Monthly Meetings - La Crosse Area Occupational Safety and Health Council

UPCOMING LAOSHC MEETINGS

Join us at a meeting and see what we are all about! First time visitors are eligible for a free pass that includes lunch.

Virtual Meetings are scheduled via TEAMS. In-Person Monthly Meetings are located at:

Boot Hill Pub
1501 St. Andrew St.
La Crosse, WI 54603
Click for Directions

REGIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL PROGRAMMING

Each regional council handles registrations for their own events, so contact each directly to register or for more information.

Learn More

11/29/2022

TBD

11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Boothill Pub

10/25/2022

TBD

11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Boothill Pub

9/27/2022

TBD

11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Boothill Pub

8/30/2022

Accident Investigation

Topic: Accident Investigation – Public/Private Sector

Speaker: Jessica Schroeder Risk Management Consultant

Aegis Corporation a Charles Taylor Company

Accident Investigation – “You Did What?”

WHAT IS IT?

Accident investigation is the process of determining the root causes of accidents, on-the-job injuries, property damage, and close calls in order to prevent them from

occurring again.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Accident investigation will lead you to the real cause of why something happened, and armed with that knowledge, you can take affirmative steps to prevent future

accidents from occurring.

11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Boothill Pub

7/26/2022

Fun in the Workplace

Topic: Fun in the Workplace – Engaging Employees

Speaker: Michael Melnik MS, OT – Prevention Plus

The Energized Approach

Fun in the Workplace

Fun in the workplace is often viewed as something that can only happen at the expense of things like productivity and quality. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, it turns out that FUN is a powerful complement to these things, and it can have positive impact on employee retention.

The problem is that we all have different definitions of FUN and most organizations aren’t quite sure how to make it happen. As a result, they either avoid going after FUN or find that their attempts at FUN fall short of expectations.

In this presentation you’ll learn about the importance of incorporating fun into the workday, what can happen in its absence, and hear how several organizations have successfully injected FUN into the workplace.

11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Boothill Pub

6/28/2022

Office Ergonomics

Topic: Office Ergonomics – Engaging Work from Home Employees – Managing the Hybrid Environment

Speakers: Katie McCabe OTR, MASL – Mayo Clinic

Brian Langenhorst OTR, CEA – Mayo Clinic

Office Ergonomics & the Hybrid Environment

COVID-19 has created one of the most revolutionary changes to office design and human resources—the migration of employees away from the office to working from home.

This shift to the home office has created opportunities for improved productivity and employee satisfaction, as well as potential risks for musculoskeletal injuries. As many individuals are currently working both at home and in the office, this hybrid working situation requires a focus on comfort, productivity, and health to enhance employee performance.

11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Boothill Pub

3/29/2022

Business Meeting

12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.

Boothill Pub

8/25/2021

Safety Considerations for the Aging Workforce

Lee Lohrentz is an Occupational Therapist who has been with Gundersen for 8 years. His experience has been in multiple areas of occupational therapy including worksite ergonomics, injury prevention, pre employment screening, and rehabilitation/work hardening. His presentation will include common workplace injuries for employees 55 and above. This will also cover preventative and rehabilitative topics for aging employees for some of these injuries.

12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.

Boothill Pub

7/28/2021

Active Threats and Response

Officer Ethan Purkapile grew up in Marshfield, Wisconsin. He graduated from the University of Stevens Point with degrees in Psychology and Sociology. Ethan has worked for the La Crosse Police Department for seven years, spending the last two years as a School Resource Officer on the northside. He is a member of the Domestic Abuse Reduction Team, Emergency Response Team and is a Field Training Officer. Ethan lives in La Crosse with his fiancé Alex and their two fur babies, Stanley and Angus.

12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.

Boothill Pub

6/23/2021

Working Safety with Contractors

Panelists: Mark Hintz of Market & Johnson, Jennifer Smith of Kwik Trip, Scott Huberty of NW Chapter ASSP, and Mary Bauer of OSHA

All facilities use contractors or have construction projects at their worksite. OSHA’s Multi-Employer Worksite Policy places the responsibility of contractor safety on four parties: the controlling, creating, exposed and correcting employers. Learn how your company could be responsible for contractors coming onto your site and how to ensure you exercise ‘due diligence’ under the Multi-Employer Worksite Policy. The Panelists will discuss their roles as host, contractor, insurance and enforcement to protect workers’ safety for both the contractor and host employees.

12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.

Virtual -TEAMS

5/26/2021

Safety Awards, Scholarship and Company Spotlight

12:00 p.m.-12:45 p.m.

In-Person

4/28/2021

Written Safety Plans

Speakers: Tricia Hodkiewicz and Lisa Neuberger, JJ Keller

Did you know that one of the first things an OSHA inspector looks for in the workplace is your written safety plans, such as the Hazard Communication Program, Respiratory Protection Program, and Lockout/Tagout Procedures? This makes it easy for the inspector to quickly gauge how well you’re protecting your workers from on-the-job hazards. Developing effective, written safety plans makes more than just compliance sense, it makes good sense! Plans, whether required or not, streamline your safety efforts, provide safety goals and expectations, and define responsibilities. So don’t miss the upcoming webcast on written safety plans, which will discuss the written plan regulations for general industry and explore what makes plans more effective. As a bonus, the webcast will include discussion on warehousing safety plans.

12:00 p.m.-12:45 p.m.

Virtual -TEAMS

3/24/2021

Struggling With A Mental Or Emotional Crisis - Mental Health 1st Aid

Speaker: Chaplain Jeff Thomson

Serving as a Regional Director at Corporate Chaplains of America, Jeff hires, coaches, and supports a team of chaplains serving in corporations in the Midwest region. Corporate Chaplains proactively builds caring relationships with employees by conducting weekly rounds in the businesses they serve, when employees are facing a crisis they can received permission based support from someone they know personally.

Jeff's work as a chaplain and support for chaplains as led to his pursuit of training to equip leaders to care for employees experiencing a mental health crisis.

The training Jeff will provide on March 24th will focus on how to have a conservation with someone suspected of having suicidal ideation as a result of a mental health crisis. Jeff will be walking through a conversation model that is based on the course “Mental Health First Aid”, which teaches participants about mental health and substance-use issues. The hope is to provide a starting point that answers, “How to begin a conversation with an employee who is struggling with a mental or emotional crisis?”

12:00 p.m.-12:45 p.m.

Virtual -TEAMS

2/22/2021

Who Cares? How to get the rest of the team passionate about safety.

Speaker: Sarah Fecht, the owner of Best Self Leadership.

Sarah provides coaching, training, and keynote speaking. Prior to starting her own business Sarah lead human resource teams in a variety of industries. Sarah also teaches at Viterbo University. In this session, attendees will learn about impactful communication styles and how to cheerlead safety effectively. Attendees will walk away with an understanding of the resources needed to create and engaged environment along with insights and actionable takeaways to implement.

12:00 p.m.-12:45 p.m.

Virtual -TEAMS

1/25/2021

Radon Awareness

Speaker: Nicole Kragness, La Crosse County Health Department

January is Radon Awareness Month, so LAOSHC has invited Nicole Kragness, a registered sanitarian for La Crosse County Health Department, to provide our members a general overview of Radon, where it comes from, and what it means for you. Nicole will also discuss measurement and mitigation strategies in residential homes and commercial buildings. Nicole serves as the Radon Information Center Coordinator for La Crosse and Monroe Counties. She is certified in both measurement and mitigation for Radon for residential buildings. She has lived in La Crosse County for eight years.

12:00 p.m.-12:45 p.m.

Virtual -TEAMS