Elevating Injured Worker Care: OMNET Provider Forum 2023

At LWCC, we maintain many relationships central to keeping Louisiana’s workforce safe. Our internal team of specialists cover claims, audits, safety training, and every workers’ comp aspect in between. Our agent partners help us bring our coverage and expertise to the Louisiana workers and businesses who need it, and our policyholders use us to help ensure the well-being of their employees. However, it was another crucial relationship that took center stage at LWCC as we hosted the 2023 OMNET Forum, an in-person conference filled with educational and networking opportunities.

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The Purpose

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For years, the OMNET Provider Forum has been a signature event for LWCC. Top occupational medicine providers and others integral to the treatment and recovery of injured workers gather to participate in sessions led by respected industry experts. With each session and panel discussion, attendees gain insight into the specifics of treating injured workers, and with each break, they indulge in the opportunity to collaborate with other providers and workers’ comp professionals. The desired result is a group of medical professionals who leave with the knowledge and connections needed to elevate injured workers' care to new heights.  

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Jill Leonard, LWCC Vice President of Claims Operations, highlighted the importance of the event, stating, “We get injured workers back to work, but we don't provide their medical care. The physicians do. The physical therapists and the nurse case managers do. So any information that we can share with them to help them enhance the care they provide and help them understand who we are and what we want to accomplish, helps the system overall.”  

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The Speakers

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Given the past few years of rapid and unprecedented change, the theme for this year’s OMNET Forum was ‘Uncharted Waters.’ Presenters were selected based on their knowledge of areas critical in the rapid evolution of the healthcare industry, a course of change happening so quickly that it runs the risk of leaving some providers behind. Telehealth, delayed recovery risks, personal branding, and medical marijuana were just some of the topics covered in depth by experts, including authors, PhDs, professors, MDs, CEOs, and more.

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Troy Prevot, a conference attendee with a decades-long career in both the medical and insurance field, said, “OMNET’s purpose is to make it easier for the providers to take care of the patients. It’s already a bridge that helps address our pain points, but an event like this with the exchange of ideas and speakers like Mark Pew, who make us really talk about and look at those pain points, enhances that bridge.”

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The Attendees

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The workers’ compensation and occupational medicine fields were well-represented at the 2023 OMNET Provider Forum. In attendance were chiropractors, orthopedic surgeons, registered nurses, psychiatrists, workers’ compensation coordinators, and many more. These are the professionals who frequently work together to help injured workers recover quickly and completely. However, they rarely have the opportunity to gather in a single location, put faces to names, and discuss the ins and outs of their practices. While the conference speakers and insights were invaluable, this unique networking aspect also proved to be an attendee favorite and was mentioned frequently.

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“One of the best things about this conference is putting faces to names. We talk to people every day, but when you meet them in person, that’s a different aspect of building up a rapport which ultimately helps the claimant get back to work,” said LWCC Senior Medical Services Coordinator Kimberly Sanders, RN, BSN.

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Aislinn Held, Director of Operations at The Bone and Joint Clinic of Baton Rouge, noted, “It’s great to network, meet everyone, and get a take on what the market is in our state. I think that’s one of the greatest benefits of working with LWCC. They’re local to us.”

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“It’s been an excellent conference with excellent speakers,” said Steven Winkler, Executive Director of the Orthopedic Surgery Center. “I think it’s so important to have the opportunity to see, face-to-face, the people you’re talking to on the phone and to let them give us feedback as well as for us to give them feedback. What issues are they having that we may need to take back to our providers?”

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Dr. Mike Blanchard of the Baton Rouge Orthopedic Clinic stated, “I’ve been very pleased with the speakers. It’s been excellent, and I especially appreciate the human side of this interaction of workers’ comp for the benefit of both providers and the patients.”

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Improving Injured Worker Care

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At the end of a very productive and informative two days, all involved in the 2023 OMNET Provider Forum left with a better understanding of how they can improve the process of care for injured workers and who they can rely on to help them accomplish those goals. While many benefitted from this conference, it is undeniable that those who stand to benefit most of all are the workers themselves.

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