Dawe Auditorium – Ingham Regional Medical Center
2720 S. Washington Avenue
Lansing, Michigan 48910   Map

1. Welcome (5 minutes)
a. The plan for this meeting.
b. Will someone agree to take notes?

2. Introductions (30 minutes)
Please state your name, organization, and professional role.
Were you involved in planning the Michigan summit?
Did you attend the summit?

3. In a nutshell: How did we get here? (15 minutes)
The ACOEM Statement; the 60 Summits Project; Workability in Michigan; the Michigan Summit on Workability

4. The outcomes of the Michigan Summit on Workability: (30 minutes)
Comprehensive report-in draft
Summary report-in draft
Workgroup recommendations and ongoing efforts

5. Our Organization: Workability in Michigan (15 minutes)
Name, purpose, structure

6. Plans for the next meeting (10 minutes)
a. July 16, 2009, 10am-12pm at Dawe Auditorium- Ingham Regional Medical Center
b. Agenda: WIM structure; Final report on the summit; Active/continuing projects; Meeting schedule

7. Evaluate this meeting (15 minutes)
How did this meeting go for you? Recommendations for next time?

Homework for Next Meeting:
Read Draft Report of our Summit (will be made available); Make your personal participation plan for this group; Invite someone to join you at next meeting.

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Directions to Ingham Regional Medical Center:
Directions from South or East: I- 96 …to I- 127 North to 496-west. Take second exit, exit 7A, Grand Avenue. Shift one lane to right, go through blinker. Next light is Washington Ave., turn left. Go about 1.5 miles south…on right side, just past Washington Park is driveway to office building. It is a one story office building, not a large auditorium structure. 

From I-69–go to I 127 South to I-496 West. Take second exit, exit 7A, Grand Avenue. Shift one lane to right, go through blinker. Next light is Washington Ave., turn left. Go about 1.5 miles south…on right side, just past Washington Park is driveway to office building. It is a one story office building, not a large auditorium structure. 

From West: I-96 East to I-496 East. Take Walnut Street exit, exit 6. Exit empties onto Main Street. Proceed East on Main Street to Washington Ave. Turn right. Go about 1.5 miles south…on right side, just past Washington Park is driveway to office building. It is a one story office building, not a large auditorium structure.
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Depression is one of the most costly health conditions for American employers. Nearly 63% of the $83 billion in total economic costs (including both direct costs of healthcare services and indirect financial costs) associated with depression annually are due to workplace losses. Depression is associated with $41 billion per year in lost productivity in the workplace from both absenteeism (depressed workers lose approximately 2.3 days per month) and “presenteeism” (depressed workers are often not able to accomplish as many tasks or perform at as high a level as workers without depression). Effective treatment has been shown to both reduce depressive symptoms and improve worker outcomes such as employee retention and productivity.

Unfortunately, many employment policies regarding depressive disorders and chronic health conditions, in general, are not informed by clinical understandings of these conditions and the role that employment can play in helping improve recovery. Studies have shown that workers who return to work soon after depressive episodes have better outcomes than those who are on long-term disability leave. Also, employer policies that limit voluntary leave-time may promote presenteeism by forcing depressed workers to come to work even when this could hamper their treatment plan. Employers may also feel constrained by litigation concerns, and adopt policies that discourage employees from seeking treatment for depressive disorders. Finally, employers can act as a strategic resource for addressing (or, unfortunately, promoting) stigma associated with depressive disorders by their policies regarding returning to work following an episode.

Michigan is hard at work making sure that there is “No Worker Left Behind.” This certainly includes those injured on the job. Even in today’s troubled economy, progressive and innovative companies realize that using best practices such as injury prevention, integration of disability benefits systems, on-site vocational services, transitional work options, and partnerships with Employee Assistance Programs, among others, greatly enhances the chances that employees are able to stay at work, or return to work after injury or illness.

