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Webinar: Caring for the Injured Worker: Effective Partnerships between Clinicians, Health Centers and Lawyers

Webinar: Caring for the Injured Worker: Effective Partnerships between Clinicians, Health Centers and Lawyers

DATE: Wednesday, June 26th, 2013

TIME: 10:00am PDT (Noon CDT, 1:00pm EDT)

PRESENTED BY: Brent Probinsky, Esq.; Ed Zuroweste, MD

DESCRIPTION:

High risk occupations, lack of access to health care, and numerous other barriers significantly impact the health of migrant workers. The management of work related injuries and exposures does not have to rest solely on the shoulders of the primary care clinical team. In many cases, effective medical/legal partnerships can successfully assist with access to care and improve the long-term health outcomes. Many migrants who are injured on the job, are eligible to receive medical treatment and replacement wages lost for work time.  There are also benefits available to those who are permanently disabled or the family members of workers who die on the job. These benefits can be extremely helpful to the injured worker and family members. In many cases, these benefits can also provide revenue for health centers.  However, while rates vary from state to state, overall use of this system by migrants and migrant clinicians remains low.  Often migrants are reluctant to file a claim, even if they are eligible, for fear of retaliation.  Others do not see the doctor they want or receive permission to stay off work long enough to recuperate.  Many primary care clinicians do not accept these cases because they are wary of becoming involved in an unfamiliar area.

Speakers will offer practical information for using the workers compensation system as well as legal avenues available to injured workers through a series of case studies. The webinar will explore how migrant clinicians can work collaboratively with legal advocates to help their patients secure these benefits.  Topics to be addressed will include:  helping migrant clinicians to identify which of their patients are eligible for workers compensation coverage; how to complete reports and secure reimbursement; helping patients navigate the system, etc.  Practical case studies will be presented by a primary care clinician with extensive practical experience caring for injured farmworkers and a legal expert with extensive expertise in helping injured migrant workers obtain benefits and settlements.

OBJECTIVES: 

  1. Identify which patients are eligible for workers compensation coverage
  2. Describe how a medical/legal partnership can benefit injured patients.
  3. Describe the role of a clinician in documenting exposure and injury.
  4. Identify resources available to clinicians and clinics to assist in securing reimbursement and helping patients navigate the system.

PRESENTER BIO:

Brent Probinsky, Esq.

Partner
941-371-8800, probinsky@aol.com

Brent L. Probinsky, Esq.

Brent L Probinsky is a senior lawyer with the firm of Probinsky & Associates with its main office in Sarasota, Florida. For 25 years he and members of the firm have represented injured workers and  farm workers in Florida and throughout the United States.  Probinsky received his B.A from Boston College in Theology in 1975, a Masters in Latin American Studies from the University of Florida in 1978 and his law degree from Nova Southeastern University in 1982. He also studied law in Guatemala and Mexico and for 15 years has been a Consulting Lawyer for the Consulate of Mexico in Florida.  For more information visit www.probinskylaw.com

 

Ed Zuroweste, MD

 Medical Director, MCN
kugelzur@migrantclinician.org

Ed Zuroweste, MD

Dr. Ed Zuroweste is the Chief Medical Officer for Migrant Clinicians Network. In this position, Dr. Zuroweste is responsible for the oversight of all of MCN’s clinical activities. He was present for the first “official meeting” of the Migrant Clinicians Network in 1985 and have been consistently involved with the organization since that time.

Dr. Zuroweste began his work with migrants as a partner in a private practice in Chambersberg, PA. He later became the Medical Director of Keystone Health Center, a large Migrant and Community Health Center in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. While attending to his administrative responsibilities, Dr. Zuroweste also maintained a full-time clinical practice in family practice and obstetrics, including full hospital privileges in Pediatrics, Adult Medicine and Obstetrics.

In addition to his work with MCN, Dr. Zuroweste is an Assistant Professor of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine where he directs an International Rural Health Elective in Honduras. Dr. Zuroweste is also the staff physician for Dauphin and Franklin County HD tuberculosis clinic, PA Dept. of Health; a Clinical Consultant for 3 separate consulting firms; and serves as a Locum Tenem family physician for multiple sites.

Dr. Zuroweste has traveled extensively in Central America, especially Honduras and Guatemala both for teaching and pleasure. He has also traveled to Europe, South America and the Caribbean.

Dr. Zuroweste is married with three children. When not working, Dr. Zuroweste enjoys long distance running, listen to great music, great movies and concerts, work out of doors, and travel with family and friends to far off locations.

CONTACT:

Jillian Hopewell, MPA, MA, Director of Education and Professional Development
(p) 530.345.4806 (e) jhopewell@@migrantclinician.org