COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ASSOCIATION OF PENNSYLVANIA
THE VOICE OF PENNSYLVANIA COUNTIES
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As we plunge into the depths of winter, and start anticipating the transition to spring in March, things are moving along here with the CCAP insurance programs. The PELICAN SAC met in early January and set rates for the coming year, and the PCoRP Board of Directors met to do some planning and held a board meeting the week after the PELICAN meetings. Talk about getting out of the 2022 gate quickly!
As part of our commitment to members of our programs, we work hard to have active and involved boards and committees. In 2022 we will hold 48 meetings (boards, committees and membership meetings) over 39 days. This is to ensure the representatives of the members are not only involved in the decisions about the program, but also have a chance to ask questions, make suggestions and decisions about coverages, prices, services, finances and more.
We have eight programs and one joint committee serving the CCAP membership, and every Pennsylvania county is in one or more of these programs:
- The CCAP Unemployment Compensation Trust (UC Trust)
- CCAP Deferred Compensation Advisory Committee
- The Pennsylvania Counties Risk Pool (PCoRP)
- Prison Inmate Medical Cost Containment (PIMCC)
- The Pennsylvania Counties Workers’ Compensation Trust (PComp)
- PELICAN Insurance RRG (nursing home liability coverage)
- COMCARE PRO RRG (behavioral health stop loss coverage)
- The CCAP Health Alliance (health insurance)
- CCAP Joint Investment Committee
I’d also like to thank the CCAP members who serve on these boards and committees – a total of 78 individuals from 45 different counties! They are all dedicated to making our programs provide the needed services and coverages to the members.
Make sure you contact us when you need help with something,
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The CCAP Insurance Programs will be offering a full slate of excellent training opportunities again starting in March! Planning is underway to offer sessions on defensive driving, workers’ compensation, creating a positive workplace while promoting and practicing self-care, leadership, our always popular prison risk management workshop, and HR Boot Camp.
We have some workshops planned to be in person, some via Zoom and others in both formats. We hope to ease back into some sense of our normal training season, but of course will adjust if needed.
The spring edition of the GLIMPSE will be coming out in early February and registration should be available February 11th. If you don’t already receive the training catalog but would like too, contact Linda Rosito.
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact Linda Rosito, Risk Management Training Director at (717) 736-4728.
Thank you for your continued support of the CCAP Insurance Programs trainings!
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PComp Membership Meeting - Monday, March 21 |
Register now for the PComp Annual Membership Dinner Meeting – held on Monday, March 21 at 6 p.m. at the Harrisburg Hilton. The meeting occurs during the CCAP Spring Conference. Click here to register.
The dinner will include updates on the workers’ compensation program, including claims trends and financials, and our annual awards will be presented. There is no cost for PComp members, PComp local producers, and their guests to attend.
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NACo Webinar - February, 8 from 2 - 3 p.m. |
The National Association of Counties (NACo) is hosting a webinar, with CFO Tim Reeves of Lehigh County, on February 8, from 2 to 3 p.m. During this presentation, learn how CFO Reeves and his team have generated new revenue and savings through a comprehensive liquidity-management strategy, treasury-service monitoring and bank-fee enhancements by using the cashVest program through three+one.
cashVest by three+one is a liquidity data tool for the public sector and higher Ed to execute borrowing, investing, and cash management decisions with more confidence and greater ease. This program is endorsed by NACo and the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP).
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Hot Topics
PCoRP and PComp Grants
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It is an active time of the year as members are starting to plan and submit their requests for funding for PCoRP and PComp grants. For the 2022 calendar year, the PComp grants are up to $35,000 per member (but cannot exceed 75% of your premium to PComp). PCoRP grants for 2021-22 are up to $30,000 per member and the funding needs to be used by May 31, 2022.
Many counties are in both programs – and this leads to a reminder that when you submit a grant for PComp, it needs to focus on safety and loss prevention for your employees. A PCoRP grant project needs to focus on how the grant funds will lessen liability for the county – for example repairing sidewalks which members of the public use.
Of course some projects could be applicable to both grants – for example, repairing and paving a parking lot use by both employees and the public could use funds from both grants.
If you have questions about the grants, contact Keith Wentz.
