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Business Journals
20-05-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Table of Experts: Investing in employee health pays off
Portland Business Journal Publisher and President Candace Beeke recently convened a roundtable on how the business community is focusing on the health and wellness of employees. She spoke with Michael Cole, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon president; Gina Delahunt, Bridgetown Natural Foods vice president of Human Resources; Elizabeth Garvin, Certified Language International senior vice president of Human Resources; Dr. Phil Mitchell, Dispatch Health chief medical officer; and Kathleen Quandee, Pacific Coast Fresh Company vice president of Human Resources. Read on for their thoughts and ideas. Candace Beeke: One's work environment and health benefits have a direct impact on their overall health. What are employers doing to help keep employees and customers healthy? Michael Cole: As a health plan working with employers, a big piece is establishing good partnerships between payers and employer groups. We want to understand employees to make sure we are tackling the biggest and most important problems. We focus on providing education about the tools and benefits out there. The other role we play in the community is working with our health system providers and those facilities to make sure we have affordability and access covered as two of our biggest priorities. For Regence as an employer, physical, emotional, financial and social well-being all matter. We think about those four pillars and try to (find solutions) that meet the needs of our employees. There are things we do to ensure employees are healthy and have access to resources — virtual checkups, biometric screenings, video consultations. We have the Summer Games. Last year, 2,000 employees walked nearly 450 million steps, nearly 225,000 miles, over 30 days. We encourage employees to join a team to be socially connected. We think about emotional intelligence. Learning about behavioral health care and how to take away the stigma; yearly financial wellness checkups; self-guided lessons around social well-being. We are data driven. Engagement — we had close to an 80% participation rate in our employee well-being program. All this matters as we think about reduced absenteeism, competitive advantage in recruiting and retention. Kathleen Quandee: Overall, making sure people know how to use their benefits and be good health care consumers because benefits are expensive. We're always looking at where to spend the money to get the most benefit for our employees. We have a very diverse group of employees. We try to reach out in many languages. It's hard enough to understand your benefits if you speak English. Cost matters for all of us, not just the employee, but also the employer and the health plan. We teach our people how to use benefits and be good consumers. We sit down with every employee in their language of choice and go over the benefits. We spend a lot of time communicating and overcommunicating. We also try to reach the families. For example, when we give a baby gift, we include information about infant health care or about being a new parent. Gina Delahunt: Meet your team members where they are. You can have an amazing benefit plan, but if people don't know how to use it, it's much less valuable. We have 50 different languages, so helping employees understand the plan, find a provider — the sites where you can pick your language make a huge difference to employees learning to trust health care. Many folks who come from non-English-speaking communities are not ready to trust health care, but they do trust us. We need to be that bridge. We find mobile-friendly apps they can use because most of these folks don't have a computer; they're doing all this on their phone. Dr. Phil Mitchell: We meet patients where they are by delivering high-acuity care in their home. It's the ability to care for patients before they get too sick and end up going to the hospital. For folks with lots of chronic conditions, delaying care is going to make things worse. A patient with pneumonia who's seen on day two of their symptoms versus day 10 has a lot better opportunity to get better quicker, get back to work and is healthier in the long run. If you deliver care in the home, the patient is more empowered to speak their mind and make decisions for themselves. Elizabeth Garvin: It's about the benefits being a benefit for your employees to use when they need it. Sometimes access needs to be in a place where they don't need to come and ask someone for it, like a homepage. So the accessibility of the benefit, in general, is important. Beeke: What's the benefit of healthy employees to the business? What emerging trends in benefits are you seeing? Challenges you anticipate in the next three to five years? Garvin: If you have a healthy employee, they're going to come to work, be engaged, be productive. They're going to want to be there without having to think about what's going on at home or within their own bodies or minds. Mental health has gained a lot of traction. There's a long way to go, but I think we're seeing more and more of that pick up speed in the workplace as a need and destigmatizing it. Cost is