The Workers’ Compensation Agency supports the necessary dialogue between various stakeholders to determine the most comprehensive and collaborative approach to the Stay-At-Work/Return-To-Work process.

View Complete Letter

Very truly yours,

Jack A. Nolish
Director

Read Full Report

When Los Angeles Unified School District employees are off work on workers’ comp for more than three weeks, the Department of Integrated Disability Management sends them a get-well card that a return-to-work specialist generates.

Full Article Here

The Workability in Michigan leadership summit is part of a national grassroots initiative, the 60 Summits Project, to convene multi-stakeholder workshops in each of the 50 US states and the 10 Canadian provinces.

• There will be about 120 attendees at our by-invitation event, to be held in Lansing, Michigan on May 1, 2009, with individually selected representatives from many parties who have an impact on whether ill or injured workers are able to stay at or return to work.  They will be respected thought-leaders and action-oriented people from a variety of stakeholder groups: employers, healthcare providers, workers, claims administrators, managed care companies, unions, legislators, judges, etc.
• The event will begin the day before (April 30, 2009) with an evening reception, and resume the next day, May 1, with a full-day meeting.  Attendees will be seated in multi-stakeholder groups, learning more about each other’s perspectives, exploring a fresh new model for disability benefits and workers’ compensation systems, building a shared positive vision for how the stay-at-work and return-to-work process should go, and then looking for solutions. The Summit is being held at the Lansing Sheraton Hotel.
• The framework for discussion will be a report from ACOEM (the American College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine) entitled “Preventing Needless Work Disability by Helping People Stay Employed” that calls for more communication and better collaboration among the parties.
• The expected outcomes of the Summit will be new relationships, an action agenda, and a consortium or coalition that plans to transform the action agenda into improved human and financial outcomes for both employees and employers.

The April 30, and May 1, 2009 event is being hosted by 60 Summits — Michigan Chapter. We are a group of volunteers from a variety of professions and organizations who are passionate about promoting safer, healthier working lifestyles and preserving the employability of Michigan’s workforce while at the same time protecting the productivity and profitability of Michigan’s employers. Your sponsorship will add credibility and help provide the financial support needed to achieve our mission.

Why would you sponsor?

Sponsoring the 60 Summits Project events makes good sense if (a) you agree it’s the right thing to do, or (b) you foresee direct business benefit, or (c) you see market value in being visibly associated with the target audience for this kind of cutting edge event.

• It’s the right thing to do.  Some of our sponsors want to contribute to worthwhile activities and see this inspiring grassroots effort to improve “the system” in Michigan as deserving their support.

• Business benefits.  Some of our sponsors see that their own organization will potentially benefit from the fruit of a successful Summit – an improved stay-at-work and return-to-work process that produces better human and economic outcomes. They want to lend their strength to the Summit by providing visible endorsement as well as financial support.

• Market visibility.  Some of our sponsors’ organizations benefit from visible association with this cutting edge thinking and an initiative that has been hailed as “brilliant and fresh….a blueprint for positive change.”  All sponsors of this event will be listed by name with logo on signage and attendee materials at the Summit.  Those who contribute will receive complimentary passes to attend the Summit.  The number of passes depends on sponsorship level.  See enclosed Sponsorship Contribution form.

• It’s easy!  Simply fill out the Sponsorship Commitment. (On our Web Site) Or Call

If you have questions, please contact:

• Steve Ohman at 616-391-7741
• Janiece Nichols at 616-540-5285

Become a sponsor:

• Complete this Sponsorship Commitment Enrollment Form.
• paying by credit card
• FAX form: 877-892-1946
• To phone in your credit card information, PHONE: 877-607-8664
• If paying by check, pay check to the order of (and mail to): 60 Summits Project – Michigan Chapter   95 Woodridge Road  Wayland, MA 01778

Find out more:

• For information about the ACOEM work disability prevention report, the 60Summits Project, and the national expert Dr. Jennifer Christian who will facilitate our Michigan Summit on October 8 and 9, 2008 at www.60Summits.org