ADJUSTED
ADJUSTED
Life After Catastrophic Injury: A Tribute to Steve Ehretsman
In this heartfelt episode of "Adjusted," we explore life after catastrophic injury with Julie Greer, Senior Catastrophic Claims Specialist at Berkley Industrial Comp, and Steve Ehretsman, the late founder of Shamrock Prosthetics. When Steve lost his leg following a workplace accident, he identified a critical gap in the recovery process: the lack of coaching for the mental and physical challenges of adapting to life as an amputee. This experience, combined with his coaching background, inspired him to establish Shamrock Prosthetics, where his team adopts a unique approach to supporting amputees.
Julie and Steve share their insights on reconstructing lives after workplace amputations through innovative prosthetic solutions and empathetic claims management. Their collaboration highlights how listening to injured workers' goals and providing real-world functional testing can lead to better outcomes than standard prosthetic protocols.
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Season 9 is brought to you by Berkley Industrial Comp. This episode is hosted by Greg Hamlin and Matthew Yehling.
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For music inquiries, contact Cameron Runyan at camrunyan9@gmail.com
This episode is dedicated to Steve Eritzman. The world lost a special person on March 25th 2025. Steve's personality was as big as his heart. After becoming an amputee, steve spent his life committed to improving the lives of others with the same challenges. We hope this episode gives those who knew him a chance to remember the passion he had for loving and serving others. We miss you, Steve.
Greg Hamlin:Hello everybody and welcome to Adjusted. I'm your host, greg Hamlin, and I'm coming at you from beautiful Birmingham, alabama, where spring has arrived, and with me I have my co-host, matt Yaling. Matt, if you could say hello to everybody.
Matthew Yehling:Hello everybody. This is Matthew Yaling. I'm with Midwest Employers, Casualty, and I'm joining Greg from St Louis, Missouri, along the banks of the mighty Mississippi. Looking forward to speaking to our two guests today.
Greg Hamlin:Thank you, matt, and we do. We have two guests today, so I'll let them each introduce themselves. Let's start with you, steve.
Steve Ehretsman:Steve Ertzman, founder and CEO of Shamrock Prosthetics, Two offices in the state of Georgia, hailing out of the Atlanta office where it's nice and warm down in the South.
Greg Hamlin:Yeah, that's the best part. I grew up in the Midwest, so this time of year I'm always grateful. Now when we get to August and September it kind of switches. But you got to stay inside a couple months, no matter where you live, unless you're in California, Correct? So also with us is Julie. Julie, if you could go ahead and introduce yourself.
Julie Greer:Yep, I'm Julie Greer and I'm a senior catastrophic specialist and I'm down here, as I always say, in the great state of Texas.
Greg Hamlin:Thanks, Julie, Glad to have you. Everything's bigger in Texas, right, Absolutely so. I want to start this episode with a question or a thought, I guess, and that's for our audience. Did you know that there are approximately 20,000 workplace amputations in the US each year, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics? When I saw that, I was actually kind of blown away.
Greg Hamlin:In the industry that we're in, we see these kinds of things happen from time to time, and probably a little bit more with us, since we focus on high hazard industries but I think we forget how life-changing an event like that can be. And so today, with my guests, we're going to talk through what comes after that, what comes after that kind of a catastrophic loss, what's the process forward and what can we do as carriers and providers to make sure that their experience on the other side is an amazing one with lots of opportunities. So I wanted to start, Julie, with you and have you talk a little bit about what's a life? You're on our catastrophic team here at Berkeley. What is a life in catastrophic claims like for you? A day in the life? A?
Julie Greer:day in the life. Well, I'm actually just fresh off of two new cat claims this past week and I think the best way to describe it is organized chaos. You know, unlike our non-cat claims, you know where there's more of a steady rhythm. You know to the process that you can expand over a few days or a few weeks. With a cat claim there are a lot more moving parts and you know timing of the information is just. It's just exponentially more fast-paced and beyond the usual investigation and obtaining details.