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According to the CDC there are one million people injured annually because of falling on snow and ice with 17,000 of those falls being fatal each year. In 2020/2021, approximately 9 percent of our workers compensation claims made by our members were from slips and falls on ice or snow. This number is high considering majority of these claims take place in a 3-month span. It is good practice to continually remind your employees the importance of proper footwear, to limit any distractions as they are walking and to report any surface areas that may need to be treated.
Purchasing ice cleats for your employees is a great way to utilize your PComp grant money! For more information on utilizing your PComp grant money, contact Kelly Kyzer, Risk Control Specialist.
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2022 UC Trust Risk Control Incentive Program |
The UC Trust Risk Control Incentive Program was created to provide UC Trust members with an opportunity to earn up to a five percent credit toward each of their four quarterly contributions. The credits are applied in the year succeeding the year in which the credits are earned (e.g., credits earned in 2022 will be applied to 2023 contributions). The credits are earned by attending approved onsite and online training, confirming your policies and procedures are current and by being timely in your reporting to the CCAP Finance Team and Experian (formerly Corporate Cost Control). The 2022 UC Trust Risk Control Incentive Program document is being updated and will be emailed to UC Trust Members upon its completion. Stay tuned for its release in the near future!
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11 Essential Travel Safety Tips |
Many environmental factors can play a big part in your comfort and safety, especially when you are traveling away from home. Below is a list of tips that can help make your stay comfortable and safe. These 11 tips should take no more than 5 minutes of your time.
- Do NOT unpack your items until you inspect the room.
- Check the door locks upon entry; do they work properly?
- Clean all the light switches with a Clorox wipe before you move into the room.
- Clorox wipes are sold in travel packs (just like sanitizer and masks); these are a great asset to carry when you travel!
- Test the Heat or AC before you unpack.
- Check the bed!
- Turn down the bed to make sure the sheets are clean, then lift the mattress to check along the seams, you are looking for blood stains or signs of bed bugs.
- Make sure the pillowcases are clean.
- Check the bathroom!
- Inspect the toilet, shower, and vanity for cleanliness.
- Make sure the water works in the sink and the shower.
- If all is satisfactory, wipe down the handles on the sink, the toilet, and the bathroom door with Clorox wipes.
- Also, shake out your towels to make sure they are clean as well.
- Wipe down the TV Remote with a Clorox wipe, and make sure it works.
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Do NOT use the room’s phone! It is usually full of bacteria.
- At this time, I would advise not using amenities unless you feel safe doing so.
- Do NOT travel back and forth to your room in the dark.
- Always make sure you park your vehicle in a well-lit area of the parking lot.
Safe Travels!
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Risk Management and Workplace Safety |
In many instances, your employees perform their routine tasks without thinking about the potential safety issues that accompany them. Complacency can increase the risk of injury on the job regardless of the employee’s age or experience level.
For employees, complacency can be the cause of unsafe actions which can lead to injury or illness. By accepting the “status quo” when dealing with workplace safety practices, leadership may unintentionally reinforce complacency thus leading to increased opportunities for staff injuries.
Communication, in whatever form, can reduce or eliminate complacency and present learning opportunities. Engage and involve your employees in conversations on how to best perform their work tasks in the safest fashion. Whether your county is large or small, employees want to know their safety and well being is critically important to leadership.
Your risk control specialist is available to assist with any risk management needs. Please don’t hesitate to contact them for assistance.
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Welcome to New Staff Members |
Welcome to Laura Simon and Angela Miller who recently joined the CCAP staff! Laura is a Risk Control Specialist and Angela is a Claims Representative. Laura works from northeastern Pennsylvania and is the main risk control staff contact for PCoRP, PComp and PELICAN members in central Pennsylvania. She can be reached at her direct line, (717) 736-4731 or email: lsimon@pacounties.org.
Angela is a PCoRP claims representative, and can be reached at her direct line (717) 736-4762 or email: amiller@pacounties.org.
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"But if we learn to think of it as anticipation, as learning, as growing, if we think of the time we spend waiting for the big things of life as an opportunity instead of a passing of time, what wonderful horizons open out!"
Anna Neagle
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CCAP INSURANCE PROGRAMS
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