This is Healthcare: 2010 Conference

The Dallas Chamber hosted its’ first annual health care conference on May 21st at the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Dallas. Overall the event focused on how health care really affects employers both in and out of the health industry and had particular emphasis placed on promoting wellness in the community and workplace.

After a welcome by George Manning of Jones Day and Joel Allison of Baylor Health Care System, Bill Molmen of California-based Integrated Benefits Institute, IBI, was the first presenter to take the podium. He quickly set the stage for the entire conference by describing the business value of health which hit home for many attending employers. Through detailed slides and a plethora of statistical data, Molmen made the case for why a healthy workforce and environment is so essential to a productive company.

Mr. Molmen’s organization, IBI, provides employers and their supplier partners with evidence-based resources for demonstrating the business value of health. It is a non-profit, independent research organization supported by more than 500 employers and their supplier partners that offers free Premium Employer memberships. Benefits include monthly health & productivity research reports about employer issues, free or discounted use of health and productivity modeling and measurement tools, and more.

An introduction by Wally Gomaa of Holmes Murphy and Trajectory Health allowed the audience to gain a little background information on the next speaker that was not included in the official program biography. Mr. Gomaa listed Dennis Bishop’s distinguished background and record, but also included the fact that he once beat Andre Agassi in a tennis match. Bishop, also of Holmes Murphy, then gave a spectacular and rousing presentation on health reform and the future. Billed as one of the top speakers in the nation on the subject, Den lived up to and surpassed expectations. In an hour long speech that engaged, informed and enlightened the audience, he was simply magnificent and proved to be a leading authority on the subject.

Conference attendees also had the opportunity to attend specialized breakout sessions. The first, given by Garry Lindsay of Partnership for Prevention, was geared around tobacco cessation and the bottom line for employers. Still an immensely important topic for individuals and employers, Mr. Lindsay outlined methods to curb the use of tobacco products and how human resource departments can effectively aide in the process.

The second was Dr. Eduardo Sanchez of BlueCross BlueShield of Texas who highlighted the childhood obesity epidemic that has exploded across the nation in the past three decades and is currently hitting North Texas hard. He provided a wealth of data linking obesity to school performance, criminality, chronic disease, higher health care costs and more. Dr. Sanchez then explained various local government actions that could be undertaken to bend the fat curve, as well as steps to be taken by the community to prevent and reverse childhood obesity.

Re-convening in the main dining hall, Ron Lutz of Genesis Physicians Group introduced our luncheon speakers, whom the Chamber was privileged to have presenting. A tag-team effort of two top executives from Brinker International, John Hosea and Virginia Nisbet, spoke about their large task of providing people services, including benefits and compensation, to over 120,000 employees. Within the $4 billion company, they are leading a team that is thinking outside the box when it comes to the health and wellness of their employees. Realizing that a healthy worker is not only more productive but is also happier and maintains a longer life expectancy, they are taking extraordinary steps to ensure a healthy population. It was compelling to hear what specific projects they have underway and methods that have and have not worked for them over the past several years.

DRC would like to thank everyone who attended, as well as our phenomenal speakers, and our top sponsor Pfizer who was particularly pivotal in helping to pull off this first ever Chamber health care conference along with bronze sponsors Genesis Physicians Group and Texas Health Resources.

If you are a small employer that is still baffled by health reform and wondering what needs to be done to prepare for the new law, please make plans to attend our next event on June 17th. Our Small Business Meeting on Health Reform will be held in the Chamber Conference Center free of charge and includes experts that will guide businesses on what action needs to be taken and when. Please register in advance at www.dallaschamber.org/events.