COHE Office News
Lead Article: COHE Launches Provider Recognition Campaign
Welcome Kristi Luttrell, COHE's Newest Team Member
Robert "Bob" Waring, MD Accepts Position as COHE Medical Director
L&I Changes the Look and Feel of Its Public Website
Eastern WA COHE Featured in Spokane Journal of Business
For Employers
For Providers
Lead Article: COHE Launches Provider Recognition Campaign
Dan Hansen, DC - Program Director
Participating COHE providers in Eastern Washington will be recognized in a number of ways starting in February 2010. With the assistance of the various advisory committees to COHE and the Marketing and Communications Department of Inland Northwest Health Services, we have developed four ways that COHE providers can be recognized within their communities.
In-office displays – Each participating COHE provider and facility will be receiving two items from COHE staff to display that the provider and facility is a “Participating Provider” with the Eastern WA Center of Occupational Health & Education.
• Window decal – a static-cling decal measuring 5½ x 8¼ inches that is easily mounted on a clean glass surface, such as an entry door or window.
• Counter-top signage – a 5 x 7 inch slant-back acrylic sign holder with the same image as the sticker, but smaller.
Clinic/Facility Marketing – Each participating COHE provider and facility is welcome to use COHE Provider Logo artwork (jpeg files) for their use in marketing within their community. The COHE website includes a page for Marketing Aids where artwork and suggested marketing language can be accessed and downloaded. Use of these marketing materials is limited to Eastern WA COHE providers in good standing, demonstrating efforts to be compliant with COHE quality indicators, and adopters of COHE best practices. Examples of application of the marketing artwork includes: display ads, yellow page ads, business cards, brochures, web pages, etc.
Web-based Recognition – The COHE web site maintains a roster of participating providers in good standing. Access to this roster has been enhanced with a button on the web-site’s front page for quick navigation. We market the roster of COHE providers as a resource to help workers make an informed choice of provider for their work-related injury. In the future, this list will additionally highlight providers and their office staff that have been trained in Occupational Health Best Practices and have consistently shown a commitment to apply these best practices with their patients who are injured at work.
Community-based Recognition – Later in the spring and early summer, we will be sending out press releases to the regional, local and community news outlets in our program catchment area announcing the future direction of the COHE program, and listing all of the participating providers and facilities for the region or town.
We want to extend our congratulations to all of the providers, their hard-working support staff, and the administrators and executives of the participating COHE facilities for making the Eastern Washington COHE a success. Please share your participation with your community by using these recognition resources. If you need any assistance, please feel free to contact the COHE office at (509) 456-3222, toll free at (866) 247-2643, or via email coheinfo@st-lukes.org.
Welcome Kristi Luttrell, COHE's Newest Team Member 
Kristi joined our front office team as an Administrative Assistant and Data Entry Specialist in December 2009. She comes to us from Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center Emergency Department where she has been an ER Secretary. Originally from Michigan, she makes her claim as a Michigan State Spartan.
Robert "Bob" Waring, MD Accepts Position As COHE Medical Director
Dr. Dan Hansen and the COHE staff are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. G. Robert "Bob" Waring as the COHE Medical Director for Eastern Washington. Dr. Hansen states, “The choice became easy when Dr. Waring said yes.” About a year ago, L&I Director Judy Schurke appointed Dr. Waring to serve on the agency’s Industrial Insurance Medical Advisory Committee – as the only member from Eastern Washington. “Bob has been a dedicated COHE provider and serves on the COHE Physician Advisory Committee,” Hansen adds. Dr. Waring is Board Certified in Family Medicine and over the past ten years has built a well-respected occupational medicine practice as part of Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Walla Walla. Dr. Waring’s duties for COHE will include serving as chair to the Physician Advisory Committee and to assist Health Services Coordinators and providers in medical, clinical and return-to-work matters.
Dr. Waring may be contacted by phone at (509) 522-5929 or by email at Robert.Waring@providence.org.
L&I Changes the Look and Feel of Its Public Website
The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries unveiled changes to the look and feel of early this year. The changes focus on improving the homepage, navigation tools and use of space. Links or addresses to the agency’s web pages are not affected. Inside the L&I web site, the pages dedicated to the have been expanded and includes information for providers, workers, employers and details about research and future plans for the Centers.
For more information about the changes, visit L&I’s online guide to the “Web Site Refresh” or contact Brandon Rosage at 360-902-4881.
Eastern WA COHE Featured in Spokane Journal of Business
The November 25, 2009 issue of the Spokane Journal of Business featured an update on the Eastern Washington COHE and explained the proposed future of COHE. The article, featured in the Business Up-Close Look at Occupational Health & Safety, was authored by Mike McLean of the Journal of Business was the result of his visit to the COHE office and meeting with COHE staff Pam Cromer and Dan Hansen. A copy of this article is retrievable from this link. [Article]