Julie Greer:You know, surrounding loss, you know there's this really urgent need to determine the extent of the injuries, what are the medical needs, and you have to do it really quickly and it's oftentimes before I have any of the facts of the case you know have even been determined. And I think what helps is it's imperative that you know to have an experienced team to help navigate the complexities. And I do rely heavily on our risk managers. You know they help partner with our customers from an investigation standpoint. And then my internal nurse manager. She not only gains information as to the loss and extent of injuries, but she's the one that helps coordinate with our vendor partners. You know, especially the field nurse manager who's going to be instrumental in ensuring that the injured worker is getting the best care possible. In addition, I have a family that needs support and guidance to make sure they feel confident their loved ones are getting appropriate care and try to alleviate their fears as to what they can expect as their family embarks on this journey of recovery.
Matthew Yehling:Sure, I think that's an important thing, and a lot is thrown at you from that catastrophic claim that's coming in and most injured employees have no experience, or very little experience, with workers' compensation right, so they don't know all the benefits and what's going to be the process. And each jurisdiction, each state, has an administrative process for this and what you're obligated to do and what you're not obligated to do so. A lot of times they hear somebody say you should go get an attorney, you should do this before they've even spoken with you. So how do you approach that? How do you get in front of the families? What's your goal when you're trying to help someone navigate this from the get-go?
Julie Greer:I find it helps walking the family through not only the treatment plan but the benefits. You know how work comp works. I think that's really important. They're very stressed about financial. I mean, I think any of us that have gone through any kind of medical procedures you always think about the financial aspect of it. How are you going to afford it? What are deductibles, that type of thing? So it's my job to walk them through work comp and how it's different from health insurance.
Julie Greer:You know as well as the type of support.
Julie Greer:You know the injured worker and family can expect from me or nurse, case managers or anybody else that's partnering on the file. You know, with my experience, I'm able to share some key things that'll help the injured worker and the family, you know, understand potential timelines, the types of treatment available, and I think by understanding their concerns I'm able to determine, like, if a shift of care might need to occur. And I think the thing I can't stress enough, though, is listening. I think listening is key. Not only is the injured worker going through a very stressful time, it's the family sometimes that's impacted even more. You know the injured worker has a medical team around them. That is there, that you know they can ask questions to, but it's the family sometimes that is out there without the kind of support that the injured worker might have. So it's very important that I'm there, that I can alleviate some of those uncertainties when they're dealing with this catastrophic loss, and it's my job to make sure that the injured worker and family are comfortable with how things are progressing.
Greg Hamlin:Julie, I love what you said about listening. You know that's one of the things I'm super passionate about is empathy in workers' compensation, and I think sometimes we get ourselves a bad reputation. Probably some of it unfair and some of it fair, depending on what our industry has done in the past, but to me I feel like that's so key. We even did an internal training for our department. We actually brought an expert in listening to work with our adjusters because I feel that passionate about it. So I'm glad that you brought that up. When you're dealing with these challenges in workers' compensation, especially when there's been limb loss, what are some of the things that you have to work through for an injured worker to make sure they understand and actually I know you've had several one that may or may not end up in an amputation and previous ones that have and we'll get into that a little bit more with Steve here in a minute. But how do you navigate that?
Julie Greer:Well, yes, part of it is, you know, if they are going to have an amputation, it's you know. What does that new normal look like for them? How do I help the injured worker? You know, basically reinvent themselves. I mean, they're going to have to overcome these obstacles. What do they have to face? And, you know, maybe get to that point where they feel valued and are once again contributing in a way that makes them feel whole again. I think the piece that's critical is that they feel that there is that partnership, that they are going to have that kind of support through the entire process and, you know, answer the questions and make sure that they're prepared, not only before they go through a life-altering surgery like this, but what they can expect following it when it comes to the prosthetics and what their outlook on life might be. And it's my job to make sure that I'm there to remove any of those obstacles so they can focus on getting better.
Matthew Yehling:I think Steve introduced himself and I know you guys have a background on how you met. But I think Steve introduced himself and I know you guys have a background on how you met. But you know, maybe this would be a little bit of time for Steve to kind of explain how he got into the industry, how workers comp impacted his life, how he kind of turned around some of that. So you know, it's a long story there, but maybe condense that into like what makes you uniquely situated and we'll get into how Julie and Steve kind of came upon each other in a couple cases that we referenced already. But Steve, why don't you give us a little background on you and how you founded Shamrock?
