your entity during a long-term virus pandemic interruption. Keeping yourself and employees safe is vital, therefore, be sure to check and see how employees are processing the current events. For instance, do they have family members that are at a higher risk in another part of the country? Are employees able to set up a proper work station from home?
By: Marco Guardi
Regional Risk Control Leader, Arthur J. Gallagher
Summary of Qualifications
Marco has 20 + years in risk management and risk control leadership positions, focused in the public entity and scholastic spaces.
Responsibilities
Marco currently manages a team of risk control consultants for Arthur J. Gallagher. Additionally, he provides risk management and risk control consultation to a variety of public entities such as municipalities, state governments, K12s and community college districts. He assists public entity pools with developing risk management initiatives; structuring and managing risk control services and serving as a risk management resource.
Business Experience
Marco has 12 years in risk management and EH&S capacities for higher education and special districts. He has 14 years' experience providing risk management consultation for brokerage firms.
ERM Experience
Six years implementing ERM-based principles in the higher education field
Personal Affiliations
- Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA)
- Public Agency Risk Management Association (PARMA)
- The Risk Management Society (RIMS)
Education
- MPA - California State University Fullerton
- BS Environmental and Occupational Health California State University Northridge