Happy birthday to...

Candidates who research our company in anticipation of an interview quickly discover that we are going to be celebrating our 100 year anniversary in 2015. But that's not the birthday I want to celebrate today. This week represents the 100 year anniversary of another Colorado milestone - the creation of Rocky Mountain National Park. While war still raged in Europe the House of Representatives passed what the papers of the day referred to as the "Estes Park Bill" establishing what would become one of our state's favorite, and most visited playgrounds. House Republican leader Mann, in urging passage of the bill said he thought the day would come "when the vast horde of Americans who now go to see the mild scenery of Europe would go to see the grand scenery of the Rocky mountains."

What I did not know was that Rocky Mountain National Park was the "4th great playground established by the nation in Colorado." It was preceded by Mesa Verde National Park, Wheeler National Monument, and the Colorado National Monument. The newest national park boasted sixty peaks above 12,000 feet including Long's Peak which on a clear day is clearly visible from our office. Long's Peak, by the way, is only the 15th highest mountain in the state.

I'll leave you with a quote from Enos Mills, often referred to as the father of Rocky Mountain National Park due to his efforts to see the Park established:

“The forests are the flags of nature. They appeal to all and awaken inspiring universal feelings. Enter the forest and the boundaries of nations are forgotten. It may be that some time an immortal pine will be the flag of a united peaceful world.” 

Senior Medical Director of Integrated Care opportunity now open!

It's not often that we have this type of position available so I wanted to spend some time letting folks know about this unique opportunity. We are looking for a Senior Medical Director of Integrated Care who can work collaboratively across our organization and with other community and provider stakeholders to provide clinical leadership and medical management in support of network providers, safety, wellness and return to work programs. This position will be responsible for implementing and managing Pinnacol's overall medical management goals and objectives and working with program managers in the design, development, implementation and evaluation of clinical programs such as utilization management, provider network management, care management and program integrity.

As this is a senior level executive position, candidates should bring the ability to build credibility and establish trust with all levels of the organization, providers, agencies and customers and have a proven track record providing clinical management in a complex workers compensation or occupational health setting or in a progressive managed care organization, academic medical center or integrated delivery system. Acumen in developing innovative clinical delivery initiatives across the spectrum of care and engaging physicians to achieve higher levels of quality and improved outcomes is also required. 

Candidates should also bring a strong executive presence and leadership background serving as a member of a Senior Management Team with the demonstrated ability to motivate, guide, influence and lead others. Experience in health informatics and a passion for applying technology in healthcare innovation with the ability to translate data analytics and complex clinical materials into compelling communications in formal and informal settings is critical to the success of this role. 

A Master's degree in business, health information, public health/administration or other related field and experience in Healthcare Management is preferred. Candidates must be a Board Certified Physician with ability to obtain Colorado licensure; Occupational Health or related specialty preferred. Minimum of 5 years experience in proven clinical practice along with 3 or more years of experience with demonstrated management responsibilities.

As always, we ask that interested candidates please apply online via our company website. Candidates can also view the entire job description here. We look forward from hearing from you if you are interested in this unique position!

CPC Who?

If you are not in the insurance industry you are likely not familiar with the Society of Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters or CPCU for short. If you are an underwriter the CPCU designation is something you aspire to. CPCU's are considered to be property casualty insurance experts and to earn the designation they must pass eight national exams on topics including insurance law, accounting, risk management, and ethics. CPCU's also continually update their base of insurance expertise by participating in technical and professional development workshops and seminars and must meet experience requirements demonstrating proven insurance expertise and knowledge.

At Pinnacol, underwriting is basically half of what we do (the other half would be handling claims) so we are proud of our CPCU's as well as some of our staff who are not only CPCU's but are also CPCU instructors. They are part of an elite group - there are 22,000 CPCU's worldwide (40 countries and 135 chapters) and the CPCU Society has been providing continuing education for 70 years. 1,200 CPCU's are insurance company CEO's and presidents. There are more than 400 CPCU's who call Colorado home.

This morning we had representatives of the CPCU Society on site talking to our employees about upcoming course offerings (many of these are taught at our Pinnacol headquarters). I always talk to candidates about Pinnacol's commitment to ongoing training and development and this is one example of how our employees take advantage of that. If you are curious about the CPCU society they have a very informative website with lots of great information.