PMID: 16317331

Issn Print: 1529-7764

Publication Date: 2005/11/01


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Case Management in the World of Health and Productivity: Managing Employee Health and Productivity in the Wake of Katrina

Deborah V. DiBenedetto

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Author Information: , is President of DVD Associates LLC, and Manager, Health & Productivity, for the Kellogg Company in Battle Creek, Michigan. With effect from November 1, 2005, she is working as Practice Leader, Integrated Health & Productivity, Risk Navigation Group LLC, Battle Creek, Michigan. She is the immediate past-president of AAOHN, and is internationally known in the field of occupational health, workers compensation, and disability management. She welcomes comments at

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Excerpt

The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which tore through Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi, will be felt for years to come. Katrina is believed to have killed thousands of people, and is known to have displaced more than 1 million people—a humanitarian crisis on a scale unseen in the United States since the Great Depression.1 Employers, citizens, government, and the military are all being strained at the magnitude of the disaster. At the time of this writing, it has been 1 week since the hurricane wreaked havoc on the Gulf Coast of the United States. Massive recovery efforts were challenging at best, and now cleanup and the aftereffects are expected to last for many years. Victims, rescue workers (paid and volunteer), law enforcement, military, business, and employers are facing many problems and challenges as they recover from the storm and attempt to bring stability to the region.
In this column, we will explore new territory in how employers and occupational health and case managers are responding to a national disaster, the scope of which has caught many off guard. Let us explore some of the issues that have faced the various stakeholders, and the resources that can be leveraged in the event of future natural or other disasters.
As an employer, we are concerned about our employees and their safety, the impact on our customers and their communities, and the ability to conduct business in the affected areas. As an employer, the challenge of trying to reach and communicate with the employees in the affected areas is nearly impossible because of the failure of telecommunications, phone, wire, and Internet services. The ability to set up command and control posts is daunting without adequate means of communication support, emergency equipment, supplies, and power. Environmental hazards, from stagnant floodwater, mold, fungi, exposure to waste products and chemicals as well as downed power lines pose numerous risks. Disaster victim identification, establishment of morgues, management of other environmental and occupational hazards, and coordination of forensic and safety procedures are of immediate importance, and will continue long after the waters recede. The question today is how do we, as employers, occupational health professionals, and emergency response personnel, manage the issues at hand, while ensuring the health, safety, and productivity of the workers mitigating nature's wrath? We know the effects on the health of workers and volunteers in recovery situations, as witnessed on September 11, 2001, the recent Tsunami on December 26, 2004, and now Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005. A variety of Web-based and agency resources have been posted to facilitate the stabilization and management of issues brought to bear by Katrina, and the failure of water levees in New Orleans. Let us talk about how some major companies (1) provided disaster response services to identify employees with immediate and disaster-related needs and (2) moved to “get back to business.”
Companies may have employees who are normally assigned to work in the disaster-affected area; these employees usually live in the immediate vicinity or in the affected region. Employers seek to verify the status of these workers and, once capable, seek to avoid business interruption. In some cases, the business services provided are exactly the same ones needed during the cleanup efforts—such as the provision of food, shelter, durable goods, clothing, energy, etc. The balancing of the need to take care of an employee's personal issues (health, safety, living arrangements, family issues) with the need to “get back to business” as soon as possible is a delicate act.
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