6th Annual Healthy Outcomes Conference
Theme: The Healthy Workplace of the Future
April 11 - 13, 2007 • Whistler, British Columbia
Dress for the conference is business casual.
Dinner on Thursday evening is business attire.
Wednesday April 11th, 2007
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Speaker Rehearsals in MacDonald AB
6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Opening Reception in Frontenac Ballroom A
Thursday April 12th, 2007
7:15 a.m. – 8:15 a.m. Breakfast in the Portobello Restaurant
8:15 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Opening Remarks and HOC Apprentice introduction in MacDonald AB
Presenters: Canadian Healthcare Manager Staff
8:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. Keynote Address: Achieving the Healthy Workplace: Challenges and Strategies
To achieve the healthy workplace of the future key challenges must be met. These include the increasing burden of chronic disease and its management; the increasing cost and use of prescription drugs; an aging workforce and the increasing complexity of health care services and their financing. To meet these challenges employers and employees will need to develop strategies to learn how to effectively navigate health care services. Employers will need to assist employees to manage chronic diseases. Employers will need to manage the cost of their drug plans.
Keynote Presenter: Michael Decter, Senior Research Scholar at the Centre for Bioethics, University of Toronto and Member of the Advisory Council to the School of Public Policy at Queen’s University
Designated Responder: Mark Haley, McMaster University and André Morneau, Morris & Mackenzie Inc.
9:45 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. Break and Speaker Photos
10:15 a.m. – 11:45 p.m. Session 2a: Sustaining the Mental Health of Workers and Workplace: Challenges and Opportunities
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Mental health concerns, particularly depression, are increasingly the source of substantial loss of productivity and increased disability amongst Canadian workers. This session will provide an overview of the nature and impact of depression in the workplace, emphasize the pivotal role of the organization in taking timely and appropriate action, and describe practical tools and programs for employers and employees to help address depressive symptoms and associated loss of functioning.
Presenter: Dr. Merv Gilbert, Principal, Gilbert Acton
Session 2b: Mental Health Assessment Tools: Dealing with Mood Problems at Work
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Depression in the workplace comprises the fastest rising source of absenteeism, lost productivity and disability, and associated costs, for Canadian business. While many employers are demonstrating increased awareness of this issue, there exists a lack of practical tools for employers and employees. An existing depression self-management manual was adapted for the workplace, providing a cost-effective and evidence-based tool to address mood problems at work. Antidepressant Skills in the Workplace is a unique, practical and free tool available to employers. This session will outline how to adopt and disseminate this kind of resource in the workplace, and its relevance for employee health.
Presenter: Dr. Joti Samra, R. Psych., Scientist, Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health & Addiction, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University
Session 2c: Stress, Burnout, Depression: What’s the Difference? What’s the Answer?
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This presentation will examine the important distinctions between these three conditions from an insurer’s point of view. It will look at the medical and non-medical causes that impact the condition; and the role managers, organization culture, and health and benefit providers can play in preventing and managing these conditions.
Presenter: Annette Gibbs, VP Group Life and Disability Claims, Sun Life Financial
Designated Responders: Mok Lan Ho, ScotiaBank and Jerry Cox, Jacobs Canada Inc.
11:45 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. Lunch in Wildflower Restaurant
12:45 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Session 3: Small Things Make a Big Difference
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This not to be missed session will take you through a survivor’s story of depression, severe drug and alcohol addiction and family tragedy. You will gain true insight about what it is like to deal with mental illness on a daily basis. This session includes a video presentation, a professional and personal challenge and valuable tools to help you connect with your employees and add value to their lives and ultimately your organization as a whole. You will learn how small things can truly make a big difference.
Presenter: Dan Carter, Talk Show Host, Executive Producer, Professional Speaker
Designated Responders: Christine Ball, Durham Region and Jim Beaudry,Canadian Auto Workers Union
1:30 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. HOC Apprentice dedicated brainstorming session
2:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Break
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Session 4a: Smart Practices to Engage Employees, Improve Workplace Health and Measure Outcomes
Numerous barriers exist to optimize the participation and impact of workplace health initiatives. This session will explore the approach of two employers to apply more efficient and targeted processes in program delivery and data management in order to improve the health of employees while enabling meaningful changes in health and cost outcomes.
