ANNOUNCING A DISABILITY AND ABSENCE MANAGEMENT FULL DAY CONFERENCE - OCTOBER 19 TH, 2005

Transcription

1 ANNOUNCING A DISABILITY AND ABSENCE MANAGEMENT FULL DAY CONFERENCE - OCTOBER 19 TH, 2005 Minnesota Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC) invites you to a full day conference titled Meeting the Challenges of External Influences in Disability Management on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 at the Continuing Education and Conference Center on the University of Minnesota s St. Paul campus. The conference will focus primarily on outside influences that create issues which may adversely affect employees recovering from an injury or illness. Local and national speakers will provide information and strategies for managing these additional challenges. DMEC is a non-profit, professional association dedicated to the advancement of the Integrated Disability and Absence Management profession. Its mission to provide educational resources for members in the areas of disability, absence, health and productivity is met through international, regional and state chapters, annual conferences, publications, training programs and practical tools. Established in 2003, the Minnesota chapter is the newest chapter of DMEC and can boast the largest membership. We want to provide employers with a forum that addresses strategies to develop and improve disability management programs. We learn and grow together by the expertise of our chapter members, both employers and vendors, and want to be a source of information that addresses our issues in Minnesota. We have been fortunate to draw on local and national experts for our quarterly chapter meetings that have addressed a variety of topics in response to member interests and needs. More information about DMEC and the Minnesota chapter will be available at the conference. If you are not a member of DMEC but have an interest in joining and/or learning more about the organization, please visit the national website at and for more information about the local chapter in Minnesota, please contact member committee cochairs Mark Raderstorf (markr@behavioralmedical.com) of Behavioral Medical Interventions, Jayne Sparks of Corvel Corporation (jayne_sparks@corvel.com) or the chapter s president, Betty Post of Xcel Energy (betty.j.post@xcelenergy.com). The Minnesota DMEC chapter thanks its founder sponsors and contributors to this conference, Sedgwick CMS and UnumProvident. Driving directions, parking information and map to the Continuing Education and Conference Center:

2 Conference Overview 7:00-7:45 am Registration Breakfast-provided on site 7:45-8:00 am Welcome Sharon Kaleta, Chairman and CEO, DMEC General Sessions 8:00-9:15 am Strategies to Handle Non Medical Issues that Create and Prolong Disability Jennifer Christian, M.D. 9:15-9:30 am Break 9:30-10:45 am Health and Productivity in the Aging American Workforce: The Silent Collision Ken Mitchell, Ph.D. 10:45-11:00 am Break 11:00-12:15 pm Age, Gender and Obesity Influences in Disability Carol Harnett, M.S. 12:15-1:15 pm Lunch-provided on site Concurrent Sessions 1: :30 pm Navigating Leave Laws-Understanding How ADA, WC, FMLA and Other Paid Leaves Interact Susan Aase, J.D., Christine Tuft, J.D. and Jim Pikala, J.D. 2:30-2:45 pm Break Personality Disorders, Workplace Acrimony and Medically Supported Disability Dean Knudson, M.D. Disease Management Karyn Entzion, M.S. 2:45-4:15 pm Clinical Decision Making in Return to Work Jennifer Christian, M.D. 4:15-4:30 pm Conclusion Disability A Cultural Divide: Exploring our Differences and Similarities Stephanie Cunningham Prize Drawing

