BIPOC workers experience obesity and diabetes in disproportionate numbers, the Northeast Business Group on Health noted, making benefits related to those conditions a D&I issue.

5 ways employers can deliver diabetes- and obesity-related care without stigma

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Employers have a lot to think about while  reopening offices, but lessons learned during the pandemic suggest they also should consider preparing for a future crisis, according to a guide released today by the Northeast Business Group on Health. The employer-led coalition of benefit leaders and health care stakeholders published its Pandemic Response, Recovery and Planning guide, which captures lessons learned by employers during the pandemic and outlines action plans for reopening the workplace, adapting benefits to address Covid-19 and preparing for a future pandemic. "The pandemic is not over, and now is an opportune time for employers to see what more they might need to put in place to address health and safety," said Candice Sherman, CEO of the business group. Related Articles
As the vaccines are being rolled out, employers will need to think about communicating and engaging with their workforce about inoculations, she said. Many companies had flu vaccine programs in the past, and some successful measures—such as offering incentives or time off for getting a shot—can be employed for the Covid-19 vaccine as well, she said. Employers will be key in communicating to workers the importance of receiving the vaccination. "It is essential employers educate their workers that the vaccine is safe or the pandemic will never truly be over," Sherman said. For example, workers who choose not to vaccinate might cause unease among their coworkers, throwing a wrench in reopening efforts. The guide suggests bringing in medical directors from health plans or doctors to hold forums about the vaccine. Businesses also need to ensure health benefits are adaptable and accessible during a future crisis. "We're not talking about health insurance coverage … but we're talking about wellness and mental health support, and those chip away at workers more than we realize," Sherman said. Many organizations provided wellness and mental health support to employees before the pandemic, but access might have been disrupted as offices shuttered. The boom of telehealth tools has become fundamental to ensuring employees continue being able to reach those resources, Sherman said. Lastly, even as companies build infrastructure—updating air filtration and testing protocols—to address this pandemic, they need to consider implementable plans for a future crisis. "The experts are saying it's a matter of when, not if," Sherman said. It's never too early to think about what you need to have in place for the future, she added. The Northeast Business Group on Health was founded in 1982, and its members are senior benefit leaders from about 180 large corporations, organizations and unions, including 1199SEIU, CityMD,  Mount Sinai Health System  and Pfizer. RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

Businesses should plan for future crises while looking to reopen offices

Employers might face myriad challenges when reopening the workplace, but lessons learned during the pandemic suggest they also should consider preparing for a future crisis, according to a guide released today by the Northeast Business Group on Health. The employer-led coalition of benefit leaders and health care stakeholders published its Pandemic Response, Recovery and Planning guide, which captures lessons learned by employers during the pandemic and outlines action plans for reopening the workplace, adapting benefits to address Covid-19 and preparing for a future pandemic. "The pandemic is not over, and now is an opportune time for employers to see what more they might need to put in place to address health and safety," said Candice Sherman, CEO of the business group. As the vaccines are being rolled out, employers will need to think about communicating and engaging with their workforce about vaccinations, she said. Many companies rolled out flu vaccine programs in the past, and some successful measures—such as offering incentives or time off for vaccination—can be employed for the Covid-19 vaccine as well, she said. Employers will be key in communicating to workers the importance of receiving the vaccination. "It is essential employers educate their workers that the vaccine is safe or the pandemic will never truly be over," Sherman said. For example, workers who choose not to vaccinate might cause unease among their coworkers, throwing a wrench in reopening efforts. The guide suggests bringing in medical directors from health plans or doctors to hold forums about the vaccine. Businesses also need to ensure health benefits are adaptable and accessible during a future crisis. "We're not talking about health insurance coverage … but we're talking about wellness and mental health support, and those chip away at workers more than we realize," Sherman said. Many organizations provided wellness and mental health support to employees before the pandemic, but access might have been disrupted as offices shuttered. The boom of telehealth tools has become fundamental to ensuring employees continue being able to reach those resources, Sherman said. Lastly, even as companies build infrastructure—updating air filtration and testing protocols—to address this pandemic, they need to consider implementable plans for a future crisis. "The experts are saying it's a matter of when, not if," Sherman said. It's never too early to think about what you need to have in place for the future, she added. The Northeast Business Group on Health was founded in 1982, and its members are senior benefit leaders from about 180 large corporations, organizations and unions, including 1199SEIU, CityMD, Mount Sinai Health System and Pfizer. —S.S. VNSNY launches online home health aide certification
The Visiting Nurse Service of New York will partner with a Boston startup to offer home care certifications through online courses for the first time in New York. The nonprofit on Wednesday announced the deal with CareAcademy, a company specializing in workforce development for health care. The program will allow home health aides to receive their required state certification through a mostly virtual program. The program helps solve dual challenges for VNSNY, said James Rolla, senior vice president for Partners in Care, the nonprofit's home health aide arm. "The workforce shortage for home health care workers is growing, and the pandemic accelerated that shortage," Rolla said. "That created the need for us to be able to offer training for new individuals to do this work. But the pandemic also put a pause on all of that." Partners in Care serves about 44,000 people each day and employs about 6,500 home health aides. VNSNY hopes the program—which is free for applicants—helps connect new workers to meet that demand. The organization got approval from the state Department of Health for the course Tuesday and hopes to launch classes by March 1. Home health certification has traditionally required in-person instruction in New York. About 98% of instruction for the new course is online, with two days in person for required skills demonstrations. The courses are held live through Zoom video chat. CareAcademy in June secured $9.5 million in venture funding and has seen increased demand for its training services in the home health care field, said CEO Helen Adeosun. "For us, it is really not just a matter of education for compliance but also for attracting a brand-new workforce," Adeosun said. "We are aligned in helping and promoting VNSNY as an employer of choice and providing a gateway to direct care work that is so necessary at this time." —Ryan Deffenbaugh
 
