Posted on May 14th, 2020 in Message from the President

Equanimity: A good word anytime, but especially now.

For those of you who practice meditation, the word equanimity is part of your vocabulary.  As I try to start my day with a dedicated time for mindfulness, I often hear those guiding my breath using this word.  Equanimity is the ability to maintain an evenness of mind, especially under stress.  Getting through these times, maintaining calm can be challenging.  Pause and take a deep breath as we start to get to the other side of this pandemic.

I am sure most of you have experienced virtual meetings like Zoom with colleagues or friends as a way to maintain some social connectedness.  The IWCI Board has used this tool to meet and plan our course in these uncertain times.  We held off on hard decisions but feel we have a good plan for future IWCI events that we can now share.  Our goal is to offer these events in the safest possible manner that follows the Federal, State and Local guidelines.

For those of you registered for the luncheon with Dr. Schwartz postponed due to COVID-19, we are hoping to have the event as planned, on June 25, 2019, at the Ritz Charles.  I am assured from the venue that they can accommodate us, making sure to space seating so that appropriate social distancing can be maintained.  However, for those of you preferring to stay home, we will also offer a live stream of the event so you can “virtually” attend.  In the next few days, those that have registered will receive a survey regarding their preference so we can adequately prepare.

I hope most of you have blocked your schedule for our Annual Seminar on August 13th and 14th at the Eastside Marriott.  We have an agenda packed with informative medical and legal topics.  We are also pleased to announce the Indiana Work Comp Board will again participate this year. Currently, we are planning a live event with a virtual attendance option.  Recognizing we cannot predict the future, we are planning to have CEU credits available regardless of the meeting format.  The Marriott also assures me they will do everything in their power to ensure safety of their guests and staff.  Hopefully, three months from now we will all be comfortable attending an event of that size.

For those who participate in our Annual Golf outing, please note this year’s event will be postponed until October 2nd.  Our Holiday Party is still scheduled for December 4th at the Columbia Club.  Although many of these dates are months down the road, hopefully they give everyone something to look forward to.  While we are all eager to gradually resume some form of normalcy, we recognize we must all continue to do our part to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.  I am hopeful that scientific research being conducted today will help us to minimize future effects of this devastating virus.  Hopefully, we will be better prepared for what lies ahead of us and can face any challenges to come with equanimity.

Dr. Robert Gregori

IWCI President