Indianapolis’ Center for Pain Management Named as Sponsor of Indiana Summit
INDIANAPOLIS (March 2, 2010) – The Center for Pain Management, one of Central Indiana’s most experienced medical practices treating pain resulting from work-related accidents or on-the-job injuries, has been named a sponsor of the inaugural 60 Summits Indiana event to be held March 11 in Indianapolis. Experts representing Indiana’s healthcare, legal, insurance, employer and community organizations will collaborate in an effort to implement positive changes in the management of workplace injuries, worker disability benefits and compensation systems. The goal is to help working people remain injury free and stay at work or return to work in the event of a work-related or non-work-related illness or injury.
The Indiana meeting is affiliated with The 60 Summits Project, a national non-profit organization convening similar meetings in all 50 US states and 10 Canadian provinces. Well-respected employers, doctors, benefits administrators and other stakeholders attend each summit to learn about a new blueprint for workers’ benefit systems improvement detailed in a report from the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM), titled “Preventing Needless Work Disability by Helping People Stay Employed.”
“When employed people are affected by illness or injury, they usually discover they’re left alone to deal with its impact on their daily routine and livelihood,” said Edward Kowlowitz, M.D., owner and medical director of the Center for Pain Management. “All too often, the result is needless work interruption that can then lead to the loss of their job or even a permanent withdrawal from working. That’s unfortunate, because my experience is that it would be medically safe for many of the patients I see to continue to work and still be productive with short-lived or modest adjustments to their job environments or responsibilities. I’m looking forward to the collaboration of all parties involved in keeping employees safe and helping them recover when they’re injured. The result I expect will be more productive and financially secure employees and less drain on employers and public funds. The benefit to society — especially during these challenging economic times — is obvious.”
During the workshop, participants will begin the process of identifying potential areas for systems improvement by reviewing and discussing the ACOEM report. The end goal is to shift the focus of workers’ benefits programs from post-injury claims management to disability prevention. The 60 Summits Project also aims to help institutions develop processes to stay on top of workplace injuries from day one, help injured workers negotiate the system and help them work toward a recovery that will get them back on the job.
The March 11 event will be at Clarian Health, Fairbanks Hall-IU Clarian ERC, 340 West 10th Street, in Indianapolis. Registration and more information are available at www.60summitsin.com.
About the Center for Pain Management
The Center for Pain Management is one of Central Indiana’s most experienced medical practices focusing exclusively on treating patients who suffer from back, head, neck, joint or cancer-related pain. This includes spinal injury, herniated discs, arthritis, failed back surgery, chronic pain, migraines and fibromyalgia. The Center’s team of clinicians and board-certified physicians specializes in comprehensive evidence-based diagnostic and multi-disciplinary treatment modalities that include interventional procedures, physical therapy, medication management, spinal cord stimulation and psychological counseling. Physician referrals and patient self-referrals are accepted. For more information on the Center for Pain Management, visit www.IndyPain.com or call 706.PAIN (7246).
About 60 Summits
The 60 Summits Project is a non-profit corporation equipped to provide thought leadership for this project on a continental scale – to hold the on-going catalyst meetings that get new Summit planning groups started, to partner with those groups and guide them as they plan their Summit events, to keynote and facilitate the Summits, and to serve as a central administrative and communications hub for all the local groups. To learn more please visit www.60summits.org, or to sponsor/attend the Indiana Summit, www.60summitsIN.com.
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