Presenter: Martin Chung, Senior Manager, Private Sector Strategy and Partnership Development, Pfizer Canada
Session 4b: Cardiovascular Disease in the Workplace – An Employer’s Perspective
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Increasing health care costs are a growing concern for both public and private payers. With an aging workforce, one of the major cost drivers is the treatment of cardiovascular disease and associated risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia. Lifestyle interventions including weight reduction and fitness training offer one solution to reduce the prevalence of these modifiable risk factors while providing cost-effective alternatives to medical care.
Presenter: Dr. Steven A. Grover, Director for the Analysis of Cost-Effective Care, Division of Clinical Epidemiology, Montreal General Hospital
Designated Responders: Sandy Zorn, BC Public Service Agency and Carla J. Ryan, Medavie Blue Cross
3:30 p.m. Closing Remarks
6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Cocktails and Gala Dinner
Friday April 13th, 2007
7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. HOCApprentice Working Breakfast in the Portobello Restaurant
8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Keynote Presentation: Investing in the Mentally Safe Workplace of the Future
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Legally enforceable standards for the protection of mental health at work are being set increasingly high. These standards impose a new duty on employers to develop comprehensive policies and programs that will ensure a mentally safe workplace. A mentally safe workplace is one that does not permit harm to employee mental health in negligent, reckless or intentional ways. Courts and tribunals are awarding increasingly large sums in damages to employees who claim their mental health has been unfairly injured through negligent, reckless or intentional conduct on the part of their employers, managers, supervisors and other employees. Prudent employers need to develop policies and programs that meet the new legal standards. Insurers may wish to consider the use of premium rating schemes that reflect measurably different levels of risk to mental health posed by the organization and design of work.
Presenter: Dr. Martin Shain, S.J.D.. Senior Scientist, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Designated Responders: Carol Craig, TELUS and Claude Gaudreau, Xstrata
9:30 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. Session 6: Reducing Costs of Care, Improving Patient Outcomes, Empowering Workers
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This session will describe an innovative, award winning and highly replicated model of disease management that unlike most of the programs currently offered does not isolate any one component of the health care system (i.e., Rx, hospital admissions, etc.) for action. Instead it takes a comprehensive approach to care focusing on empowering patients as the only true managers of care to fully participate in their care plans.
Presenter: John Miall, ret., Risk Manager, City of Asheville, NC, currently serving as consultant to the American Pharmacist’s Association Foundation
Designated Responders: Stephen Gould, Purolater Courier Ltd., and Laura Murray, PricewaterhouseCoopers
10:15 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Session 7: Managing Employees with Substance Use Disorders
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It can be difficult and dangerous when employee attendance, performance and behaviours are negatively affected by substance use. Addictions masquerade as stress, depression, anxiety, chronic pain syndromes and a wide variety of medical conditions. Conventional occupational health resources and even psychiatrists are sometimes inadequately trained to detect and manage these disorders. Employers find themselves in a pinch: caught between privacy regulations and the civil rights of the employee and fiscal demands for high performance and liability due to safety factors. Based upon years of experience with safety sensitive and highly responsible personnel (doctors and pilots) an effective approach has evolved providing the best possible outcomes for these challenging employees.
Presenter: Dr. Ray Baker, Clinical Asst. Prof. University of B.C. and Medical Director, HealthQuest Occupational Health Corp
Designated Responders: Shirley Sung, Accenture Business Services for Utilities and Farouk Ratansi, Credit Union of Central B.C.
11:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. Break
11:15 a.m. – 12:15 a.m. Session 8a: Drug Plan Management: A Case Study
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Successful drug plan management requires a careful balance between cost and accessibility. However, in a changing health care environment, plan sponsors may need to adapt their strategy from time to time. This presentation will focus on “lessons learned” by Michelin Canada, an organization that has demonstrated leading-edge thinking in its drug plan management solutions.
Presenter: Tim Clarke, Benefits Practice Leader for Eastern Canada, Hewitt Associates
Session 8b: Changing Landscape of Employee and Organizational Health
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It's important for employers to recognize the signs of health issues, whether it has to do with physical, mental or social health, and understand how they can help mitigate the negative impacts. Learn about the tools that are available to employers including: characteristics of health issues, impact on business objectives, interdependency of physical, mental and social health and what organizations can do to support their employees.
Presenter: Karen Seward, Vice President, Marketing, Research and Business Development, Shepell•FGI
Designated Responders: Gail Taylor, WSIB and Anne Taruba, City of Thunder Bay
12:15 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Session 9: Lunch and HOC Apprentice Conclusion
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