The forgotten nursing specialty.
Occupational health nursing is a misunderstood area of practice, with very few nurses practising in this area. Only 623 (or 0.3%) of the 201,753 nurses practising in Australia are occupational health nurses, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's Nursing Labour Force Report 2002. ...

Back injury intervention.
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are rising in incidence and account for a majority of workers' compensation dollars. A first-time back injury can total costs as high as $10,000, with costs for repeated back injuries reaching as much as $300,000. Agricultural work is no exception to this with highest costs associated...

S&P Raises Ratings on Iron Trades Insurance to A+; Outlook Stable.
LONDON, June 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard & Poor's today raised its long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on Iron Trades Insurance Co. Ltd. (ITIC) to single-'A'-plus from single-'A'-minus. The outlook is stable. The rating action is based on the support from ITIC's parent,...

On solid ground: outsourcing facility operations and maintenance keeps school buildings up-to-date and contributes to a positive learning environment.
IT SEEMED like an impossible task for the school district: cut energy consumption, enhance building cleanliness and streamline work-order management--all within a short time frame. Yet, that's exactly what occurred at Detroit Public Schools, says Robert Brown, executive director of facility maintenance for the district that serves...

S&P Raises Highlands Insurance & Subs. Rating to 'BBBpi'.
NEW YORK, Jan. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard & Poor's today raised its insurer financial strength rating on Highlands Insurance Co. and its wholly owned and fully reinsured subsidiaries to triple-'Bpi' from double-'Bpi'. This rating action is based on the company's adequate capitalization, which is in...

Jury out on HIPAA and claims: when Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act in 1996, the risk management community perceived it as regulating health insurance coverage provided as part of an employee benefits package.
Few, if any, saw in the new legislation a threat to the ability of loss adjusters to obtain the information needed to settle workers' compensation and third-party liability claims. Those provisions were there nonetheless and lay dormant until 1999 when three years of congressional inaction triggered a rulemaking process...

Building Trades Call for Multi-State Investigation Of Labor Ready's Workers' Compensation Practices; Ohio Audit Uncovers Premium Misclassifications.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The Building and Construction Trades Department is urging every state workers' compensation agency in the country to investigate whether or not Labor Ready, Inc. (NYSE: LRW) has been misclassifying company employees and obtaining lower insurance costs. The Building Trades have issued the...

Simon Transportation Reports First Quarter 2001 Results.
SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Simon Transportation Services Inc. (Nasdaq: SIMN) announced today revenue and operating results for the first quarter of its fiscal year. Revenue for the first quarter increased 21.6% to $65.5 million, compared with $53.9 million for the corresponding quarter...

eStellarNet Establishes New Corporate Headquarters in Concord, CA.
Explosive Growth Compels Major Expansion of Corporate and Customer Support Infrastructure CONCORD, Calif., Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Keeping pace with property and casualty industry adoption of eStellarNet connectivity and Transaction Hub processing services, StellarNet, Inc. has taken possession of corporate offices in Concord,...

Albertson's Signs Expanded Agreement with Working Rx for Workers' Compensation Prescription Billing.
Innovative Internet Billing Service to Streamline Claims and Speed Payment BOISE, Idaho, March 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Albertson's (NYSE: ABS) announced today that it has entered into an expanded agreement with Working Rx, a provider of Workers' Compensation billing services. This agreement encompasses both the Albertson's...