Steve Ehretsman:of 2001,. It was a workplace incident. I was walking into a fast food restaurant and a young kid was learning how to drive. He stepped on the gas instead of the brake and smashed me in another vehicle. Subsequent a year and 13 surgery later. I didn't do well. The last surgery wasn't below the knee amputation.
Steve Ehretsman:But the year is what I want to kind of focus on and that is that I didn't really have anybody I was really inspired by or coached. So the bad thing is, since it was a workplace incident, I had access to a vat of opioids and as a single guy, my mom came down a couple of times from Cleveland, ohio. But I didn't do well on the mental aspect at all but when you're not functional your quality of life doesn't increase, it decreases. So, with both legs being impaired, you're on the couch, you're in your bed and you're not really getting around. And I let the opioids I thought they were Skittles and I was chewing them way too much and way too often and it really, you know, those only had more of a negative effect on my kind of outlook. That led me to really look at the whole prosthetic space and it's my lens as a patient, is what I created in purpose.
Steve Ehretsman:You know, with Shamrock Prosthetics it's basically my story personified into a company and there are four other amputees on staff that aren't prosthetists, along with myself. And you know we mentally coach patients even before surgery or right after. And I go back to the coaching side because coaches are motivators, they're disciplinarians, but they can really have that player or that patient in this case, see beyond themselves and see a more optimistic way. So Julie said one of our three words that we is there, three leaves in a shamrock. The most important one is the reinvention side. That is the last leaf in our shamrock. The first two are hope and inspiration. But we've got to give that patient a new sense of hope because they have a total new normal of life.
Matthew Yehling:Steve's really modest too, because you know he has a background in sports and athletics and he has history of coaching and you know he's six foot six foot six I don't know. So he's got a history in coaching and basketball and this will probably air in March Madness so. But maybe just give us a glimpse of that, like who you were before the injury and some of that Cause. I think that's definitely relevant to your story too.
Steve Ehretsman:Yeah, so worked in different sales and marketing capacities for some worldwide beverage companies and you know it was totally different than what I'm, what I'm doing on a daily basis as of today, or started the company almost 10 years ago.
Greg Hamlin:That's awesome, steve. You know I grew up in Indiana, so, as a Hoosier, basketball is in my DNA, so this is the time of year I love and one thing I've learned and I think we're about to have a coaching change in my school but one thing I've learned is that a great coach can inspire and motivate and get more out of people and help them see a vision of an end goal, and one of the things that's really challenging in the healthcare industry is sometimes that piece is missing. I've talked a lot on other episodes. I think the United States healthcare system is fantastic in many ways, but it really is a do it for you approach or a do it by yourself approach. There really isn't a whole lot of do it with you and there's a desperate need for that, especially when we see our injured workers who are struggling through something that they need somebody to walk alongside them.
Greg Hamlin:Julie, talk to us a little bit about how you introduced our injured worker to Steve and why you went down that path. You know, just as some background, this particular state we don't direct care. The injured worker is allowed to go where they please and we have to authorize that. So sometimes in these kinds of scenarios. As adjusters, we kind of check that box. Okay, there's nothing I can do. So, julie, kind of talk through how you approach this situation and where Steve entered.
Julie Greer:Well, I have an injured worker. He's actually pretty amazing. He's tackled his recovery pretty aggressively and has been really focused, you know, on returning to his pre-injury work and activities, which is kind of atypical, especially when you have a catastrophic injury, you know. Mind you, this injured worker, he was a crane operator and his focus has been on returning to that industry, which is, you know, which is a remarkable attitude for him to have, considering his injury, you know.
Julie Greer:But during one of our discussions he, you know he had expressed his frustration with the capabilities of his prosthetic. And you know we were getting ready to look at moving from the body power to a mile electric. And you know he'd been given a catalog to look through and you know I was asking him about it. He said, well, some of the attachments looked really cool, but he didn't have any idea whether any of those would even meet his needs. And I just, you know it was really unfortunate, but I really sensed this resignation in his tone. Like this was it? He was just going to have to deal with the ineffectiveness of what he was given. And it just so happened that Steve had spoken at a conference and it was pretty evident that Steve's outlook is more outcome focused, not profit oriented, and how he approached things was really well aligned with with Berkeley's core values, you know, particularly in that sense of like, empowerment and community.
