IWH annual lecture to honour disability prevention advocate Wolfgang Zimmermann

August 23, 2016 (Toronto, Ont.)—The important work of Wolfgang Zimmermann, a tireless advocate for labour-management reintegration programs in Canada and beyond, is being celebrated at the 2016 Alf Nachemson Memorial Lecture, taking place on October 14 in Toronto.

This year’s Nachemson lecture, an annual event of the Institute for Work & Health (IWH), will honour the contributions of Zimmermann as founder and executive director of the National Institute of Disability Management and Research (NIDMAR). Under his direction, NIDMAR has professionalized disability management through the creation of Canadian and international codes of practice, a consensus-based disability management audit tool, certification standards for disability management professionals and return-to-work coordinators, and the Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health Sciences (PCU-WHS).

Three people who have worked closely with Zimmermann will talk about his important contributions: Andrew King, former National Department Leader for Health, Safety and Environment, United Steelworkers in Canada; Dr. Joachim Breuer, Director General, German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV) and Vice-President, Europe Rehabilitation International; and The Honourable Wayne G. Wouters, PC, former Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet in Ottawa.

Full details for the lecture are below.

2016 Alf Nachemson Memorial Lecture
Wolfgang Zimmermann: A man who has made a difference
Friday, October 14, 2016
Design Exchange, 2nd Floor
234 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario
Doors open – 11:00 a.m.
Presentations – 11:30 a.m.
Closing remarks – 12:30 p.m.
Lunch – 12.45 p.m.

The event is open to all, but registration is required. To register: www.iwh.on.ca/nachemson-lecture/form

Media are welcome to attend the event. Please contact Cindy Moser or Uyen Vu (see contact information below).

Editors are also respectfully requested to include this lecture in their online and publication events listings.

About the Alf Nachemson Memorial Lecture

The annual Alf Nachemson Lecture was established by IWH in 2002 to honour the significant contribution of Dr. Alf Nachemson to the use of research evidence in clinical decision-making. Nachemson was a distinguished orthopaedic surgeon and researcher from Sweden, as well as a founding member of the Institute’s Scientific Advisory Committee. When he passed away in 2006, the lecture was renamed the Alf Nachemson Memorial Lecture. The annual lecture has become one of the most important and popular networking events of the year in Ontario for policy-makers, researchers, professionals, advocates and other stakeholders in the field of work injury and disability prevention. For more information on this year’s lecture, visit: www.iwh.on.ca/nachemson-lecture