always going to be a factor. Affordability is the biggest challenge, and balancing that with the need to be competitive, and then providing a meaningful benefit. Cole: About 10%-20% of total population health is tied to actual medical care; the other 80%-90% is social and environmental factors — income, education, social connectedness. It's important to figure out how to use benefits to create connections, positivity and well-being. Affordability and access are still going to be incredibly important. There's a real concern out there in just having registered nurses, primary care doctors available. Affordability will also be a continuing trend at least for the next couple of cycles. The legislative environment is hard to predict, and it impacts things, including safety nets like Medicaid and Medicare. How do we have benefit plans that are bulletproof against some of these macro issues? Quandee: Physical, mental, emotional, social, all types of health — it all works together. With primary care, it will continue to be a challenge to find providers, which is why telehealth and virtual appointments are important. We encourage employees to get a primary care provider while they're healthy because that person becomes their advocate for whatever else they need. We had a consultant who said if you want your money to go far in retirement, the biggest financial decision you can make is to take care of your health. Think about how much money goes into caregivers or the cost of health care as you age. Finding messages like that to share with people when they're younger has to be part of our message. Delahunt: Since Paid Leave Oregon kicked off, we have more people taking advantage of that to have a baby, care for an ailing relative, which is great, but does create an absenteeism issue. How do we staff extra people? We're a low-margin business, so it's something we're trying to wrestle with. We have a recognition program, called Dough, where employees can nominate each other for something they did that was positive. They exchange that 'dough' at a farmstand once a month and they leave with huge sacks full of produce. It's another way to get fresh food into our employees' hands. Mitchell: Timely access to care is going to decrease long-term effects on patients. Patients who have chronic conditions and start to have symptoms typically wait about seven days to go to the emergency department. Maybe they've tried to access primary care, but can't; there's a shortage in many locations. By the time they hit the emergency department, they're much worse off. So timely access to care will get employees back to work in a more appropriate timeframe once their symptoms are understood, potentially treated and on the road to recovery. Virtual services have come out of the pandemic and mobile services will as well. If you can get care in the home, as opposed to waiting at an urgent care or emergency department, you're talking about hours of time — and time is money. Beeke: Health care costs continue to rise. Preventive care or proactively managing health conditions are critical to curbing costs. Any innovative approaches? Cole: Communication continues to be most important. Leveraging technology, having the mobile app, getting the reminder to refill a prescription or about the value of wellness is a very easy one-touch process. There are incentives to participate in wellness — credits, giveaways or awareness campaigns that are continuous and build upon each other. The communication loop is important. We have to continue to leverage tools and educate people about why it's important to engage in preventive care. Mitchell: When I think about social determinants of health, where better to determine that than in the patient's home. Patients can look really well put together when they're in your office. However, in their home, you get to see all of the issues that may be impacting their care, whether it's pets, clutter or other things. We learn a lot about the patient by being in their home. You get to determine if there are obstacles to them being healthy and then make sure to plug that patient into the next care provider. You get an opportunity to see what patients are eating. They can tell you one thing, but when you open the cabinets and the refrigerator, you can see what the truth is and help them. Quandee: A lot of employees may have a dated idea of employee assistance programs, that it's only the crisis hotline. But there are so many services available online, besides during an emergency — financial counseling, services for caregivers and even basic ones for managers and supervisors. There's a wealth of resources out there — leveraging EAPs, bringing people in or having a department webinar viewing party. Beeke: Is anyone measuring ROI with their programs and employee adoption and the value you feel you're seeing? Cole: ROI is usually associated with straight math, and with health care, it's never a straight line. ROI is measured in what doesn't happen — you didn't go to the emergency room or have a more serious event. You're seeing it in the absence of trauma or anxiety. It's a cost being taken out of the system. There's also a lot of workforce mobility. It's hard to track somebody who's in a company for two years and they're moving on. How do you track their wellness