FRESNO/SAN FRANCISCO - The record high temperatures this summer underscored the need for comprehensive emergency preparedness planning – particularly for organizations and groups that support the elderly. As part of its continuing efforts to ensure public safety, State Compensation Insurance Fund is partnering with the California Department of Health Services to offer a free seminar to State Fund policyholders and the public on October 11th in Fresno. The seminar will address emergency preparedness and disaster planning for the convalescent home and residential care facility industries.

The two-hour seminar will feature an overview of federal and state regulatory requirements for protecting the health and safety of patients during emergencies, especially in heat waves. There will also be a section of the seminar focusing on worker safety issues.

Featured speaker for the seminar will be Kathy Clark, Disaster Preparedness Coordinator for the California Department of Health, Licensing and Certification Division. A State Fund loss control consultant will also speak during the portion of the seminar on worker safety.

“The heat wave this summer caught many people off guard,” said State Fund’s Safety and Health Services Manager Lauren Mayfield. “We think it is essential to help employers develop emergency plans that will enable them to comply with state and federal regulations and make their facilities safer for patients and workers.”

Topics at the seminar also include:

• Details to include in a disaster plan
• How to recognize when extended heat conditions become an emergency situation
• Worker safety tips including patient handling, slips and falls, and blood borne pathogens.

The seminar is scheduled from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at State Fund’s Fresno District Office, located at 10 River Park Place East. To register, please call Joe Kay at (559) 433-2688, or send a fax to (559) 433-2620. To register via email, please email jakay@scif.com.

The Fresno seminar is part of a series of educational programs State Compensation Insurance Fund is holding throughout the state in order to help employers create safe workplaces. State Fund has the largest safety and health services program among California workers’ compensation insurance carriers.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Established by the California Legislature in 1914, San Francisco-based State Compensation Insurance Fund is a self-supporting, nonprofit, fairly competitive public enterprise that provides workers’ compensation insurance coverage at cost to California employers.