3 MEETING THE CHALLENGES OF EXTERNAL INFLUENCES IN DISABILITY MANAGEMENT GENERAL SESSIONS CONFERENCE TOPICS 8:00am 9:15am Strategies to Handle Non Medical Issues that Create and Prolong Disability By Jennifer Christian, M.D. Predictably, certain troublesome issues routinely arise and either cause or prolong work absence in an ill or injured worker who might otherwise be able to remain at work. Planning your interventions in advance and being ready to kick them off immediately can reduce lost work days and improve medical and functional outcomes. This session focuses on the ten most common problematic issues (worker fear, doctor reluctance, employer resistance, the passage of time, etc.) and suggests strategies and approaches to resolve each of them. 11:00 am 12:45 pm Age, Gender and Obesity Influences in Disability By Carol Harnett, M.S. The deteriorating health of Americans grabs regular media headlines. As employers and their partners looked for ways to stem the associated financial impact, they focused on the integration of benefit plans and plan design changes. While this direction is important, we may have missed a key element: incorporating the employee into identifying the root causes including age, gender and obesity influences and creating the potential solutions. 9:30 am 10:45 am Health and Productivity in the Aging American Workforce: The Silent Collision By Ken Mitchell, Ph.D. The next two decades will be significantly influenced by the baby boomers those born between 1946 and An estimated 78 million people in the U.S. will be between 40 and 60 years old in Employers should anticipate these aging baby boomers to impact the workplace, from physical work requirements to benefits to productivity, in a variety of ways.

4 CONCURRENT SESSIONS 1:15 pm 2:30 pm Navigating Leave Laws - Understanding How ADA, WC, FMLA and Other Paid Leaves Interact By Susan Aase, J.D., Christine Tuft, J.D., James Pikala, J.D. Trying to remember all the requirements of the leave laws --the ADA, FMLA, and workers' compensation statutes -- and how and when they overlap is complicated and often frustrating. Learn from this panel of attorneys to respond appropriately to and manage leave requests. 1:15 pm 2:30 pm Personality Disorders, Workplace Acrimony and Medically Supported Disability By Dean Knudson, M.D. Personality disorders are a major contributor to workplace stress. Learn the hallmark features of personality disorders, including how to manage employees who may be creating havoc. This session will help you distinguish between legitimate disability versus secondary gain attempts as well as differentiate between performance issues and true mental illness. 2:45 pm 4:15 pm Clinical Decision Making in Return to Work By Jennifer Christian, M.D. This fast-moving session walks you through the recommended steps a clinician should take in formulating a work prescription both "on the fly" in simple cases and more systematically in complex cases. The decision-making logic, process and methods you will learn are consistent with the new ACOEM Practice Guidelines. 2:45 pm 4:15 pm Disability---A Cultural Divide: Exploring our Differences and Similarities By Stephanie Cunningham This interactive workshop about the culture of disability will explore the concepts of culture, community and our own perceptions about disability; and most importantly, how these issues affect the employees and employers we work with and our own decision-making processes and interactions. 1:15 pm 2:30 pm Disease Management By Karyn Entzion, M.S. The business case for implementing traditional disease management programs has not met the ROI initially hoped for. While disease management programs have been shown to improve clinical outcomes, the focus of this discussion will demonstrate how employers can more effectively impact health related issues through an integrated model that would include lifestyle behavior changes. Current trends regarding disability and health improvement models that demonstrate cost savings and improvements in health status outcomes will be reviewed.

