Management-Side WSIB Law and Employment Law:
Cézanne Charlebois, B.A., M.A., LL.B / Vice President - Managing Director
Cézanne is a lawyer who practices almost exclusively in management-side WSIB law. She is the owner of Charlebois Associates which is a firm dedicated exclusively to providing workers’ compensation claims management assistance to employers in Ontario and across Canada. They regularly save their clients hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation costs while helping them manage their employment law risks and reduce their occupational health and safety liabilities. She is a passionate advocate who fights tenaciously for her clients and yet, during the course of her relentless pursuit of achieving her client’s objectives, her professionalism and integrity are never compromised.
Email: cezanne@whsn.ca
Web: Charlebois Associates
Medical Assessments and Health Care Management:
Dr. Ketan Patel, Physician
Dr. Ketan Patel graduated from the University of Toronto Medical School in 1999. He completed a residency in Family Medicine at the University of Ottawa (1999-2001) as well as the Emergency Medicine residency at the University of Ottawa (2001-2002).
Dr. Patel serves as consulting physician to a large number of referring medical and rehabilitation offices in South Western Ontario. He provides consultations and assistance with management of a wide array of chronic pain and addiction/substance use cases. He performs a number of interventional pain treatments relating to acute and chronic pain such as: Botox Therapeutic; corticosteroid injections; nerve blockades; trigger point injections; I.V. lidocaine infusions; etc. His staff routinely offer/provide complementary medical procedures such as: laser therapy, acupuncture, massage therapy, physiotherapy and chiropractic care. Dr. Patel treats chronic pain with both opioid and non-opioid pharmacotherapy and engages a holistic model of health for those interested in a drug-free recovery model. He has received his exemptions from Health Canada for the provision of methadone in the treatment of chronic pain and opioid dependency. Dr. Patel and the Integrated Circle of Care injury centres are currently setting up regional chronic pain/injury treatment centers throughout southwestern Ontario.
As a medical assessor, Dr. Patel routinely conducts Independent Examinations for occupational, medico-legal, employer, and insurance purposes. He has also obtained certification in Catastrophic Impairment Rating (using the 4th Edition of the AMA Guides) and assists with long-term disability care planning.
Using the SPICE Model (adapted from Dr. Colledge, et al), Dr. Patel and colleagues have created a simple and reproducible approach to early injury/disability management. This model allows both the employer, employee, and clinician to manage the workplace injury within a set of guiding principles that demonstrably reduces lost days, improves recovery, and can significantly minimise total claim costs.
Dr. Patel routinely offers lectures/seminars to corporate/management staff on a wide-range of topics including: injury management, disability, mental health and wellness, pain, and addiction issues in the workplace.
Email: admin@whsn.ca
Web: Integrated Circle of Care
Return to Work and Work Reintegration:
Colleen O’Brien, Director Ergonomics & Vocational Rehabilitation Services
Trained as a Registered Practical Nurse, Colleen worked as a Psychiatric Nurse for 15 years, transitioning into vocational counselling and assessment with both the public and private sectors. She went on to obtain university training at the University of Western Ontario in Psychology, addictions and case management. In her role as a Vocational Consultant in the rehabilitation field, her possession of a Human Resources Certification, employment and career counselling, Ergonomic Evaluation, and Physical Demands Analysis training have proven beneficial in returning clients to work since 1987.
Throughout her career she has developed a specialty in return to work programs and has effectively negotiated return to work plans between Management and Union ensuring adherence to collective agreements. She has worked effectively within several unionized environments and has managed all WSIB, STD, LTD claims, designed/monitored all return to work programs and labour market re-entry programs, resulting in significant reduction in premiums.
Email: colleen@whsn.ca
Rick Kowacz, CRSP Director Client Services - Consulting & Training
Rick is a Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP) and is an active safety trainer and consultant in the Occupational Health and Safety field with over 20 years experience. He has experience as a Health and Safety Coordinator in both the chemical and automotive industries. As a consultant, Rick uses his expertise to assist clients in the manufacturing and retail markets with management systems, Workwell audits, training, and legislation compliance.
Email: rick@whsn.ca
Mark S. Wood, Director Consulting & Training
Mark is a leader in the field of Occupational Health and Safety Training and Consulting. As a seasoned professional, he has successfully educated and engaged thousands of organizations using specialized “Adult Learning” techniques that he has been continuously fine-tuning for more than a decade. Mark has that rare gift of being able to blend humour with technical knowledge and practical expertise and adapts it to every workplace, every course, and every seminar.
When it comes to Consulting, whether writing a few company procedures or making recommendations for a major corporate Audit, Mark listens and understands the concerns of the workplace. Mark has earned the reputation as “Professional Occupational Health and Safety Trainer and Consultant” through his knowledge, education, integrity, and success in the field.
Email: mark@whsn.ca
Gloria Warren, Director Claims Management - Paralegal Services
Gloria has enjoyed a 36-year career in the field of workers’ compensation. She spent her first 20 years in this area managing a team of claims adjudicators, claims training specialists, claims field investigators, and receptionist counsellors for the WSIB. For the last 16 years, she has served as a consultant to employers in all aspects of workers’ compensation. In 2008, Gloria was licensed by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a paralegal.