NY lawmakers to introduce home care worker bill ensuring $35,000 wages
New York legislators—including state senators, Assembly members and a congressman—launched the Fair Pay for Home Care campaign Tuesday in an effort to pass an act to increase the wages of home care aides. A key component of the campaign includes passing the Fair Pay for Home Care Act, which will ensure home care aides are paid at least $35,000 annually. The bill will be sponsored by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried and state Sen. Rachel May. The bill has been sent around for co-sponsorship and has not yet been filed, said a spokeswoman for Gottfried. "We are finalizing language for bill introduction, and I'm happy to be working with our allies in the labor movement to make this important idea a reality," Gottfried said in a statement. Local lawmakers, including state Sens. Michelle Hinchey, Shelley Mayer and James Skoufis, and Assembly members Ron Kim and Didi Barrett, have expressed support for the bill. They spoke at the campaign's launch and were joined by Rep. Jamaal Bowman and nonprofit organizations that make up the New York Caring Majority coalition leading the campaign. "What the aging population has provided to all of us throughout our lives and continue to provide to us in terms of wisdom, in terms of empathy, in terms of love is exactly what I'm excited to be a part of," Bowman said. Anchoring the bill's push to raise home care workers' wages to $35,000 was a study released Tuesday by the CUNY School for Labor and Urban Studies. It showed that, although it would necessitate $4 billion in costs, by increasing wages to that level, the state could see revenue gains and other cost savings totaling $7.6 billion per year, for a net gain of over $3.6 billion. The report also showed the median annual income of home care workers is about $22,000. The sector is expected to experience job exits of over 720,000 by 2028. With the demand for such workers growing to 265,000 jobs during that time, the state could find it difficult to fill that nearly 1 million gap at current wage rates, said Isaac Jabola-Carolus, report author and sociology Ph.D. candidate at CUNY. —S.S. RapidSOS raises $85M to take 911 data platform global
RapidSOS, a Midtown startup that provides data to emergency responders, has raised $85 million to power its global expansion plans. CEO Michael Martin describes RapidSOS as a "data pipeline" connecting emergency services to a range of public and private sources to help pinpoint the location of those in need, along with background information that can help speed or prepare their response. That could include crash impact data from internet-connected cars, public security cameras and even Apple Watch health data (if the user has consented to share it). "Today we connect data from 350 million devices and plug that into every major 911 system across the United States, covering 92% of Americans," Martin said. That adds up to a system used about 400,000 times each day by emergency responders, according to the company. Last spring RapidSOS partnered with the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association and DirectRelief to launch emergencyprofile.org, a site where people can upload information on their preexisting conditions and allergies. That information is then instantly shared with an operator if the person calls 911, potentially expediting the response time in a health emergency. RapidSOS is free for emergency response centers. It sells its service to health and life insurance companies, which Martin said have a financial interest in putting their data to work improving emergency-response results. Martin launched the company in 2013. The firm now employs about 160 people and has raised about $200 million in venture capital investment. The latest investment round is led by Insight Partners, a Manhattan-based venture firm whose investment history includes Twitter, Shopify and HelloFresh. Microsoft Ventures was an early investor in RapidSOS. With the new funds, Martin said the firm will look globally. The company's technology covers about 70% of the Mexican population, and the firm is also in South Africa and growing its presence in Europe. "Many of the challenges we face in the United States [with emergency response] are true globally as well," Martin said. —R.D. AT A GLANCE
WHO'S NEWS: Charles Gilgen has joined Valley Health System as director of security and public safety, the health group announced Wednesday. His appointment was effective Jan. 25. Before Valley Health, he was assistant special agent in charge at the Federal Bureau of Investigation's New York office. Mark Clermont has been appointed CEO of Cecelia Health, the Midtown-based diabetes and chronic care tech services company announced Tuesday. He replaces founder David Weingard, who will now be executive chairman of the board. PATHOLOGY TECH: Hospital for Special Surgery launched a platform that digitizes pathology slides. The Sectra Digital Pathology Solution system uses a high-resolution digital scanner and integrates a laboratory info system and an archiving/communication system. It lets HSS pathologists scan and upload slides into a single repository where others on the care team can view and discuss them in real time. NASDAQ UPLIST: Synaptogenix, a biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, submitted an application to list on the Nasdaq stock market, it announced Tuesday. The Midtown-based company is currently listed in the over-the-counter market and will continue to trade as SNPX as the review is underway. PARKINSON'S GRANT: The Midtown-based Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research awarded Melbourne-based Alterity Therapeutics a grant of $495,000 to advance its drug-development research. The funding will be used to determine the optimal dose of Alterity's drug in a primate model for future Parkinson's disease trials. This is the second grant Alterity has received from the foundation. RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

