PORTLAND, Maine, June 16, 2009—At the company's Annual Meeting last week, workers’ compensation insurer MEMIC recognized 11 of its more than 20,000 policyholders for outstanding performance in their workers' compensation programs.

At the Portland Museum of Art, MEMIC President and CEO John T. Leonard paid tribute to the following employers for their efforts in workplace safety:

• Mountain Heights Health Care, Patten, ME
• Havenwood-Heritage Heights, Concord, NH
• Delta Holdings, Albany, NY
• Gratwick Enterprises dba Bonney Staffing Center, Portland, ME
• Cary Medical Center, Caribou, ME

Also honored were companies who exceptionally manage the claim process, helping to get injured workers well and back to work again:

• St. Joseph’s Manor Nursing Home, Portland, ME
• Group Home Foundation, Belfast, ME
• Maine Veteran’s Home, Augusta, ME
• Dearborn Precision Tubular Products, Fryeburg, ME
• P.J. Noyes, Lancaster, NH 
• Paine’s Inc., East Granbury, CT

"These employers are to be congratulated for their consistently high level of commitment to their employees,” said Leonard. “They are role models for their peers.”

The winners included:

Havenwood-Heritage Heights
Havenwood-Heritage Heights operates a continuing care retirement community on 48 acres in Concord, NH. The organization provides independent living retirement facilities, assistive care services and long term skilled nursing care.

Havenwood-Heritage Heights comes to MEMIC through insurance agent USI New England. Havenwood-Heritage Heights was praised for the consistently high level of attention to workplace safety. That effort starts at the top with Havenwood-Heritage Heights’ CEO Mike Palmieri who challenges himself, his executives, his insurance agent and MEMIC to continually improve.

Delta Holdings
Delta Holdings owns and operates two high-end hotel and conference centers in NY and PA and is insured through insurance agency Rose and Kiernan.

General Manager Michael Chain, Sr. immediately set the tone for the organization by raising awareness across the company. With MEMIC’s help, just one year later, overall claims were down 75 percent.

Gratwick Enterprises
Gratwick Enterprises of Portland, Maine, is better known as Bonney Staffing Center, with offices in Maine and New Hampshire, placing up to 700 temporary employees. Gratwick Enterprises is insured through Turner Barker Insurance.

Safety in temporary staffing agencies provides a challenge as employees are sent to hundreds of different environments to complete their assignments. Bonney carefully analyzes jobs and insists on proper training for all of its employees. The company also includes safety prominently in its orientation process.

Mountain Heights Health Care
Mountain Heights Health Care of Patten, Maine, is a long term care facility with outpatient rehab and adult program services in Lewiston and is insured through Cross Insurance.

Mountain Heights Health Care was among the 9 out of a total of 244 nursing homes in Maine in 2008 to win a national award, rating nursing homes based on excellence and the opinions of residents and families. Similarly, its safety program is highly rated with involvement from top management and attention to detail.

St. Joseph’s Manor Nursing Home
St. Joseph’s Manor is a health care facility offering several choices for a continuum of care located in Greater Portland. They are insured through Arthur J. Gallagher.

St. Joseph’s has an active light duty return-to-work program which helps employees who have been injured to recover while being productive. In addition, the organization has an active safety program to help avoid injuries altogether.

Group Home Foundation
Established in 1975, Group Home Foundation operates residential and vocational programs for adults with developmental disabilities in Belfast, Maine. They are insured through Willis HRH.

“They have provided a great return to work program in which the employees know that they will not lose their regular paycheck,” said Sam Tupper of MEMIC Claims Department. “That kind of reliability is a welcome sign in this economy—knowing that your employer will take care of you if you hurt at work is a huge assurance.”

Maine Veterans’ Homes
Maine Veterans’ Homes operates 640 beds in six facilities across the state of Maine, providing care and support services for residents and families with commitment and compassion. Maine Veterans’ Homes are insured through Cross Insurance.

Maine Veterans’ Homes has a well developed set of policies on how to manage claims to help workers get well and back to work. The overall management of six locations is well coordinated by the managers.

Dearborn Precision Tubular Products
Dearborn Precision Tubular Products works in several industries, including oil and gas, aerospace, medical, and power generation, manufacturing products and parts for oil rigs, jet engines, surgical tubes, and nuclear and commercial power use. Located in Fryeburg, Maine, Dearborn Precision Tubular Products is insured through Cross Insurance.

Dearborn Precision Tubular Products is deeply concerned about their employees’ well being. In addition to a well developed safety program, the company furthered its efforts with the hiring of an Ergonomics Specialist to help prevent repetitive motion injuries that can be frequent in a machine shop.

Cary Medical Center
Cary Medical Center is a 65-bed acute care hospital in Caribou and is insured through the Kieffer Insurance Agency.

Cary Medical Center has invested great time and effort into creating a “No Lift” hospital in all departments, from the direct care floor to housekeeping, even implementing bucket pumps so that heavy mop buckets are not lifted when they need to be emptied. Employees at every level, from entry level to the CEO, are involved in safety, through training, committees, inspections, and open door communication.

PJ Noyes
Insured through the Rowley Agency, PJ Noyes, of Lancaster, NH, is a manufacturer and packager of over-the-counter pharmaceutical products.

At PJ Noyes, good communication is key to the process. The company reports claims promptly and provides workers with ways to get back to work. The company maintains a close relationship to its MEMIC claims handler which helps to expedite the process.

Paine’s, Inc.
Paine’s, Inc. has been offering residential and commercial recycling and disposal services throughout greater Hartford and northwestern Connecticut since 1929. Paine’s, Inc. is insured through RC Knox and Company.

The recycling and disposal service business can be difficult but Paine’s, Inc. manages its claims as it manages its business. The company cares about its employees, helping them to recover from injuries and to get back to work. Top management understands that employees value work and helps to create an environment that brings workers back on the job.

###About MEMIC

 Specializing in workers' compensation insurance, MEMIC insures more than 20,000 employers and their estimated 200,000 employees. Based in the Northeast, MEMIC is the leading workers' compensation insurer in Maine through Maine Employers Mutual Insurance Company which is rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best. MEMIC Indemnity Company, rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best, has offices in Manchester, NH; Glastonbury, CT; and Albany, NY. The company is licensed to write workers' compensation in 45 states plus the District of Columbia.