I now know why Employers don't often have written RTW programs...

As the Return to Wellness Specialist, I am bound by professional, moral and ethical obligation to promote RTW and encourage employers to create their own RTW programs.  And then one day I took a walk in an Employer's shoes.  I sat down to create a general RTW program for employers to implement, or at the very least, use as a reference when creating their own.  This was the inspiration for the title of this post; as these were the first words out of my mouth when I sat down to write the program.

So you're probably not a Return to Wellness Specialist...

Creating a RTW program can be a daunting task, even if your job title is "Return to Wellness Specialist."  Let's face it, it probably doesn't fall on the top of your list of things to do...but it should be there somewhere!  I understand.  It took me quite a few hours to develop the general RTW program that is available as part of our ecovery library.  I vowed from that day forward that if you're an Eastern client, implementing a RTW program should not be difficult!  We want to help our clients easily implement a program that is efficient and effective.


That being said, here are some very useful places to start...

Safety.BLR.com
As I've mentioned in prior blog posts, ALL Eastern clients receive full access (free of charge) to Safety.BLR.com which is chock full of invaluable and current resources regarding occupational safety, workers' compensation, and modified duty.

You can access these resources through Eastern's Risk Management Resource Center, or by clicking here.  (NOTE:  You must be logged in to eains.com to access the Safety.BLR.com site).  Once on the site, under "Category" select "Safety Administration."  Under "Topic," select "Worker's Compensation." Then click "Go."  To quickly sort the results, under "Filter Document Types" select "Time Savers."  This weeds out any irrelevant information and provides you with many documents that pertain to implementing or writing your own RTW program.  Click on the document title and you can download the document for use.  Go ahead, try it.

ecovery Library
I'm not just making another shameless plug for our ecovery library...or maybe I am, but you can't fault me, there's a lot of useful information out there!  You can download a general RTW program for your company, or you can use our 10 step "how-to" guide for employers who want to create their own program to fit the level of formality they desire.

Your State's WC website
Because RTW has such a positive impact for injured workers and employers alike, many states are encouraging employers, now more than ever, to implement RTW programs.  As a result, many state websites have sections specific to RTW.  For example, if you are a Pennsylvania employer, the PA Department of Labor and Industry has a great site for developing RTW programs, as does the Georgia Workers' Compensation Commission website.  To quickly and easily locate your state's WC website, you can go here. 

Take the first step...

Whether you're interested in creating a formal RTW program, or you'd like to create your own, I encourage you to familiarize yourself with Safety.BLR.com, the ecovery site, and your state's workers' compensation website, as they all have information that can help you reduce your workers' compensation costs and create a better working environment for your employees, in addition to serving as a quality resource for RTW programs.