Welcome to our first blog interview! Since ecovery is a holistic, proactive approach to returning injured workers to wellness and productivity, the entire Eastern service team works together to support our Return to Wellness philosophy. Over the next few weeks, we’ll take a look at ecovery from a variety of team perspectives. First up, Juanita Snyder, Eastern’s Regional Supervisor of Risk Management for the Southeast Region, provides her thoughts on ecovery and why it is a Best Practice for every employer!
Q: From your risk management perspective and experience, what is the biggest challenge for an employer in offering modified duty?
A: The biggest challenges I see is not understanding what modified duty is, what modified duty can be and how to do implement modified duty. The other issue that is significant to overcome is past experience. For some reason, employers feel they cannot manage an injured employee. Once they realize they still have the ability to manage the employee and hold them accountable to doing productive work, they are often more willing to move forward with a modified duty position.
Q: What is the biggest benefit?
A: Maintaining the employer / employee relationship. A good employee is worth maintaining! When the claim is managed well at the employer end as well as the insured end, the employee relationship is strengthened with the employer, creating a stronger commitment to each other. This reduces the hidden cost of finding and training a new employee as well as controls the actual cost of the claim.
Q: What do you say to employers who are concerned their injured worker will be more prone to re-injury if he/she returns in a modified capacity?
A: The physician has indicated what the employee can safely do. If the employer follows the requirements set by the attending physician and requires the employee to follow those restrictions as well, the potential for re-injury is very low. The opportunity to help the employee return to wellness is up to 3 times faster, which is much greater then the potential for re–injury. Let’s give it a try; I think you will be pleased with the outcome and savings on future premiums and you may be able to return a good employee to their job.
Q: How is Eastern’s “Return to Wellness” philosophy different from other carriers’ “Return to Work”?
A: Returning to wellness is an indication we are not going to be like many carriers–get the employee back to work and forget about the employee. We are going to go the next step to return the employee to a well status and bring the employee injury to a close. Our use of Nurse Case Managers helps to keep the focus of all parties on the employee progressing to wellness and strengthens the commitment of the employer and employee in achieving a good outcome of the claim. “Return to Wellness” the Eastern way can prevent or reduce the time out of work, speed the recovery time of the employee and control the cost of the claim. A win for all parties.
Q: Any final advice?
A: As a Risk Management Consultant, we need to listen to what the employer has to say. What is holding the employer back–financial concerns, lack of expertise in how to manage, ideas of what they can have an employee do, the manager’s lack of willingness to offer modified duty, distance from office, etc.? All of these objections can be overcome with education, knowledge, support and training.
Thank you, Juanita! Learn how ecovery provides you with the education, knowledge, support and training to implement a successful Return to Wellness program: www.eains.com/ecovery.
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