Recent improvements to the University of Georgia’s workers’ compensation initiative have allowed injured UGA staff members to re-enter the workforce more swiftly and in better health through a more efficient procedure.
In Fall 2024, the institution consolidated the workers’ compensation claims procedure within Insurance & Claims Management (ICM) — a sector of the university’s Risk and Resiliency Division.
ICM Risk Coordinator Dayna Evans evaluates every workplace incident to determine the necessary medical treatment, assisting each employee in locating healthcare tailored to their specific injury while also offering a roster of in-network clinics. This strategy guarantees that employees access the required services without the hurdles of lengthy delays or out-of-pocket expenses — facilitating the quickest and most medically suitable route to recovery, thereby minimizing lost workdays and negative financial consequences for the employee.
ICM has additionally revamped the claims reporting mechanism, alleviating the responsibility for supervisors to document workplace injuries. Besides filing the claims, ICM partners with stakeholders on campus to analyze injury claims and discover avenues to mitigate future occurrences.
In the first year following the procedural update, the university decreased the amount of work time lost due to injuries among UGA staff by nearly 500 hours and reduced overall workers’ compensation expenses by almost 50 percent. Furthermore, ICM has heightened awareness of the workers’ compensation system throughout the university.
ICM collaborated with University Human Resources (UHR), Environmental Safety, Payroll, and Occupational Health within the Office of the Vice President for Research to refine the procedure, enhance coordination of the workers’ compensation program, and improve the sharing of internal information regarding workplace safety.
“The valuable teamwork among the various departments, especially UHR and ICM, has enabled us to gather more accurate data about workplace injuries,” stated Adam Fouche, UGA’s interim associate vice president for environmental safety, risk, and resiliency. “We aspire that this method will persist to boost employee safety and allow injured workers to return to their roles at full salary more swiftly.”
Evans also serves as a connector between the Georgia Department of Administrative Services (DOAS) — which oversees workers’ compensation insurance for state organizations — and UGA departments and staff.
Looking ahead, ICM is creating an online survey to evaluate departmental and employee satisfaction as well as the overall functionality of the updated program. The university plans to launch the survey this fall.
“It is encouraging to witness the outcomes of effective collaboration among the various units that contributed to enhancing this process,” remarked Travis Jackson, UHR senior director for employee benefits and wellbeing. “UHR anticipates continued collaborations and further enhancements that will make these processes even more streamlined and cost-effective.”
ICM remains engaged with UHR, Payroll, and DOAS to continually advance the university’s Return to Work program. This ongoing endeavor will prioritize expanding the availability of light-duty roles across campus. The goal is to further decrease the number of lost workdays while ensuring the safest and most seamless return-to-work experience for university personnel.
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