The first topic in the spotlight on Tuesday in the Wellness ZENter at RIMS was employee resilience. Kimberly George, SVP, Corporate Development, M&A, and Healthcare at Sedgwick, talked with Molly Doyle, Chief Product Officer at meQuilibrium, about the importance of resilience. Resilience is about the ability to handle the natural challenges and opportunities that come your way in order to respond in the most productive and positive way, and achieve the best outcome. Molly explained that the human body is not designed to accommodate 24/7 stress. The symptoms of stress can be seen in how we respond to difficult situations. Companies are deploying resilience training across their organizations to improve employees’ ability to bounce back after a rough day, negative feedback or a challenging assignment. Resilience can also impact recovery after an injury or illness. The more resilient an organization’s employees are, the healthier the company. meQuilibrium has found that more resilient employees tend to be sick less often, have fewer days out of the office, stay with companies longer, be more productive, and have less hospitalization and less disability. The company’s data-driven solution leverages cognitive behavioral techniques and focuses on taking small incremental steps to create lasting behavioral change. It includes being aware of your thoughts and then using the tools to respond differently.
Consumer engagement was also on today’s agenda. Dr. Teresa Bartlett, SVP of Medical Quality at Sedgwick, discussed the importance of consumer engagement and the impact it can have on outcomes. She described the huge burden of chronic health that we have in our country and how diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity are often caused by lifestyle problems, and noted that 93% of all diseases are preventable by changing your eating habits, changing your lifestyle and moving more. She also highlighted the importance of engaging each other and our employees to be healthier and more active. Health education and health literacy are also important. When consumers understand a diagnosis, it can help them take the steps they need to get better. Will Smith, Chief Product Officer at One Call Care Management, discussed how providing transportation can also help drive engagement by ensuring patients get to their appointments. They are a part of their own recovery process. The group also discussed pain management. Shaun Rahimi, CEO at Enso, pointed out that physical and emotional baggage that comes with chronic pain, which is a very complex problem. With the opioid epidemic in our country, it is important to look for creative solutions for managing pain.
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