LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Certification of Disability Management Specialists Commission is pleased to announce it has awarded its 2010 Quality Leadership Award to E.ON U.S., a Louisville, Ky.-based holding company that owns and operates three regulated utilities in Kentucky and Virginia. E.ON U.S. was recognized for its holistic approach to disability management, bringing together absence management, health (physical and emotional), safety, and wellness.
Each year, CDMS Commission awards its Quality Leadership Award to an organization that demonstrates best practices in disability and absence management. The award highlights the importance of disability management as a workplace solution for employers to improve health and productivity in the workplace.
E.ON U.S. operates Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities Company, which are both located in Kentucky, as well as Old Dominion Power, in southwestern Virginia. E.ON U.S. recently announced it will be purchased by PPL Corporation, an electric power company based in Allentown, Pa., subject to regulatory approval.
In total, E.ON U.S. has about 3,100 employees, the majority of whom are involved in utility operations. The average age of the operational workforce is 46 years, with an average of 17 years of service.
Over the last 13 years, a series of integrated strategies has been implemented, resulting in a positive impact on both company costs and employee morale. The disability management program has evolved over the years, and is now fully integrated into operational functions through a collaborative model. The model includes an intense focus on return to work, managing absence, and initiatives that directly support the health and wellness of the workforce.
"At E.ON U.S., creativity and progressive thinking in disability management has produced successful outcomes," Debbie Cromwell, CDMS, CPDM, CCMP, chair of the CDMS Commission, said. "By employing best practices in disability management, the utilities have improved their fiscal results, as well as the quality of life and work for their employees."
To manage workers' compensation cases, a third-party administrator utilizes only credentialed nursing professionals to provide case management and utilization review services. For non-occupational case management, a credentialed contract nurse case manager provides support by collaborating with employees, supervisors, and human resource personnel to coordinate return to work as soon as medically feasible. The programs are overseen by a CDMS who has the title of Manager of Corporate Health and Safety.
Since 2001, direct workers' compensation claims expenditures were reduced from $2.1 million to less than $300,000 in 2009. In addition, the utilities have realized a significant decrease in lost-time cases. From 2001 to 2009, the lost work-day case rate decreased by 71 percent.
In 2000, a collaborative working model was developed with contract occupational medicine providers, safety personnel, and direct line supervisors throughout the service territory. The model focuses on identifying local occupational medicine expertise, promoting provider relationships and communication, and educating providers about return to work and transitional duty. As a result, direct payment of short-term disability benefits was reduced through early return to work. In addition, implementation of a long-term disability application process has prevented a gap in benefits for those individuals who qualify.
"When you talk about health and safety, wellness has long been considered an integral part of the company's approach toward preventing injury and illness," said Barbara Hawkins, MSN, RN, C, CDMS, Manager of Corporate Health & Safety for E.ON U.S. "The relationship of health to safety has long been recognized by our management team who supported the implementation of an employee wellness program in 1995. The company's wellness benefits were expanded in 2004 to include retirees and spouses, with incentives for participation in health screenings and online health risks assessments."
Evaluation data found a doubling in participation rates in screenings, and improvements in almost every biometric screening category between 2008 and 2009 in the same 1,000 employee participants. The company was recognized in 2007 as the best large employer by Greater Louisville Inc./Mayor's Health Hometown Worksite Wellness Awards.
Our employee wellness efforts have resulted in significant and sustained improvement in our employees' overall wellbeing," said Victor A. Staffieri, chairman, CEO and President of E.ON U.S. "Through a multi-faceted approach that includes a blend of wellness, health, safety and absence management programs, we have successfully applied a holistic model of disability management through the ranks of our workforce."
Other highlights of the program include:
- Special needs rooms designed to provide a private space to address the special medical needs of the employee population such as nursing mothers or employees who self-administer medications by injection or conduct other medical procedures;
- Ergonomic evaluations with implementation of a pilot stretching initiative in 1998 that was expanded to all company employees; and
- A collaborative project with the University of Louisville and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to create work environments that address physical stressors and reaction/response limitations related to aging workforce demographics.
By bringing together disability management, safety, health, and wellness, the company has significantly improved employee morale, loyalty, and appreciation for the company. An internal employee opinion survey in 2009 found:
- 97 percent of employees said they believe everything is being done to prevent accidents in their work areas
- 84 percent say they can balance work and their personal lives
- 96 percent believe E.ON U.S. wellness initiatives support the health and well-being of employees
- 95 percent would recommend the company as a good place to work
"We take pride in our results because they clearly demonstrate the commitment and quality of leadership within the organization, and the recognition on the part of employees and the local and national community for those efforts," Hawkins stated.
About the CDMS Commission Quality Leadership Award
Each year, a leading company or organization is presented with a prestigious honor in the field of disability management: the Quality Leadership Award from the CDMS Commission. Quality Leaders in disability management demonstrate expertise and commitment in areas such as:
- Return-to-work, with programs that help ill/injured employees transition back to the workplace
- Stay-at-work, to promote health and productivity and prevent absence
- Integrated disability management, providing programs for employees covered by workers' compensation and short-term/long-term disability
- Absence management, addressing at illness, injury, disability, and other causes of unscheduled absences
- Health and productivity, recognizing the value of promoting employee health, wellness, and ability to engage in life and work
Previous Quality Leadership Award honorees are:
- Baptist Health South Florida, 2009
- Harley-Davidson Motor Company, 2008
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 2007
- Coors Brewing Company, 2006
- Waste Management, Inc., 2005
- Mayo Clinic Rochester, 2004
- Allina Hospitals & Clinics, 2003
CDMS Commission is the only nationally accredited organization that certifies disability management specialists. For more information on the Quality Leadership Award and the award criteria please see the CDMS Commission website at www.CDMS.org.
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E.ON U.S., headquartered in Louisville, Ky., is a subsidiary of E.ON A.G., the world's largest investor-owned energy services provider. E.ON U.S. is a diversified energy services company that owns and operates Louisville Gas and Electric Company, a regulated utility that serves 314,000 natural gas and 389,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties, and Kentucky Utilities Company, a regulated electric utility in Lexington, Ky., that serves 538,000 customers in 77 Kentucky counties and five counties in Virginia.
