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Success Stories Whether we are developing a preventive health program or responding to a breaking health crisis, Corporate Wellness brings our considerable knowledge and adaptability to every situation. We have many success stories to share; this is a sampling. Fast-growing restaurant group seeks medical response resources. Several years ago, Corporate Wellness provided on-site flu shots to a fast-growing restaurant group. In 1990, our first year of service to them, they had 40 restaurants. By the second year, they had 125 restaurants. The following year, their director of operations was tasked with writing their first crisis manual. He came to us having identified ten categories or types of crises requiring a response plan; ranging from fires and natural disasters through foodborne illness and product recalls. Three of the categories were medical, involving the health of employees or guests. He wondered if Corporate Wellness couldn't harness the same group of resources we had used to bring on-site flu shots to their restaurants to address other health situations. Our medical response team was born from that client request and rapidly became the fastest growing segment of our business. Today, this client has more than 1,200 restaurants and our medical response teams provide twenty four hour a day, seven day a week on call response to more than five thousand client locations nationwide in industries ranging from food service to communications. Implementing a Drug Free Workplace Program. Corporate Wellness contacted a company shortly after they made Inc. magazine's fast growing business list. At that time, their human resource department consisted of one person. The organization had fewer than 40 locations and approximately 1,700 employees. The company had just drafted their first drug-free workplace policy and had distributed it to their management team across the country for comments. Their intention was to have each location make their own local drug screening arrangements after the policy had been reviewed, edited and approved. We agreed to touch base again in six months to see how it was going. Several hours later, the phone rang and it was the company's HR person. Apparently, one manager had received the draft drug-free workplace policy and when he faced a situation involving drugs (having observed an employee hiding drugs in the drop ceiling in a bathroom), he sent the employee for a drug screen. The policy had not been approved, it had not been distributed nor explained to employees and although he was a DOT regulated driver, the positive result had not been reviewed by a medical review officer. The HR Manager was looking for guidance and our advice may not have been what she expected. We told her that she couldn't use this drug screen. It had not been properly communicated, administered or reviewed. It was not legally defensible. Had we been involved earlier in this situation, we likely would have advised that the manager call the police. Substance abuse outside of the workplace differs dramatically from drug possession (and storage) at work. Six weeks later, Corporate Wellness, Inc. rolled out their company-wide drug free workplace policy through training sessions at their annual management conference. The training included substance abuse awareness, review of the new company policy and specific procedures. Each company location now had a procedure, and access through our nationwide network of medical facilities, to send prospective employees for pre-placement drug screens and for random, reasonable cause, post accident, return to duty and other drug and alcohol screens for current employees. Today, their program is a stellar example of a drug-free workplace program that deters prospective employees from even applying if they are substance abusers and supports every employee who asks for help with a substance abuse problem. They have almost 200 locations, 10,000 employees and believe being a drug-free workplace has been key to their growth. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Getting Resources where they were needed Hurricanes Katrina and Rita once again provided the opportunity for Corporate Wellness to demonstrate ease of access, on-going availability and quick response. Our role was to help identify needs, find resources to meet those needs, arrange for those resources using exist suppliers, providers and contracts (or quickly draft new ones) and deliver the services as quickly, efficiently and cost effectively as possible. Later, our role included paying all of the bills for these supplies and services and providing a single invoice to each of our clients. One of our nurses ended up living at a client location. This provided twenty four hour coverage for vaccinations as employees reported for duty from the storm area or came in from other parts of the country. This arrangement also gave the nurse and her family much needed shelter. We arranged for one client (a uniform rental company), who had not previously needed specific vaccinations, to borrow immunoglobulin from the supply of another client (a restaurant group). They provided the restaurant group with clean, dry clothes from their uniform stock. We delivered our first round of supplies using counter to counter package services on commercial flights to Baton Rouge and Atlanta on Wednesday, August 31st. Client employees traveling from Baton Rouge and Atlanta to assist effected facilities transported these supplies directly to their final destinations. Private couriers transported additional supplies and Corporate Wellness' nurses transported the balance of the supplies. Initial supplies included Hepatitis A and B vaccine, immune globulin, Diphtheria/ Tetanus Toxoid, gloves (thousands and thousands of gloves), syringes. band aids, handwashing foam (also in large quantity), alcohol wipes, biohazard bags, sharps containers, surgical masks and first aid kits. We also had a specific request for eye wash which was included in those initial shipments and again later on. Corporate Wellness had a basic stock of the above vaccines on hand and restocked daily through late September using our existing contracts with pharmaceutical suppliers. We were the largest Hepatitis A vaccine purchaser after the US government for the months of September and October 2005. Communication was the key to all of the above. We used cell phones, 800 numbers (critical as long distance service was so dramatically effective), text messaging, blackberries, email and personal messengers to get the job done. Most of our staff worked for 21 straight days. But it doesn't take a Hurricane Katrina to get this type of response from Corporate Wellness. It is business as usual for us. A single case of TB, or measles or foodborne illness threatens the "brand" for most of our clients. The resources utilized daily for on-going incidents become the resources deployed on grander scales when true disaster strikes. |
What defines a health-related crisis? In general, one possible employee illness, one confirmed customer illness or two customer complaints. |
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