5 FACULTY Susan Aase, J.D. is an attorney with the law firm of Arthur, Chapman, Kettering, Smetak & Pikala, P.A. in Minneapolis. She has a background in workers compensation and employment law litigation and experience conducting EEO investigations, training on discrimination and harassment policies, and developing Affirmative Action Plans. Prior to receiving her Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota Law School, Susan was Assistant Director of Disability Services at the University of Minnesota. Jennifer Christian, M.D. is a board certified occupational medicine physician. She earned her MD and Masters Degree in Public Health from the University of Washington in Seattle. Her 20 year career has been spent in multiple settings: in private practice, heavy industry, public health, managed care, workers compensation insurance and consulting. Her company, Webility, provides consulting and training services to employers and insurers to help improve their stay-at-work and return-to-work processes. Stephanie Cunningham is the cofounder of the Lighthouse Group, a training and consulting practice specializing in disability awareness, keynote speeches and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In the past 17 years, she has traveled nationally and statewide speaking and training on disability issues and the ADA law. Stephanie is a certified WINDMILLS? Disability Awareness trainer who currently is a member of the Minnesota Facilitators Network (MFN) and formerly sat on the boards of VSA arts of Minnesota (a nonprofit organization making the arts accessible to and for people with disabilities) and the Sister Kenny Institute. Stephanie brings the unique perspective of a person born with a mobility impairment and living with chronic pain. Karyn Entzion, M.S. is a senior consultant with the Health Management practice in the Twin Cities office of Watson Wyatt Worldwide. She has 18 years of experience in the development, design, implementation and evaluation of health management programs, which includes assessment of preventable health conditions, identification of major health risks and development of targeted strategies, such as integrated health plan design, financial incentives, health promotion, primary disease prevention, self-care, chronic disease management and high-cost/high-risk management programs. She is a member of the American College of Sports Medicine and the Association for Worksite Health Promotion. Karyn holds a B.S. degree in consumer health and fitness from Minnesota State University Moorhead (formerly Moorhead State University) in Moorhead, MN and a M.S. degree from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, ND. Carol Harnett, M.S. is a clinical physiologist as well as an Assistant Vice President and the National Disability and Life Practice Leader for The Hartford Group Benefits Division. She is responsible for disability research, analytic and consultative services and information dissemination regarding employers health, absence and workplace productivity trends. Carol leads the Center for Ability, an information resource center for consultants, employers and Hartford staff. She speaks extensively on a variety of topics including disability trends, employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities and health and productivity management. Carol holds a BS degree in Biological Chemistry from St. Peter s College and received a MS in Physiology and Biophysics from Rutgers University.

6 Sharon Kaleta, CPDM, ARM is cofounder, Chairman and CEO of the California based Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC) and has over 25 years experience working in the risk and benefits arena for major California employers. She is a principal with AtWork Resources and provides consulting services to employers, brokers and insurance companies. Sharon was instrumental in developing the Certified Professional in Disability Management (CPDM) course of study and has served as an instructor for the CPDM and other IEA programs. Dean Knudson, M.D. received his MD from The George Washington School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. serving his residency in psychiatry at the University of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore. He has been named to the Top Doctors in the Minneapolis St Paul Magazine; The Best Doctors in America, Midwest Edition; and Provider of the Year for the State of Minnesota, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. He serves as Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, conducts a private practice of general adult and geriatric inpatient and outpatient psychiatry at Allina Behavioral Health and serves as a psychiatric consultant to behavioral medical interventions, performing IME s and peer to peer consultations on disability case reviews. Ken Mitchell, Ph.D. received his Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University and served as an assistant and tenured associate professor in the School of Medicine, University of North Carolina. Dr Mitchell served as Clinical Assistant Professor at Case Western University Medical School s Department of Rheumatology and Ohio State University, School of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He is visiting faculty to the University of North Carolina, Duke University Occupational Health and Education and Resource Center. Dr Mitchell currently serves as Vice President, Corporate RTW Development Programs for Unum Provident Corporation. In this role, he provides absence and disability management program development services to large multidivisional employers. James Pikala, J.D. is a partner in the Minneapolis law firm of Arthur, Chapman, Kettering, Smetak & Pikala, and P.A. practicing primarily in the area of workers compensation since He represents insured and self-insured clients before the Office of Administrative Hearings, the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals and the Minnesota Supreme Court. Jim has lectured extensively on the subject of workers' compensation and has been a contributing author to the Workers' Compensation Deskbook. He has acted as chairperson and presenter of Continuing Legal Education seminars for many years. He has tried hundreds of cases at the Office of Administrative Hearings and has orally argued numerous cases before the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals and the Minnesota Supreme Court. Jim chairs the firm's Workers' Compensation Practice Group and has been selected as a Minnesota "Super Lawyer" for the past several years by Law & Politics. Christine Tuft, J.D. is an attorney with the law firm of Arthur, Chapman, Kettering, Smetak & Pikala, P.A. Her practice has focused on the areas of workers compensation and employment law. She has represented employers at the Department of Labor and Industry and the Office of Administrative Hearings, Workers Compensation Court of Appeals and Minnesota Supreme Court. Chris has developed expertise and presented extensively on the interrelationship between the Worker s Compensation Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. She was named a Rising Star by Minnesota Law and Politics and selected in 2005 as a Minnesota Super Lawyer.