For almost 30 years, Paradigm has set the standard for outcome-focused care and for transforming the lives of catastrophically injured workers and their families. As the company grows, we remain focused on our mission to reach more people and improve more lives. At the end of last year we introduced our new Paradigm brand and three operating divisions, a strategic move that enables us to bring our expert-rich and outcomes-driven approach to a broader spectrum of catastrophic and complex cases.  

In a three-part blog series, I plan to spotlight each division and share deeper insight into our business. The series begins with a Q&A featuring Kevin Turner, a long-time Paradigm leader who was recently appointed as CEO of Catastrophic Care Management.  

John: Catastrophic Care Management is Paradigm’s longest standing business unit, but for clarity, can you start with an overview of the division?

Kevin: We’ve offered guaranteed outcomes for life-changing injuries, for almost 30 years, producing results that far exceed the financial expectations of our clients and the quality-of-life expectations of our injured workers and their families. Our comprehensive service and support solutions encompass catastrophic injuries, including acute brain, spinal cord, severe burn, amputation and multiple trauma.  

My workers’ compensation career also started 30 years ago. Many changes in the industry have occurred along the way, but Paradigm has remained a constant, “go-to” marquee solution for catastrophic injuries. Paradigm has delivered a value-based care model since 1991. Our core belief—that centering services on the injured worker and their family produces the best outcomes for all—places us in a category above all other solutions. 

As I look at the future of our business, what’s most exciting is our ability to use this model to improve more lives through our other divisions—each outcome-focused—aimed at reaching more injured workers with complex medical needs. Catastrophic Care Management addresses the most severe situations, but now our founding principles have trusted pathways to spread value to all. 

John: Now that you’ve assumed the CEO role, can you share a few of your strategic initiatives, and how do they map to Paradigm’s strategic pillars?

Kevin: It’s an important time for Catastrophic Care Management, as we define our value proposition, identify new ways to activate the historical and new data we’ve collected, and expand our impact to existing and new clients. In line with the new division structure for Paradigm, we’ve had the opportunity to take a step back and look at how we articulate the value of our work—to clients as well as the injured workers and families we ultimately serve. I’m pleased to share our updated value proposition:

Paradigm Catastrophic Care Management addresses only the most challenging and expensive catastrophic injuries, creating financial value and certainty and returning the injured worker to the best possible life. We do this by embracing the family and injured worker through a powerful network of expert clinicians, proprietary outcome based analytics, and a decades-proven approach to delivering value-based care.

John: There is a lot of discussion in our industry regarding the importance of incorporating behavioral health services into care management plans for workers’ compensation. Can you speak to Paradigm’s unique whole person/whole family approach? 

Embracing the whole family has always been a vital component in our work. As a fundamental principle, we have always understood that while solving the physical injury is key, we must include healing the surrounding injured worker’s family and community—they were impacted too. 

Paradigm’s approach combines the bio-psycho-social model within the parameters of the workers’ compensation system. In a changing market, this initiative captures and exemplifies our holistic solution through focused data and analysis. We’ve always been human-centric. Our clients and the broader industry can expect us to share more on our approach and some new capabilities we’re currently working on very soon.  

 John: Paradigm has benefited from quantifying the value of our business to the market. Is this something you’re looking at updating as well?

Kevin: We are revisiting how we quantify our success, and the good news is, we continue to ingest more data that substantiates and strengthens our value. We’ve had great results when touting our Milliman study results which focus on lifetime financial value. This year, the Catastrophic Care Management team will assess how we can improve upon that data and make it more reflective of how we achieve those results, which are not just clinical, but also incorporate a deep understanding of the psycho-social facets of catastrophic injuries. This includes how we identify and solve for resulting altered-family and community dynamics. Beyond restoring an injured workers’ physical function, providing the best functional environment to continue living their life is, and has always been, a core ingredient of our success.   

John: Complex Care Solutions recently acquired a case management company, Restore Rehabilitation. How does that impact your team’s work with the catastrophic nurse case manager network?

Kevin: This is an important question for us to address not only internally, but in our communications with clients and partners. At Paradigm, we operate each of our divisions autonomously from a business perspective. Our networks, our partners and our client support resources are managed separately for each division. As a company, we are excited for the Complex Care Solution team’s expansion and believe it accelerates their ability to meet rapid demand for their services. The team at Catastrophic Care Management, however, remains deeply committed to our successful Catastrophic Nurse Case Manager Network, and the relationships that we have cultivated and grown over the years. Our network of nurses is an important and integral part of our business, and our strategy remains unchanged.

John: As we close, can you share what motivates and inspires you?

Kevin:  We deal with rare and devastating situations, representing large financial exposures to our clients and unbelievable challenges to the injured workers we serve, as well as their families and communities. It’s all we do. My vision is to instill in all injured workers, families, employers, carriers, consultants, attorneys (on both sides), claim administrators and all those involved in the rare catastrophic event, the knowledge that Paradigm Catastrophic Care Management is here to help. The power of what we deliver is impactful and unprecedented.

Workers’ compensation claims come in all shapes and sizes. As a tenured industry professional, delivering the Paradigm vision and mission is like winning the career lottery. We serve the most severe injuries and deliver outcomes that exceed the expectations of the injured workers and our clients. My first job—some 30 plus years ago—was as a workers’ compensation claims adjuster. I’m forever fortunate to have found Paradigm. There are many players in the workers’ compensation space that provide value, but Paradigm’s offering is unique. I’m motivated to protect and broadcast its value. 

Special thanks to Kevin for sharing your strategic initiatives for Catastrophic Care Management. In the coming weeks, we look forward to highlighting the same for Complex Care Solutions with Marjio Storment and Specialty Networks with Ken Hannigan.