Progress Through Partnership: Highlights from LABI’s 50th Year Conference
A Legacy of Education and Collaboration
Recently returned from the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry’s Annual Workers’ Compensation Conference, held October 7–9 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LABI has been providing this exceptional educational experience for decades. LABI is now in its 50 year and continues to strive to provide the best educational opportunity for all system participants.
During the course of this meeting, the attendees were privileged to hear from Susana Schowen, Secretary of (the newly named) Louisiana Works, the state of Louisiana agency, handling all things work-related. During her presentation, Ms. Schowen outlined an innovative ‘One Door’ policy within her division. This policy consolidates all services related to skills, employment, and training into a single point of entry for Louisiana residents. With one location, one system, and one comprehensive approach to workforce solutions, this initiative eliminates barriers and accelerates results.
Innovative Leadership and Systemwide Commitment
This was followed by an exceptional talk from Mr. Brian Blackwood, the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Worker’s Compensation Administration, who presented a variety of innovative solutions to advance the entirety of the Worker’s Compensation ecosystem.
The overall conference was sponsored by the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry and was presented by Mr. Patrick Robinson. Mr. Robinson did an excellent job of putting together a comprehensive symposium on a variety of critical issues that each member of the Worker’s Compensation ecosystem could embrace and apply in their individual situations.
The overwhelming theme that I took away from this conference was that these were exceptional people providing extraordinary service to the workers within the state of Louisiana. The stated goal was to deliver all appropriate care as quickly as possible in the most efficient manner possible to each injured employee within the state. It was clear to me that each presenter was committed to ensuring that every injured worker in the Worker’s Compensation system receives the care and support outlined in these goals.
Shared Goals and a Vision for the Future
As one of the presenters, I outlined several standards of practice that I recommended be employed by Worker’s Compensation adjusters, in terms of guaranteeing that every injured employee receives all appropriate care reasonably required to address the actual sequelae of the compensable injury sustained. One of my early points was obtaining a Baseline Clinical Assessment (BCA) of the actual injury sustained and proceeding from that point in adjusting the claims file. Additionally, I suggested early, frequent, and comprehensive conversation with the injured individual to note what the injury is, what is to be covered, and what is to be expected, as a hallmark for every Worker’s Compensation adjuster. Hearing several components of my message repeated by other speakers resonated with me in a way that made me proud to be part of this conference.
It is clear that the system participants within the State of Louisiana Worker’s Compensation ecosystem have committed individuals who undoubtedly want the absolute best for the injured employee. It was my pleasure to meet these individuals, talk with them privately, and offer my insight. Their reception of every possible idea to be fleshed out and potentially incorporated into the Louisiana workers compensation system plainly indicates the willingness to serve and provide the very best for the injured constituents residing in The Pelican State.
For those of you who wish to participate, I look forward to meeting you at the LABI Workers’ Compensation Conference on September 1-3, 2026, for the next edition of this exceptional program.