A Canadian community inclusion facility has partnered with GroupHEALTH for their employee health benefits. This includes access to DMI’s disability management services including Early Intervention and Long-Term Disability claims, providing their employees with support throughout the duration of a medical absence.
One of the organization’s employees called in saying that she required a medical leave from work. As soon as the employee had missed five days of work the organization contacted DMI to initiate an Early Intervention File. The company’s HR contact notified DMI that just prior to the employee’s absence she was undergoing a disciplinary review process and that the employee’s first day of absence fell on the day that the disciplinary meeting had been scheduled.
DMI phoned the employee the same day that they received the company’s referral and explained the purpose of the Early Intervention program, to provide a support for employees and employers in the early days of a medical leave to ensure a timely recovery and return to work. While the employee was initially hesitant to work with DMI, over the course of several phone calls, the Early Intervention Specialist (EIS) assigned to the file was able to convince her of the value of the program.
After speaking with the employee and gathering information from her treatment providers it was identified that the employee had several mental health issues that were impacting her at home and in the workplace. The employee was struggling to complete basic self-care tasks such a teeth-brushing and bathing, and struggled to figure out how she would be able to return to work.
The EIS determined that the employee required a higher level of support to assist her in her recovery and initiated a referral to the DMI rehab team to coordinate additional services. The Rehab Consultant coordinated several counselling sessions for the employee, focused on utilizing effective strategies to manage the employee’s feelings of anxiety and reducing the impact of chronic stress. The sessions also assisted the employee to develop and assert healthy and appropriate boundaries to maintain their emotional health.
After only two sessions, the employee was reporting significant improvements in her ability to function, and after four sessions she was ready to begin a return to work plan.
DMI worked with the organization to develop a plan that would both meet the employee’s needs and allow the organization to complete their disciplinary review process as required. The employee attended the disciplinary meeting on her first day back at work, and was subsequently able to resume her position, with a graduated increase in hours over a four-week period.
DMI provided four additional counselling sessions during the return to work plan to help ensure that the employee had the support needed to maintain her progress and sustain her return to work success.
At the end of the four-week plan, the employee successfully returned to her pre-disability hours and duties. The total duration of the absence from the first day off work to the date the return to work plan was completed was 16 weeks.
The community services organization and the employee were both grateful for the support provided by DMI and the impact that their involvement had on the claim outcome. DMI works to achieve the best outcomes for all parties by ensuring strong communication, collaboration, and proactive access to support. Without the support provided from DMI, it’s likely that the absence would have been much longer, potentially resulting in a timely and costly long-term disability claim and the employee becoming increasingly disconnected from the workplace.
DMI is committed to providing timely support and information to our clients. We have been working with employees and employers nationwide to provide comprehensive end-to-end solutions for their absence and disability management needs.
Interested in learning more about our Early Intervention and how disability management services can help control disability claim costs? Request a free review of your claims experience from a DMI expert to determine if you will benefit from DMI’s claims management services.