Julie Greer:And you know like, while I can empathize with the interworker regarding his injury, I really don't know what he's going through. I really felt like I could listen, but there's not a lot I could other than what I knew of. You know the medical and the prosthetics and what I knew based on my experience. But I can only empathize. I've not been through it and I really thought that the injured worker could connect with not only Steve but his team, you know, to kind of help them feel better about his future and get the kind of expertise that might actually get him what he needed to get back to his pre-injury job. So I reached out to Steve and I said, look, if nothing else, if you could just speak with him and just make sure he has the best that there is out there for him to get back to where he wanted to be, if nothing else, it'll be somebody that our injury worker could connect with that had been through what he had been through.
Matthew Yehling:So, steve, maybe this would be a good time. When you speak to a newly injured, maybe know, maybe they haven't lost their leg yet they're being suggested that or that's an option, or they're newly amputated, like you know. What are the steps you take in that process? How do you approach that from, you know, your historical perspective, from the shamrock perspective? You know, maybe close that gap, what Julie kind of identified, sure, so I think it's important to understand the individual.
Steve Ehretsman:Julie kind of identified, sure. So I think it's important to understand the individual. I don't walk in or my other amputees don't walk into the room and say, matt, look, I'm an amputee, that's about them. Or if it was me and I walked in and I said, matt, look at my leg, that's about me. And it's actually the patient that is the most important person in the room. If you're going into a hospital room, they're the most important person.
Steve Ehretsman:And really what we often do is we often were asking a lot of intrusive questions and you know, one of the first ones is, first thing that came to your mind when that PA or MD walked in your room and said, matt, you're going to lose your leg or your arm, because it's important to know where the mental state is and if they're seeing darkness or if they're seeing any bit of light.
Steve Ehretsman:And I think a lot of other questions stem from that. It typically goes on for 15, 20, 30 minutes and typically we're walking around the room, so they're seeing us kind of in a functional way, but they haven't seen our leg or our arm. And I think the critical juncture is really the aha moment is when we do reveal, when we do exhaust a lot of questions and when we do reveal that, hey, I'm an amputee now, it creates a whole different conversation. It creates a whole different conversation because a lot of the times they're answering in a very reserved way and they're thinking that, okay, why is this guy asking me all these intrusive questions? But then when they see the authenticity of it, then they look and go, okay, can we go back through those questions again, because I want to answer them in a truthful way.
Greg Hamlin:So, steve, with our injured worker, when you had that phone call with him, I know one of his big goals was he wanted to go back to driving and operating heavy equipment and he really felt like quite a bit of discouragement in that process as he was trying to figure out how to utilize a prosthesis to be able to achieve that. So how did you approach that situation to meet his unique needs of a desire to return to work?
Steve Ehretsman:Yeah. So I think the initial call we had and I'm going to include Blake, who's one of my prosthetists we had a Zoom call with said injured worker, who's several states away, and it was more of a you know, get to know and really not talk about prosthetics, you know, for the first 15, 20 minutes Because, again, even if Julie said, hey look, I want you to go to Shamrock, knowing it's several states away, I think there was a little bit of hesitation from the beginning but we kind of quickly turned that around. So that initial phone call led to more of a discovery phone call, talking about shamrock and why, and this individual already did some research on us. And then we set up a second one where we really drilled down as to what he's really wanting to do with this MyoElectric and what different options he has. So we had different demos and then we really broke down what the week is going to look like. We have fabrication on site so we can do things very quickly.
Steve Ehretsman:And he really wasn't understanding that because there were significant delays as to where he was going prior to.
Steve Ehretsman:So he thought that was the normal, normal thing and when we were talking about you'd have a test socket within the first day after getting casted, he was like I you know true story If I don't really like this or if it's not going really well by Wednesday, can I go home?
