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HERO Forum for Employee Health Management Solutions
and
The C. Everett Koop National Health Awards

InterContinental – New Orleans
September 23-25, 2008

View a detailed Program Description

Download a PDF version of the complete agenda

You are invited to the Welcome Reception on September 23
A high health breakfast and robust buffet lunch are provided on September 23&24

The C. Everett Koop National Health Awards – The Forum is again honored to be the venue for the highly respected and coveted Koop Awards. Last year, Dr. Koop and key individuals from The Health Project added significantly to the overall success of the Forum. Interacting with and getting to know Dr. Koop is a special treat. Of equal importance is learning the details about the Koop Award winning programs and networking with the corporate executives who are responsible.

2008 HERO Forum Events and Information

HERO Forum for Employee Health Management Solutions – The 2007 HERO Forum set a new standard of success for EHM interaction, sharing, and learning. When asked to rate the Forum overall, 98% said it was excellent or good. To what level did the Forum meet your expectations and needs, 93% said surpassed or met. Should the Forum be repeated, 97% said absolutely or yes.

“HOW TO” do it Workshops – The Workshops are a central focus of the Forum. Each Workshop is 90 minutes in duration. The corporate EHM thought leaders who facilitate the Workshops use about half the time to discuss the details of their award winning EHM program design and documented outcomes. The remaining time belongs to the participants so they can drill down deep into the details of how to design and operate an exemplar EHM program.

Some of the Workshops are:

Andersen Corporation – The A+ Health Program – Implemented in 2005 as part of an effort that focuses on plan design, health improvement, education, and communication. Notable accomplishments are: 1) Overall health risks have decreased 13%; 2) Health care cost trends have declined, including a negative 8.7% trend in 2007; and 3) There is significant improvement in creating a health-oriented corporate culture.

Florida Power & Light Company – The FPL-Well Program – The program has been operating for 16 years. Available are health screenings, educational seminars, and online health tools, fitness centers, medical centers, heart healthy cafeteria options, and EAP/mental health programs. Of the 15,000 who are eligible, 90% are participants.
2007 HHS “Innovations in Health Award”; 2007, 2006 – NBGH Platinum “Best Employer for Healthy Lifestyle”.

GlaxoSmithKline – The GSK Health & Wellness Program – The program includes several employee energy and resilience interventions, and flex time work patterns. The accomplishments have been: 1) Documented improvements in psychological factors enhancing resilience; 2) 60% increase in energy levels; and 3) 6% increase in ability to handle increased pace of work. Flexible work patterns also reduce illness absence.
Koop Award Winner as GlaxoWellcome.

IBM – Of the 130,000 U.S. employees, over 70% have access to the EHM program, which involves the strategic use of high-level technology. Program outcomes include: 1) Healthy living rebates; 2) Behavioral change, risk reduction, and cost impact outcomes; and 3) Published researched on online interventions for fitness, weight management, and smoking cessation.

Nationwide Insurance – My Life. My Choice. My Health Program – Highly innovative psycho-social programs. The health assessment asks questions about: 1) Domestic violence; 2) If depression is a problem. The response has been extraordinary. Services to support these situations include telephonic, family, and individual counseling, education programs, and medical referral.

Navistar – Health, Safety and Productivity in a Manufacturing Environment - The International Truck & Engine program uses an integrated approach to identify opportunities, develop interventions, and achieve goals through continuous measurement and management. The results have been reduction in direct health care costs and improved productivity. 2007 Koop Award Honorable Mention

Nelnet, Inc. – The Nelnet Total Associate Wellbeing Program – Consumer driven healthcare plan with mandated health-risk assessment. Integrated wellness, benefits, disability, EAP, workers comp/safety programs. The outcomes are: 1) Medical cost decrease of 3%; 2) 100% participation in medical screens; 3) 63% participation in programs; and 4) 9% decrease in cholesterol, 6% decrease in obesity, 5% decrease in BP, and 3% decrease in smoking. 2007 WELCOA Well Worklife Award.

Pepsi Bottling Group – The PBG Healthy Living Program – Over a three year period the following was achieved: 1) Medical cost increases averaged 5.6% (about 3% below average), 2) ROI averaged 3.4:1, and 3) Over 70% of employees and spouses completed health assessments. 2007 Koop Award Winner.

The University Consortium – Michigan, Purdue, Iowa, Alabama – EHM in a University Setting – Learn how four major universities developed and implemented successful EHM programs. Included is: 1) Building the business case; 2) Securing leadership support; 3) Leveraging unique university assets; and 4) How the HERO Scorecard is used to drive strategic planning and decision making.

We Energies – The We Energies Health Enhancement Initiative Program - Operational for over 10 years and currently has 82% participation, with over 30% reduction in moving from high to low risk. Emphasis is on making healthy lifestyle changes that directly impact the bottom line for the employee and Company.
2007 Koop Award Winner.

Wachovia Corporation –Wachovia Healthy Connections^® – In it’s 4th year of operations, this integrated program that continues to launch new offerings yearly 1) achieved an ROI of 2.4:1 for the first 2 years of the program; 2) realized a 5% reduction in health risks between 2006 & 2007; 3) touched over 70,000 of the 111,000 active employees who were eligible for the program in 2007.

