The Wisconsin County Mutual Insurance Corporation (County Mutual) and Community Insurance Corporation (CIC) are committed to providing our members with extensive, cost-effective risk management training and programming. While we are in a better position than last year against COVID, the newest variant has already been identified and our hospitals and health care system are still stretched to capacity. A pillar of the Highway Safety Days is SAFETY, and we simply cannot safely require mandatory training that would place hundreds of individuals together on given days in May. Potentially spreading COVID from one public entity to another is against all risk mitigation.
As a safety and risk management-focused organization providing workers' compensation and liability coverage to our public entity members, we have made the difficult, but prudent decision to hold the 2022 Highway Safety Days virtually.
MSHA Part 46 Annual Refresher Training Requirements
Following MSHA guidelines, we are providing an alternative training delivery of online/video-based learning for your staff. MSHA Recordkeeping Forms, Documentation, and Pocket Cards will be distributed. As always, you will be responsible for providing the 30-minute site-specific training.
Registration will open in early March 2022 with a full venue of speakers and topics.
Virtual Training Logistics
The training content will be available from May 2-31, 2022. Each session recording times will be provided so you may customize your training day(s). Registered contacts from each entity will receive instructions for accessing the program content prior to the Monday, May 2nd availability.
Again, internet connections and audio/visual equipment will be needed to display the content to your staff. We strongly recommend taking advantage of your entity’s more contemporary training rooms/locations/board venues to provide the best audio and video quality.
Meal Reimbursement
We will again provide a $10 per attendee reimbursement to assist you in providing food during the training day. You will be required to provide receipts for the reimbursement of up to $10/person.
Audiometric Exam Reimbursement
Annual audiometric exams are a requirement as a component of your Hearing Conservation Program. American Industrial Medical (AIM) has provided this service during HSD’s for ten years. It is essential to have the prior exam results to determine if any Standard Threshold Shift (STS) changes have taken place for recordkeeping documentation requirements and staff notification and re-testing. The County Mutual/CIC will subsidize the cost up to $20/attendee for the exams. If you are certain of your May training day, we recommend securing AIM in advance for that date to reduce downtime for testing.
*We have learned that AIM provides quite a discount to the County Mutual members during HSDs. If you coordinate the hearing van to travel from your entity to another one or two nearby on a given day, it can reduce the set-up fee in half. Those entities in 2021 which coordinated with another entity on the same day and utilized AIM for their audiometric exams incurred very little to no costs. As an alternative, AIM also provides a mobile case unit that does not require the entire van and can be placed on a quiet conference room table, reducing costs as well. Helpful items when scheduling: reach out early; notify them of the number of people to be tested, days not available such as Fridays, and if you are flexible on the start time.
To schedule annual audiometric exams with AIM, contact Mike Mellock at mike@aimedical.com.
2023 Highway Safety Days
While the 2022 Highway Safety Days will again be held virtually we certainly hope to bring back 2023 Highway Safety Days in person.
We look forward to continuing to provide you with vital risk management services safely and responsibly.
If you have any questions regarding the Highway Safety Days (HSDs), please contact Jodi Traas, Senior Risk Management Consultant for the County Mutual & CIC, at 800-511-9797 or jodi.traas@charlestaylor.com.
