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National Business Group on Health Honors Five Employers With Best Behavioral Health Services Programs
Aetna, Cisco Systems, Delta Air Lines, GlaxoSmithKline, Pitney Bowes Recognized for Innovative Programs
| Source: National Business Group on Health
WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - October 23, 2007) - The National Business Group on Health, a
non-profit association of 285 large U.S. employers, today honored five U.S.
employers for having outstanding behavioral health programs to help
employees and their families cope with mental health and substance abuse
disorders.
Aetna, Cisco Systems, Delta Air Lines, GlaxoSmithKline and Pitney Bowes
received Behavioral Health Awards at a ceremony during the 2007 Joint Forum
on Health, Productivity, and Absence, presented by the National Business
Group on Health and the Integrated Benefits Institute. The inaugural
Behavioral Health Awards program was sponsored by the Center for Mental
Health Services, a division of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration.
"Research and experience show that behavioral health programs that address
prevention and early intervention may help employers reduce presenteeism,
absenteeism, and disability claims associated with mental health and
substance abuse disorders," said Kathryn Power, director of the Center for
Mental Health Services.
"We are pleased to honor these companies who have demonstrated leadership
and excellence in their commitment to providing quality behavioral health
benefits and programs to their employees and families," said Helen Darling,
president of the National Business Group on Health. "About 217 million
days of work are lost each year due to productivity decline related to
mental health and substance abuse disorders, costing U.S. employers $17
billion annually. Given this huge economic toll, it is imperative that
employers make behavioral health needs a top priority."
At the ceremony, Aetna, Cisco Systems, Delta Air Lines and Pitney Bowes
were presented with Employer Implementation Awards for their programs while
Cisco Systems and GlaxoSmithKline received Best-Practice Awards.
Aetna was recognized in the category of Behavioral Healthcare Services in
the General Medical Setting for implementing a suite of evidence-based case
and disease management programs that include proactive assessment and early
intervention programs.
Cisco Systems' Best-Practice Award was in the category of Early
Intervention. Cisco uses health risk assessments to help identify
behavioral health issues among employees, develop programs tailored to
specific populations or disorders, and assist with program evaluation. Its
Implementation Award, in the category of Specialty Services for the
Seriously Mentally Ill, honored Cisco for using evidence-based benefit
design techniques to address the needs of individuals diagnosed with
autism.
Delta Air Lines was recognized in the Employee Assistance Program category
for restructuring its EAP to be more responsive to the unique needs of its
employees.
GlaxoSmithKline was honored in the Healthy Work Environment category for
creating a prevention initiative which fosters both managers and employees
working together to identify workplace pressures and mitigate them as well
as assisting staff in the development of interpersonal skills to manage
energy, power performance, improve communication, and stay mentally
healthy.
Pitney Bowes was honored in the category of Disability Management for
Behavioral Health Disorder. Pitney Bowes developed a personalized,
employee-centered program to enable employees with behavioral health
disabilities to return to work as promptly and efficiently as possible.
"Mental health and substance abuse disorders have a terrible effect on the
quality of life of employees and their families. We have to prevent these
problems and restore health as soon as possible. The companies we are
honoring today are leading the way," concluded Darling.
A complete description of each of the company's winning programs is
available at www.businessgrouphealth.org.
About the Behavioral Health Awards
The National Business Group on Health established the Behavioral Health
Awards program to recognize employers that develop, implement, and evaluate
innovative behavioral health benefits and programs to improve an employer's
business operations and the health of beneficiaries. The Center for Mental
Health Services, a division of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMHSA), sponsored the inaugural awards program.
About the National Business Group on Health
The National Business Group on Health is the nation's only non-profit,
membership organization of large employers devoted exclusively to finding
innovative and forward-thinking solutions to their most important health
care and related benefits issues. The Business Group identifies and shares
best practices in health benefits, disability, health and productivity,
related paid time off and work/life balance issues. Business Group members
provide health coverage for more than 50 million U.S. workers, retirees and
their families. For more information about the Business Group, visit
www.businessgrouphealth.org.