Steve Ehretsman:And I said, absolutely Certainly I don't think it'll be that way, but absolutely Well, by the end of the first day he looked at me and he said this place is amazing on what you've already done in a day, versus the several months that I had to go through at a previous facility. The selection and having him be a part of what I find in the industry, in the O&P industry, that should not happen is the prosthetist basically says okay, Greg, this is the device you're getting. The car industry doesn't work that way, so why can't the patient be a part of 50% of what the answer is and what the patient is going to get? So we pride ourselves in that. On having a dual dialogue and having the patient be really part of the decision you hit on there.
Greg Hamlin:I think that's really important is that everybody knows workers' comp. We pay at rates that a lot of others don't, and if it's accepted claim, we're generally stuck with paying whatever that number is. And I know Julie's seen this and I've seen this where we've spent a whole lot of money on some very, very expensive processes that are so complicated. They sit on a shelf and the injury worker doesn't use them, which is sad because the whole point is to give them back their life. We want to do that. So in this particular scenario, while we didn't have to take these extra steps I know, julie, talk a little bit about what you did for the injury worker now that he had decided you wanted to pursue this further. Obviously this was not in his backyard decided you wanted to pursue this further. Obviously this was not in his backyard. So there were some steps you had to take to make this consultation happen, julie what did you do in that this circumstance?
Julie Greer:Well, the first step I mean he was very skeptical and his wife was. She was a pretty active participant in his care, so I had both of them and they were open to it. But I could tell that they were very skeptical. And I think the first, the first key thing was actually Steve's team meeting with both he and his wife and getting that connection first, and from there it was what I told him I would do, because they're a few thousand miles away, is you know? I set it up where I knew what Steve and his team would need as far as time wise, his team set everything up and I paid for both of them to go to Atlanta to spend the entire week with Steve's group, and it was again the same thing reassuring them that if it didn't gel, they weren't seeing what they were hoping to see, that that would be the end of it. But I really wanted him to at least be open to that experience and hopefully give him that support that I feel like he had been missing.
Julie Greer:And one of the cool things and I don't know, steve, if you do this as a normal routine, but the interworker on his own had been going to union facilities to practice using the prosthetic, that he did have operating equipment. He has some heavy equipment of his own on his property that he was practicing. But, steve, walk through what you did with him during the week and where you took him, because I think the key is that he was able to use his prosthetic in real time and your team was right there with him while he was doing it to make the adjustments. And I think, if you can give some of the details on that, because I wasn't there but I know it makes for a really good story. On the whole week wasn't just being fitted for a prosthetic Correct, the whole week wasn't just being fitted for a prosthetic Correct.
Steve Ehretsman:You know. So, when Blake and I and the whole clinical team when we were kind of brainstorming okay, let's lay out the schedule, but how do we have him use, you know real time, some of this very heavy equipment, excavators, et cetera and it was probably the best cold call I've ever done where I literally couldn't get these folks to call me back and I wish I could give the name of the company and they're treated us fantastic, but couldn't get anybody to call me back. And so I just drove over about 30 minutes away and walked in and told them who I was and what what I needed, kind of quickly looked at me and was like, oh, you need to talk with this guy. Okay. So had a great meeting with this gentleman and, you know, set it up where, on day two, that injured worker and Blake on my team we drove over to this heavy machinery facility and literally they rolled out the red carpet for us. They had a simulator that we initially were using.
Steve Ehretsman:Then we this injured worker jumped right into I think three or four vehicles or machinery and was playing and literally Blake was riding kind of with him almost in the cab so we would be able to see what he really needs to have from my electric hand. And do we need to do anything different? Do we need to tweak anything from my electric hand and do we need to do anything different? Do we need to tweak anything? And literally after that afternoon probably three or four hours of playing in the dirt he said I've never seen anything like this and I'm so glad that I'm here.
Matthew Yehling:Yeah, I love that story. I mean, I can't believe you just didn't give him a catalog to pick what devices he thought would work best for him. Not at all, not at all, not at all, not at all. Yeah, you know, unfortunately, the reality is we can't get, you know, everyone down to shamrock. So are there some tips, like to help identify decent prosthetics, or you know what are good prosthetists, or how?