Gloria is without doubt the NEER expert of the team. She does complicated NEER projections which help us to assess the cost benefit of choosing to go forward to appeals or choosing not to, in order to offer our clients ‘bottom-line’ advice. She handles CAD-7 and MAP matters as well. She has helped both large corporations and small businesses with day-to-day workers’ compensations issues, mediations, and early and safe return-to-work plans.
Email: Gloria@whsn.ca
Paul Harris, Director, Workers’ Compensation Appeal Services
Paul is a workplace injury advocate for employers who brings several years’ experience with the workers’ compensation authorities of Saskatchewan and Ontario to his practice. Since 1992, he has been training employers in all aspects of workers’ compensation and representing his clients at all levels of the appeal system. Paul’s success in the appeal process has earned him a reputation as a tough and thorough advocate who nonetheless respects the rights and concerns of the worker, which has earned him praise from labour representatives. He has represented clients in oral appeals before several workers’ compensation boards and commissions. In 2008, Paul was licensed as a paralegal by the Law Society of Upper Canada. Paul has served as a Director on several charitable boards, including one of Canada’s largest wildlife sanctuaries, and is active as an editor and writer.
Email: paul@whsn.ca
Paul Dalby, Director Claims Management - Paralegal Services
Prior to obtaining his paralegal license in 2009 from the Law Society of Upper Canada, Paul’s career spanned the fields of financial services, healthcare and technology, with progressive growth to the senior management level.
Combining 25 years’ experience in the life insurance industry with 10 years’ entrepreneurial experience in health management and software consulting to the disability claims sector, Paul is an advocate of the possible, and an architect of the achievable. He has developed expert-level knowledge of disability claims and claims management techniques. Paul also combines problem-solving abilities, particularly by employing innovative technology, along with a solid understanding of the link between technology and the user.
Paul conceptualized, developed and successfully implemented a leading-edge disability claims management initiative which, over a 4-year period, resulted in dramatic improvements in customer service, quality, reduced operational costs and added $56 million to the client’s bottom line. The solution was also embraced by a global OEM and a major systems integrator.
Paul managed the disability claims portfolio of a Fortune 50 client, comprised of over 100,000 insured lives, with an annual premium in excess of $75,000,000. On behalf of that same client, he then successfully managed a multi-million-dollar project to consolidate the administration of disability claims from a number of employer sites into a centralized head office environment. Project success was defined by: on-time delivery & functionality, within budget; results were approved by the client’s senior management and union executives.
As a subject matter expert (SME), Paul has supported corporate Law Departments as part of a Legal Support Group and defended disability claims in court in Canada and the U.S.
Paul’s personal vision is that the disability management business is now about the effective application of information and technology to drive customer relationships and managed profitability. Paul brings high energy, superlative business skills and an inspirational work ethic to the landscape.
Email: PaulD@whsn.ca
Guy St-Gelais, CAD-7/NEER Specialist
Located In the heart of Northern Ontario, Guy has 18 years of experience as a health and safety coordinator and manager of the workers compensation claims. He is fluently bilingual and prior to his involvement in safety, he acquired extensive practical experience in Civil construction, sawmill, logging, and trucking businesses.
Guy is a strong advocate for safety and he understands fully the actual cost impact associated to companies regarding workplace injuries and the projected future cost of workplace injury claims. Since 1999 he has been developing and designing a claim impact software to calculate the NEER and CAD 7 experience rating. Thanks to his passion and perseverance, this unique innovative software is now available to anyone involved in claim management.
Guy has carved himself a reputation for excellence in the Health and Safety domain, working with diverse industry/government stakeholders. Thanks to Guy’s enthusiasm for safety, he was recipient of numerous safety awards.
Email: guy@whsn.ca
Jordon Charlebois, B.Sc., Manager, First-Aid Training Services
Jordon is an honours graduate of the University of Windsor’s Biology program. As training director for the University’s Emergency Response Team, he played a pivotal role in designing and implementing advanced responder training, both in the classroom and on emergency calls.
Jordon’s academic and practical skills were recognized on an international level when he was part of a skilled team that won the National Collegiate EMS Foundation Skills Competition in 2007, triumphing over squads from over 1,000 different institutions in the trauma, medical, and miscellaneous competitions.
During five years as an instructor at the Canadian Red Cross and the University of Windsor, Jordon was recognized repeatedly for his ability to instil confidence and enthusiasm into a diverse range of students.
In the hospital setting, Jordon has organized and taught free paediatric courses to parents with babies in local Neo-natal Intensive Care Units. He is currently working with the YMCA as the instructor for their English Learning Transition program, in which he works with doctors, nurses and health-care specialists who have chosen to bring their expertise to Canada.
Jordon is no stranger to the manufacturing world: he has worked for a number of manufacturing plants, including the Windsor Chrysler Assembly Plant at which he trained their first aid and CPR instructors,. His experience with numerous clients in the manufacturing setting led him to design a first aid/CPR/emergency response planning course specifically for dedicated workplace responders.
Jordon’s courses provide a learning environment that favours conversation and group participation over lecture and memorization. His learning materials cater specifically to attendees’ experience, education, and present needs and interests. They are often so enthused and confident that they often don’t realize the great amount of skill and material they have received.
