Two national awards for workplace safety
Larimer County has earned two prestigious national awards this year for excellence in its Workers’ Compensation Program.
Larimer County’s Risk Management program received the Excellence in Workers’ Compensation Risk Management at the WCI annual conference in Orlando, Florida, and the Theo Award at the National Compensation Annual Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The first award is for Excellence in Workers’ Compensation Risk Management from the Workers' Compensation Institute, in conjunction with https://www.propertyandcasualty.com/, a leading national insurance industry publication. The award is given to 3 employers each year.
Larimer County is only one of six public employers in the nation to ever receive this award.
The second award is a Theo Award, a national honor that recognizes excellence, innovation, and leadership in workers’ compensation and injury prevention. The award is named after former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, who signed the first significant Workers’ Compensation legislation into law. The law was in response to many dangerous occupations during this period, with Mississippi being the last state to pass legislation.
Why it’s important
For both awards, the Risk Management Program was chosen for its success and innovation, with fewer injury claims in 2025 than in 2011, despite a 30% increase in employees in that same period. Some jobs in Larimer County can be physically demanding, such as at our jail, Road and Bridge jobs, working at the landfill, and in our park system, to name a few.
“I’m reminded that there’s so many physical jobs we have in Larimer County. Maybe folks think there’s a lot of people that work in offices --- and there are those where sitting too long is not good,” said Larimer County Commissioner Kristin Stephens. “But there are a lot of people that work here that have physically taxing jobs, whether it's the jail or law enforcement, anything out at the landfill, and at Road and Bridge. So, keeping those folks healthy is really, really important.”
Stephens continued, “This is about saving money, taxpayer dollars --- but it’s also about taking care of the people that work here. It’s the culture that we care for one another to be healthy, strong, and have a good work-life balance. And you cannot do that if you’re not healthy, so this is very important.”
Innovations
For example, workers in the Larimer County Road and Bridge Department have physically demanding jobs. Risk Management collaborated with the county’s road and bridge department in a pilot program called Rock Solid at Work, which is a peer-led program that focuses on wellness. Rock Solid at Work involves stretching, functional strength, and other activities that are performed daily by Road and Bridge staff before they venture into the field to perform roadwork and maintenance.
The results of the program are impressive: Strain and sprain injuries were reduced by 51%, and costs were reduced by 42%.
Larimer County Risk Management also partners internally with county departments in a return-to-work program. When an employee is injured and allowed to return to work on a limited basis, the county partners with various departments so the employee can return to work in a temporary but lighter work role and remain engaged, providing value to the community while recovering from their injuries. For instance, The Ranch has many positions that use temporary labor, and an injured employee can temporarily be reassigned there to complete their recovery while providing a valuable service to our community while saving the county money.
“This is really important when we talk about how important our employees are. Empowering people and taking care of them is part of our guiding principles,” said Larimer County Commissioner Jody Shadduck-McNally. “We also know that focusing on health and stress reduction really cuts down on sick days, absenteeism, and turnover, too. All these things invest in our staff, which helps our community.”
Watch the Workers’ Compensation Institute Awards here.