Matthew Yehling:And then maybe, like, how are you working with this individual, like when he gets back to his home, you know, is there a prosthetist you can help send him to when he gets back? Or, you know, do those continued Zoom calls, like I know there's some follow-up activities, you know, on the device and occupational therapy and all that? So, a, like if I'm an analyst or an adjuster somewhere, like how do I identify who's going to be able to work with my injured employee the best? And B, like you know, how do I follow up on that, that care and that therapies that they need to ensure that they're using the device properly there? You know it's functional for them and they're, you know, not given something too soon that is going to end up in the closet or on that shelf that we alluded to earlier. So are there some tips that you can help? You know, and I know the answer is you know Shamrock's going to be in all 50 states eventually. Right, I'm just joking, I don't know, but you know like, or we can send everybody down to you.
Matthew Yehling:But what are some tips, maybe for the folks listening to this?
Steve Ehretsman:I might kind of push that answer to Julie first.
Julie Greer:Well, in this particular case it's as an adjuster. I have to look financially what's the most cost effective way to manage my fall, and you know we talk about the prosthetic itself. I already got that covered through Shamrock. The follow-up though is, you know you got to price that in. Obviously there's the annual. You know sometimes that they and it happened in this particular case either the prosthetic malfunctions or breaks, but Steve's group was able to cover that. So in this, in this particular case he broke, steve was able to get a temporary and then get the one he had fixed pretty quickly.
Julie Greer:As far as local like those are things I can coordinate.
Julie Greer:You know, if he's going to have you know, kind of OT PT following like a new, if he has had revision surgery or if he's getting a new prosthetic and he needs some time to adapt to it again, there's clearly really good facilities across the country that can be managed locally.
Julie Greer:I don't think it's an issue from a logistics standpoint, working with Shamrock, even though it's many states over. I mean an annual trip to Shamrock to fine tune things. You know we're talking a flight and maybe a day or two hotel stay. So in the scheme of things, it just it makes financial sense and you have to do that cost benefit analysis, though In the long run I know I'll get a better outcome the way I have it set up now. In fact, I'm looking at it again for another soon to be amputee up in Pennsylvania and Steve maybe talk through like what you did for him with the prosthetic that he did get from you brand new and he broke it, I think two weeks later or within. I think he just jumped right I and he broke it, I think two weeks later or within, I think he just jumped right.
Steve Ehretsman:I don't know what kind of equipment he was on. Yeah, so I think, matt, I'll go back and answer a little bit of your question too. I think, given O&P providers advice, you know, I guess the biggest thing that I would say is imagine if it were you as a patient, and instead of just pushing something to the patient and not coaching them or not giving them really all of the insight and training to the device whether it be with my great clinical team, I know that we can get a great outcome we also have to make sure we educate the patient to use it. The last thing I would want is a call from Matt, julie or Greg saying we just spent X amount of thousands of dollars on a device and it's sitting on a shelf. So we really go through a lot of that, especially for our upper extremity patients on the acceptance and understanding on the education side of how to use the device.
Steve Ehretsman:He immediately became a very high end user and, look, things are going to happen. You're going to have a flat tire in your car and you know I've had a foot break off in a basketball game. So things are going to happen and we knew that we had a we had a good relationship with the actual manufacturer that that made the hand and we got a loaner in right away send it to him you know we're on virtually with him and got him up and running. So I applauded him when he broke it, because it was actually with the hand. It wasn't our actual device and I'm not pushing the blame to the manufacturer, but it is something where they have now actually made a better product, an attachment. So hopefully that won't happen again and if it does, then we'll get it repaired again.
Matthew Yehling:Yeah, and most of these devices have that right manufacturer warranty for some level of time, you know. And what about the fittings and some of that stuff? That where it's like maybe not, as, like you know, conducive to have that flight back next, you know where it's like. Okay, can we get a sleeve locally versus fitting, you know, are there tips around that? There's a lot that goes into these. I think everyone thinks of like just the device itself. But, right, there's annual maintenance on not just the device but sleeves and fittings and ointments, you know, in physiological changes too.
