2019 Safety and Loss Control Workshops

It is a sure sign of spring when registration opens for the annual Safety and Loss Control Workshops! This year’s police track will feature presentations in the morning, as well as a back-by-popular-demand afternoon session. It is a Police HR Bootcamp entitled “Keeping Zombies and Vampires from Sucking the Life Out of Your Workplace.” 

The morning police track sessions have some pretty interesting titles as well. Leading off with the “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” (on police property room management), “Same, Same, But Different” (a look at emerging trends for police), and “Three Critical Insurance Issues for Police Departments” (filing workers’ compensation claims, PTSD, and joint powers agreements).

All courses will be certified for POST continuing education credit, and lunch is included. We look forward to connecting and reconnecting with our members as we move around the state. Here is the schedule:

March 27—Mahnomen
March 28—Alexandria
April 3—Redwood Falls
April 4—Mankato
April 9—Rochester
April 11—Biwabik
April 16—St. Paul
April 23—St. Cloud
April 25—Brooklyn Park

Visit our website for more information and to register.

Reminder—the Opioid Information Session is scheduled for February 7 in Bloomington. It is free, sponsored by the League, and open to the entire public safety community. It is a chance to hear from the Minnesota Department of Health on the latest statistics and prevention efforts, from Minneapolis PD, to learn about the current litigation efforts, and—most importantly—to be part of an open discussion on the impacts of opioids in Minnesota.

Up next: Physical Ability Testing (PAT) Project

Stay safe,
Rob

Opioid Resources

The opioid epidemic continues to expand in Minnesota. There are news stories almost daily about the number of fatal overdoses—including a recent article about the increasing number of children in emergency foster care due to their parents’ addiction, and another about the number of fatal overdoses in one metro county. This is not existing in a vacuum and it is not static. 

Meth overdoses and seizures are also at an all-time level and—while we are seeing improvement in the prescription side of the opioid problem—heroin and illegal fentanyl overdoses and fatalities continue to rise. We know that some of you are in the middle of this crisis and others are on the edge. Here are some resources to share with your staff:

• The League has a new webpage to assist cities and public safety responders in getting more information about the opioid epidemic in Minnesota. The site will be updated with new information and resources as they become available. 
• The Minnesota Department of Health, (MDH), has made their Opioid Dashboard the source to visit for what is happening with the Minnesota opioid epidemic. It is full of current information and training resources.
• “Fentanyl: The Real Deal” is a training video that I highly recommend for all first responders. It runs about six minutes and is endorsed by nearly all of the national public safety associations.
• The video is paired with written guidance entitled Fentanyl Safety Recommendations for First Responders by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).
• An Opioid Information Session is scheduled for February 7 in Bloomington. It is free, sponsored by the League, and open to the entire public safety community. 

Up next: An Early Look at the 2019 Safety and Loss Control Workshops

Stay safe,

Rob