A new report offers key pandemic response lessons for employers from COVID-19. (courtneyk/Getty)
Employer benefits and human resources professionals should glean key lessons on emergency planning from the COVID-19 pandemic—and a new guide from the Northeast Business Group on Health aims to help set a baseline for those discussions. The paper outlines seven key action steps employers should take to strengthen their COVID-19 response and prepare for a future pandemic situation that can be deployed now, the group said. “The experts say it is not a question of if but when a future pandemic will occur. And while it’s impossible to be 100% prepared for future pandemics, employers can enhance their preparedness," said Candice Sherman, CEO of the Northeast Business Group on Health, in a statement. Virtual Roundtable
Disruption, Acceleration & Innovation: Pharmacists on the Frontline
This year, pharmacists will play a critical role in the United States’ COVID-19 immunization efforts. Although this is welcomed news, this new duty and other coronavirus responsibilities are exacerbating pharmacist burnout. In this panel, experts will explore how pharmacists can leverage technology to automate administrative tasks and satisfy patient needs. Build a pandemic response around key principles such as simplicity. Establish safe workplaces. Have a strong plan in place for returning to work. Adapt workers' benefits to address challenges posed by the pandemic. Develop a vaccine strategy. Think about future pandemics now. For example, COVID-19 highlighted the value of digital health and also led to a spike in demand for behavioral health care needs. Strategies to mitigate these challenges include extending eligibility to digital platforms to employees' family members who may not be enrolled in the plan themselves as well as offering those tools to part-time workers who may not qualify for benefits. Employers must also closely assess the accessibility of these in-demand options in their benefit designs, according to the report. This includes taking another look at network adequacy and out-of-pocket costs for employees. A solution to these challenges employers could pursue, according to the report, is investing in value-based insurance design. This strategy allows plan sponsors to lower out-of-pocket costs for services with high value and raise costs for services with low value, pushing people to seek more appropriate care. "Stakeholders recognized early in the pandemic that out-of-pocket costs could affect peoples’ decisions about getting necessary care for the coronavirus," according to the report. "In addition to highlighting the need to reduce or eliminate patient costs for certain high-value care, the pandemic has created an opportunity to learn what happens when there is a dramatic decline in utilization of both high-value and low-value healthcare services." Developing a vaccine strategy also requires employers to overcome a number of hurdles, including access, health literacy and social and cultural norms, that may prevent people from getting vaccinated. To address these challenges, employers should be prepared to launch an education campaign to ensure employees feel safe getting vaccinated. Then, if possible, set up an on-site vaccine opportunity or other vaccination events. If that's not doable, instead make sure employees are aware of and can access nearby vaccination locations, the report suggests. Employers can set up automatic reminders for vaccines and offer rewards and incentives to drive greater uptake. “Having a vaccine strategy for employees needs to be one of the highest priorities for employers. As one of the few remaining institutions in which Americans still have some degree of confidence and trust, employers have an important role to play in disseminating accurate education and information about vaccines, and engaging employees and their families in obtaining them,” said Mark Cunningham-Hill, medical director at the Northeast Business Group on Health, in a statement. Read more on

Emergency preparedness lessons for employers from COVID-19

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This handbook for businesses on pandemic response lessons learned with some considerations businesses can look at on re-opening, vaccine hesitancy, preparing for the next pandemic now, etc. was developed by the Northeast Business Group on Health. Abbvie, Pfizer and Sanofi all contributed to this effort to help launch the book
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Free Resource for Businesses – Pandemic Response, Recovery and Planning

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The partnership with Northeast Business Group on Health is the latest in a series of Yelp Inc. 's initiatives to make valuable information about maternity and health care more accessible to consumers .

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