Steve Ehretsman:Yeah, I mean if, if he gains weight or loses weight, that would potentially change what that that limb does. And we've again. That's that's part of the consistent talk. I mean he, he's now turned into a great friend of mine. He texts me during very different programs on the weekend If I'm watching golf, cause he knows I'm a golfer, which he hates, but I think just different things in keeping Blake and Blake is always asking him hey, how's everything? I think on the small things, you know, matt the from a fitting side, if in three months, let's say, he lost weight and he's not hitting the electrodes inside of a socket, then we were always in contact with them, so it's not something that we're not made aware of. And then I think that's something that I go back to Julie and say, okay, we need to plan to have him back out for a week and get him refit. The biggest thing that is the biggest challenge also is consistent communication, and I always make sure that we better be on the front end of the consistent communication with our patients.
Greg Hamlin:I love that and I feel like both you and Julie have shown how important that is in this episode. You know we don't get these kinds of results without a lot of listening, a lot of communication, a lot of buy-in. I see a lot in the industry or I know there's a practice sometimes I call it the claims hammer which is if you don't do X, then I'm going to stop your benefits, or if you don't do Y, I'm going to do this to you. And I think in this example it's the exact opposite of that. It's showing empathy, it's showing gaining buy-in for the best outcome and understanding that if the injured worker's outcome is fantastic, everybody wins. Here. The insurance carrier is going to win because we're going to pay less, because we're not going to be redoing stuff. The injured worker is going to win and the prosthetic company that's working with them is going to win. And finding those partnerships is where the magic really happens in workers' comp.
Greg Hamlin:And I would certainly encourage people who are listening, look for those providers who are willing to do those things and look for those adjusters who are willing to do those things, because that's where the special stuff happens and one of the things, as we're wrapping things up. That I've wanted to do on every episode is just talk about gratitude. I really feel like in the world that we live in, gratitude is something we can't overlook, and if we put good I would say, if you put good vibes out in the universe, good stuff comes back. I just believe that to my core. So one of the things I've tried to do with every episode is end with something each person's grateful for. So, steve, I want to start with you, and it can be anything you want, and then we'll go to Julie.
Steve Ehretsman:Well, I've got to be a smart businessman and say you know, I'm I'm grateful for Berkeley industrial comp. That's number one, me too. And I've got to give kudos to Julie. I mean, if I work with a lot of adjusters and man, if I had, if everyone you know treated their injured worker like like Julie has boy, it would be a lot less stress, you know, on the body. So big, big kudos to her. And I got to give thanks to the man above and I've got to also thank for my staff. They're the ones. I mean Blake had the pressure on him when the injured worker was coming in and I'm sure he had a little bit less sleep than many but he performed outstanding and overall experience with that engine worker.
Greg Hamlin:I'm very grateful for also Love that Steve, Absolutely love that June.
Julie Greer:You know I always say this. You know I tell you all the time, greg, I'm really grateful, you know that I work for a company like Berkeley. You know that just it lets me color outside the lines and, you know, do what's right, even if it doesn't fit into that jurisdictional box. And you know, and along the way you know, I get to meet exceptional people, people like Steve and his team, and maybe make a positive impact on someone's life. And, you know, if we're lucky, we have a really successful story to share with everybody.
Greg Hamlin:I love that, Julie. Well, I share both of your sentiments in that I really do feel like I have a lot of gratitude for the people I get to work with. I really do feel like I have a lot of gratitude for the people I get to work with. I work with some amazing people who are doing really great things, and I'm appreciative of Berkeley of allowing me the freedom to do that. So we're in a great space and I would just encourage everyone.
Greg Hamlin:One don't forget to be grateful. Something as simple as living in an age with hot showers is pretty amazing, and if you can fill your life thinking about those things, everything else goes a little bit easier. And I also just remind our listeners it would mean a lot to me and to each of us. If you would like and share this episode, as well as subscribe to future episodes, we would love it if you would leave a five-star review. It helps other people find this podcast, and so go over to your preferred platform, whether that's Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Leave us a five-star rating and a positive review. And again, we reminded our listeners to do right, think differently and don't forget to care. And that's it for this episode, and we'll catch you in two weeks. Thanks, everybody.