Case Coordination

If you have an employee who is struggling to reintegrate to the workplace after an injury or distressful workplace incident, he or she could be experiencing more than a performance issue. Underlying factors may be involved, and your employee may need additional and appropriate care to help them return to work.

 

How do you get an employee the help they need to heal emotionally and physically, so he or she can re-engage at work? As an employer or insurance carrier, there may be limitations to the support and resources you can provide. Carefully selecting a licensed therapist, monitoring treatment, and ensuring a safe and productive return to work, is beyond the scope of what most organizations can offer their employees, but it is what R3 takes pride in doing every day.

 

Recognizing and helping a troubled employee

Craig stood at the entrance of the company cafeteria. Contemplating what he should have for lunch? When he spotted Angie, his counterpart in marketing, headed to the smoothie bar. “Hey, Angie!” he called. Angie slowed her pace as Craig caught up.

 

“Hey Craig—how are things?” she asked as they reached the smoothie bar.

 

“Busy, of course. But aren’t we all?” he said. Angie chuckled. “Yes, that’s always the way.”

 

“Angie, I wanted to ask you about Katrina—she transferred from your department to mine about a few months ago,” Craig said.

 

“I was sorry to lose her, but this was a good move for her. How’s she doing?” Angie asked.

 

Craig motioned for Angie to move to a quiet corner of the cafeteria. “Well, that’s the problem. She started off great. She’s bright, inquisitive, and has a real feel for what we do. But a month ago she was robbed at gunpoint leaving work one night; she wasn’t hurt, but the guy took her laptop and phone. Ever since that incident, she started slacking off, and it gets worse as time goes by. She calls in sick almost every week, and I get the feeling she just doesn’t want to come in. I’m really disappointed because I had high hopes for her.”

 

“I’d heard about that and reached out to her. That must have been terrifying,” Angie said. “Come to think of it, I don’t remember her responding to my text, and I haven’t seen her around.”

 

“She took off that week, but then came back, and I thought she was fine,” Craig said. “But now, I wonder if there’s been more going on.” Craig shook his head. “With the marketing push for this new product release, we’ve all been heads down. But if she’s got PTSD or something—what am I supposed to do? How do I get her help? I don’t know anything about this.”

 

“I don’t know either. But you need to talk to HR—maybe they can help you approach this, or connect you with someone who can,” Angie said.

 

Support with one call

If your employee is struggling after an incident, they might not be aware of helpful resources or how to find them. At the same time, the manager who sees an employee’s frequent absences may not recognize the underlying behavioral health issues that may be the root cause. Through R3’s Clinical Consult Center, our master’s level clinicians can begin the case coordination process, to help employees recover and speed their safe and successful return to work.

 

What case coordination provides:

• A dedicated, master’s level mental health clinician with expertise based on latest best practices
• Connection of the employee with a qualified counselor in their community
• Review of counseling session notes to ensure focus centers on recovering from the distressful incident and on returning to work
• Monthly communication and coordination with the employee, counselor, and company
• Telephonic support, problem-solving, and suggestions

 

A successful re-engagement

“Fancy meeting you here,” Angie said to Craig, coming up behind him in the salad bar line.

 

“I haven’t seen you in a few weeks. How did things turn out with Katrina?” Angie asked.

 

“So much better than I expected,” Craig said. “Turns out our company partners with a consultant called R3 Continuum, and they specialize in connecting employees with counselors. They even oversee the process to ensure it doesn’t linger on indefinitely and stays focused on returning to work.” 

 

“Katrina started back last week and so far, it’s going well and I’m making sure I give her the support she needs on our end as well,” Craig said. “What could have been an unfortunate and premature end to an amazing career is turning back into a great outcome for everybody.”

 

Case coordination—creating a win-win resolution

Our case coordination service guards against lost productivity and rising claim costs by helping your employees get the support they need, while coordinating the process to ensure it is effective in speeding recovery for return to work.