Connecticut Laborers' Business Manager Charles LeConche Appointed International Representative For The Laborers' New England Region

Connecticut Laborers' Business Manager Charles LeConche Appointed International Representative For The Laborers' New England Region

Connecticut labor leader adds regional and international duties.

Hartford, CT (PRWEB) December 13, 2006

The Connecticut Laborers' District Council announced today that Charles LeConche, business manager and secretary treasurer for the council, has also been appointed international representative for the Laborers' New England Region.

In addition to his present duties for the council, LeConche will now be responsible for resolving labor disputes throughout the New England region, participate in all preliminary discussions before development and construction of projects begin, review international agreements and coordinate Laborers' Employers Cooperation Education Trust Program activities. LeConche has been a member of the Laborers' International since 1959.

The Connecticut Laborers' District Council represents approximately 6,000 members employed in the construction industry and other building and trade fields throughout the state. The Laborers' International Union, founded in 1903 largely by immigrant workers, includes more than 800,000 members who work in construction and hazardous materials remediation, as well as in health care, the U. S. Postal Service and other public service sectors of the economy.

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World's Leading Pet Insurer, Petplan, Launches New Pet Insurance Program in California

World's Leading Pet Insurer, Petplan, Launches New Pet Insurance Program in California

Pet insurance provider enters the California market. Flexible policies, lifetime coverage and coverage for hereditary and congenital diseases differentiates Petplan for other pet insurance providers.

Santa Clara, CA (PRWEB) June 19, 2007

Petplan, the pet insurance provider with a proven pedigree, today announced the launch of their unique, comprehensive insurance products in California. Petplan is the leading pet health insurer worldwide and the only pet insurance partner of the Humane Society of the United States.

"For the first time Californian pet owners have the option to buy a policy that not only covers their pet for life, but also covers hereditary conditions as standard." said Chris Ashton, President of Petplan USA. "Many dog diseases are genetic in origin, inherited through breeding. In fact there are over 500 diseases in purebred dogs alone. Over the past 30 years Petplan has paid out millions of dollars worth of claims around the world for hereditary conditions such as hip dysplasia, mitral valve disease and luxating patellas, to mention a few."

Simple and Flexible Policies
With the cost of veterinary care more than doubling during the past ten years, pet insurance is becoming an important consideration for all pet owners. In fact, insured pet owners are more likely to claim on their pet insurance policy than on their homeowners or auto insurance. 

Extensive market research has enabled the company to develop a series of unique policies to meet pet owners' needs. Petplan policies cover hereditary diseases, are fully customizable with a choice of deductibles and coinsurance options, and offer a "Covered for Life" promise as standard. These policies are the first of their kind in the United States and offer pet owners the highest and most comprehensive levels of coverage in the marketplace.

"Petplan is a safe investment for pet owners," said Natasha Ashton, Chief Marketing Officer. "The ability to customize policies to meet the financial needs of pet owners and the health needs of their pets, coupled with our Covered for Life guarantee on all policies is a unique benefit of Petplan."

Appeal to Baby Boomers
The company has focused on meeting the particular needs of Baby Boomers from its inception, as boomers are prime consumers of pet health insurance. Despite representing about 28% of the US population, the Boomer market owns 39% of all pets and spends the most amount of money on their pets who they often view as surrogate children.

For those Boomers living on fixed incomes, the financial protection offered by pet insurance can be highly attractive. With one-third of all pets requiring some form of unexpected medical care in any one year, pet insurance allows owners to make decisions based on their pets' health and wellness instead of personal financial impact.

About Petplan
Petplan USA is a Philadelphia-based provider of accident and illness health insurance for American cats and dogs. The company is affiliated with Petplan UK - the world's largest and most trusted pet insurance company recommended by more veterinarians, pet owners and pedigree breeders than any other.

Petplan is licensed in 46 States and the District if Columbia, and will be available in all states by the end of 2007.

Petplan policies in the US are administered by Fetch Insurance Services, LLC (Fetch Insurance Agency, LLC in Michigan) and underwritten by American National Property And Casualty Company (www. anpac. com), rated A+ (Superior) by AM Best. Petplan is the registered trade mark of Petplan Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Allianz Insurance plc, a company registered and incorporated in the United Kingdom.
For further information please call 1.866.GoPetplan (1.866.467.3875) or visit www. GoPetplan. com.

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Ergonomics Guidelines Approved For Nursing Homes

Ergonomics Guidelines Approved For Nursing Homes

Ergonomics training lowers injuries and worker compensation costs at Adventist Hospital

Santa Barbara, CA (PRWEB) March 15, 2005

The WorkersÂ’ Compensation Committee at the National Conference of Insurance Legislators unanimously approved a resolution supporting ergonomics guidelines for nursing homes and encouraging such facilities to use alternative mechanical lifting methods. OSHA suggests that hospitals and similar work environments should find these guidelines useful.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, healthcare workers lead the nation in work-related back injuries. 12 out of 100 nurses in hospitals, and 17.3 out of 100 nurses working in nursing homes report work-related injuries, resulting in spiraling costs.

Preventing these kinds of injuries with ergonomics training (http://www. backsafe. com/backsafe. html) is critical at a time when the nationÂ’s obesity epidemic means more than half of the U. S. population is overweight. Lifting 200- to 300-pound patients can be a daily occurrence for healthcare workers.

After watching significant chunks of revenue go to worker compensation costs, reserves for injury cases and payments for medical care on existing claims, CFO of the Frank R. Howard Memorial, an Adventist Hospital in Willits, California, Carlton Jacobson started to look for ways to reduce these costs.

Although FRH Memorial had an active safety committee with a flexible budget for providing abatements and removing safety hazards, their main problem was controlling how healthcare workers physically interacted with their workplace environment on a day-to-day basis.

Performing a heavy patient lift single-handed could easily happen if no help was immediately available. Jacobson introduced a custom designed program delivered by Future Industrial Technologies (FIT) where skilled injury prevention specialists provide workplace safety training.

FIT provided an extensive walk-through to identify ergonomic risk factors and work tasks that presented a high injury potential. Patient lifting was targeted as a high-risk area, and the hospital was advised to purchase mechanical lifts to assist the staff with heavy patient transfers.

Implementation of this safety program reduced the incidence of back injuries and loss rates from $377,000 to $12,800 in just three years.

The workplace safety (http://www. backsafe. com/news. html) program trained the nurses in the proper use of the lifts and each worker attended “back safe” training to learn, practice and re-enforce safe lifting techniques.

“Many hospitals run on a slim bottom line and the decision to put money out for training and equipment is a big one,” said Jacobson. “Our total equipment costs were around $50,000, well under the cost of one injured worker in California. This ergonomics training program saved us injuries and worker compensation costs (http://www. backsafe. com/newsletter/corporate. html).”

Contact:

Dennis Downing

Future Industrial Technologies

350 South Hope Ave, Suite A201

Santa Barbara, CA 93105.

Tel: (805) 563-2225

Fax: (805) 563-2245

Dennis@backsafe. com

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