Rarely, have so many leaders of the nation’s most successful, respected, and data-rich EHM programs assembled for a single meeting. This is a unique opportunity to interact with the leaders of these programs and learn how they do it.

What is an Audience-Panel Discussion? - Everyone is familiar with panel discussions. Usually three or four individuals are involved in a one hour monolog lecture. There is almost never any time for audience comment, critique or involvement. How is the Audience-Panel discussion different? Unlike the traditional panel discussion, the audience is urged to jump in and be involved….ask questions and provide answers, share critique, and express their opinion. So, the Audience-Panel Discussion is a gathering of individuals with deep interests in EHM, who interact and engage each other in stimulating and meaningful conversation.

Ask the Experts - Audience-Panel Discussion – How often have you dreamed of having your most important and pressing EHM questions addressed personally by the nation’s top level thought leaders? If so, want no longer. This new Forum event brings together a group of the most highly recognized and acclaimed EHM experts who will address your personal questions. They are:

• Cathy Baase, MD – Global Director, Health Services – Dow Chemical Company
   
• Ron Goetzel, PhD – Professor & Director, Health & Productivity – Emory University
                               VP, Consulting & Research – Thompson Reuters
   
• Nico Pronk, PhD – VP, Health & Disease Management – HealthPartners
                              Executive Director, Health Behavioral Group
   
• Jennifer Bruno - Worldwide Director, Wellness & Health Promotion – Johnson & Johnson

Ron and Nico are two of the most frequently published and nationally respected EHM researchers. Cathy and Jennifer are responsible for two of the largest, most respected, data rich, award winning (Koop and others) global programs. You will be invited to submit your questions for the Panel in advance, which allows time to prepare the best answers. There will also be adequate time for impromptu questions and your individual comments. This is a rare opportunity to be part of an event that allows you to interact with the premiere EHM experts.

EHM Benchmarking and Best Practice – Audience-Panel Discussion - A paradigm change is beginning, relative to the acceptance and activation of EHM programming and services. In order to sustain and accelerate this trend, the understanding, application, and accountability of benchmarking and best practice must be advanced to new levels of use and accountability. This general session event will center on an update of the HERO Employee Health Management Best Practice Scorecard–Version 2 (Scorecard). The Panel members are:

• David Anderson, PhD – VP, Program Strategy & Development, StayWell
   
• Sue Lewis, MEd - Sr. VP, Health & Productivity Solutions, IncentOne
   
• Andrew Crighton, MD - VP, Chief Medical Officer, Prudential Financial
   
• Jessica Grossmeier, MPH - Research Director, StayWell

Part of this event is highly interactive. Each registrant who is associated with an EHM program will be invited to input their program information into the online Scorecard. With sufficient numbers, it will be possible to create an aggregate report, before the Forum, which defines the average level of benchmarking and best practice for the merged programs.  This snapshot of the benchmarking and best practice for a cross section of quality EHM programs will be analyzed and discussed. In addition, there is exciting and significant new benchmarking and best practice research in progress that will be published prior to the Forum. The authors will be at the Forum and present their research findings.

EHM Future Trends – Audience-Panel Discussion – The EHM industry is beginning to come of age. As such, EHM is being pushed to new levels of development and success; however, this is not the time to relax. In order for EHM to become mainstream, there must be constant innovation and out of the box planning and action. To accomplish this, we need to look into the future and develop a vision of what EHM should and could be like in 5-10 years. There are no wrong answers. What we need is knowledge-based and experience-driven speculation. The Audience and Panel will have equal time to share their vision for EHM Future Trends. There are two panels of employers and providers with decades of successful experience in creating and managing exemplar EHM programs. Some of the Panel members are:

• Bob Soroosh, MBA – Director, Benefits Administration – Affinia Group
   
• Harlan Levine, MD – Chief Clinical Officer – OptumHealth
   
• David Sensibaugh, MBA – Director, Integrated Health – Eastman Chemical Company
   
• Fred Williams – Director, Health Benefits Management – Quest Diagnostics
   
• Rebecca Kelly, PhD – Director, Health Promotion & Wellness – University of Alabama 
   
• Ray Fabius, MD - Medical Director – CHD Meridian Healthcare

This general session is an interactive event. The audience is urged to give advanced thought to what they think EHM will be like a number of years in the future. You will then have the opportunity to share your vision for EHM future trends. This will include critique, agreement, disagreement, and general comments. This exploration into the future of EHM will be a unique, useful, and informative venture.

Laissez les bons temps rouler! AGAIN !! - (Cajun for “Let the Good Times Roll!”). The 2008 Forum will return to New Orleans. Facilitating a national meeting at the same location two consecutive years is unusual. It is being done because HERO has extraordinary interested in adding to the recovery of this great city, and being part of bringing “Laissez les bons temps rouler!” back to the Crescent City. To learn more about things to do, and how to have fun in New Orleans, go to www.neworleansonline.com

To register for the Forum, click on the Registration link. We look forward to seeing you in New Orleans so you can be part of the most participant-oriented, skills-sharpening EHM event of 2008. If you have questions, please call (205) 969-2680 or send an email to info@the-hero.org.

Home • 2008 HERO Forum • Agenda • Hotel & Travel
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