How to Use Clinical Advocacy to Improve Healthcare Access for Employees

Meet the Speakers

Looking for Value?

The presence of an onsite nurse advocate doesn’t just lead to grateful employees.

It leads to value-driven, quality care..

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Accurate diagnoses +
Evidence-based treatment +
High-quality doctors +
Centers of Excellence
= $2 million in savings annually

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For HR managers and brokers, the work doesn’t end after they’ve put together the right benefits offerings. They face an ongoing challenge: To make sure the benefits are actually used.

“We have lots of great partnerships and lots of great programs, but employees really need someone to be able to bring it all together so that our employees have easy access and really understand what’s available to them.”

—Dr. Michael Lappi, Corning

Corning’s Solution

An onsite nurse advocate who builds trust with employees and families through personalized coaching and navigation.

Who is Corning

• A global tech company that makes specialty glass, ceramics, and advanced optics
• Corning has 10K employees in the US, split evenly across Millennials, Gen X-ers, and Boomers
• Focuses on a caring workplace and making the world a better place

The Benefits of an Onsite Nurse Advocate

• Acts as a liaison between employee, the health plan, the HR Team, and vendor partners. They’re the “glue” that holds everything together—and someone employees can “pop in” to talk to.
• Meets the employee where they are and empowers them to take the next steps.
• Provides critical medical decision support and surgery decision support.
• Connects employees to second opinions and the highest quality doctors and centers of excellence, taking into account physician gender preference, geographic preference, and language needs.
• Helps with “mistake” or “surprise” bills or confusing EOBs.
• Provides information in the way an employee prefers, at their level of health literacy, according to what they consider success.

“We layer in the participant’s preferences. So what might look like success for me for total knee replacement could be getting down and playing with the puppy on the floor. But for someone else it may mean running a marathon. And that has to be part of the equation.”

—Cindi Slater, ConsumerMedical

The Feedback

“We’re incredibly proud of what this program has been able to do for us. When you get this type of commentary, you know you’re on the right path.” —Dr. Michael Lappi, Corning

“I am writing to convey my appreciation for the help I have received this year from people like Stephanie Emerson, RN, my Nurse Ally from ConsumerMedical… it helps to have some continuity with people you can trust to talk to, from UHC and ConsumerMedical. I am grateful for these services. If more employees and retirees knew of these benefits, I believe better decisions and outcomes can be realized.”

“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this. What a terrific service you provide to people
in their hour of need!”

“I feel like a broken record, but you are so good… your bedside manner is really impressive and it’s obvious you are genuine. We are so fortunate to have you!”

Webinar Q&A

Q: What’s the learning curve for an onsite nurse advocate to fully learn a benefits portfolio?

A: “I was provided a robust onboarding from both ConsumerMedical and Corning. It allowed me to understand all that ConsumerMedical can provide to Corning—medical and surgical support, in-person and remote second opinions, and claims advocacy. I also trained with the health services and benefits team at Corning to understand how to refer and easily connect people to those benefits. I’ve worked on developing relationships with all the vendors. I have ongoing meetings with departments. I try to be the best support and resource that I can be and to optimize touch points and referral opportunities across the continuum.”

—Stephanie Emerson, Nurse Advocate

Q: How do you see the program evolving as people transition back to the office from remote work?

A: “There isn’t a universal answer. We need to be nimble with how we get back to work. Each client will have its own model. And we’ll have to reach into our toolbox and lean on increasing awareness to work with front line managers. We’ll go onsite and talk to employees about what we do and attend health fairs or vendor summits to increase awareness. When people come back to the office, there’s going to be lots of trepidation around reengaging in the health care system. Having that local hero will help with that; it’ll put the nurse advocates out in front so they can help drive the return to work.”

—Cindi Slater, ConsumerMedical