journey around ROI? You're paying it forward. Delahunt: Our safety awareness events generally focus on non-work-related topics. It might be winter driving or heat stress, things you can do at home. It's not just about how we can save money. It's how can we keep you healthy and safe, along with your families, at home. We have about 20 different subcommittees. If an employee has an idea, they can get a small group together and form a subcommittee for a short period to focus on something. It doesn't have to be work-related. Helping employees see that safety and their well-being is not just about work. Beeke: If a business doesn't have any of these solutions, programs or initiatives, where is a good place to start? What are the challenges? Garvin: Start with the plan you already have and your employee base. What is it you're trying to solve? Find out what's missing, where are the gaps, and then begin with simple things that can have a high impact. EAP is great. It's not just about calling for mental health help, it's financial help, where to find care providers. If you want to buy a home, what are your next steps? But keep it simple, and you have to manage it. Talk to your broker, plan advisers. You don't have to do it alone. Does it balance with the culture that you have within your organization? Mitchell: Listen to your employees. There are going to be behavioral health issues that you have to address in every organization. Patients who come into the hospital have different reasons for being admitted. They have emphysema, COPD, heart failure, kidney failure. But if you look across the hospital, somewhere between 40%-60% of those patients are there, not only because of that entity, but also because of alcohol abuse or tobacco or some other substance. So have those thoughts in place when you're setting up programs. Quandee: Cost can be a perceived barrier to getting started. But there are a lot of simple things that are very low cost and easy. For example, National Watermelon Day is a big day here — everybody goes home with a watermelon. A lot of people who don't have a primary care provider, or are culturally not used to it, go to the emergency department, even if it's not necessary. You wait forever and it costs you a lot of money. So we had magnets printed for each employee that had their closest urgent care. It could change, and hours could change, but at least it gives them a place to go. We do events throughout the year. We gather free and low-cost activities in our communities — help groups, library, farmers markets, summer camps. You know what a large amount of time it takes to find camps. If we can find some that are subsidized, that's a good service to our employees. Cole: Getting a sense of what's important to employees. Put out a simple survey. They'll give you plenty of feedback. Our Fun Committee is all volunteer. Employees put together things to do throughout the year — an activity or recognizing something or Halloween costumes. It's exciting to see it come to life and create positivity in the workforce. That allows for engagement. Mitchell: Your health plan may already have some in-network solutions; you don't have to invent everything yourself. Look at what the health plan has, and then who are the trusted partners within that, and options for whatever you're looking for. Save yourself the brainwork of having to reinvent the wheel. Beeke: How can we work together to help curb or control health care costs? Cole: Affordability is the top concern amongst employers, members and their families. We've seen close to a 25% increase in costs over a four-year period. We're spending 90 cents of every dollar that comes in on medical care. As a payer, we want to make sure we're providing affordable products, access to information, transparency, partnership with providers, dialogue with employers and customers. We need to educate those who are accessing care, ensure they understand the importance of preventive care and blow away any stigma surrounding behavioral health. We're all in this together and need to understand that we can be helpful to one another; continue to educate and give each other the tools to be successful. If we can do that, we'll be at a much better spot in the long run. Mitchell: We've known for decades that you don't have to do things the traditional way to save health care costs, but we haven't had a big impetus to push in that direction. The pandemic put us in a position where we can say virtual care is care and should just be called health care. In the '90s, in the United States as well as other countries, they were hospitalizing patients in the home with better outcomes because they weren't experiencing infections or the debilitation from being in a hospital bed. Sometimes you have to go to the emergency department. There's a cost. Sometimes you have to be admitted to the hospital. There's another cost. That same patient can have oxygen, antibiotics, nursing care and PT brought to the home and experience care in a different way at a much lower cost. We have to keep thinking innovatively. The experts: Michael Cole, president, Regence BlueCross BlueShield. As president, Michael Cole oversees strategy and growth for Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, which serves nearly 1 million Oregonians. Cole has over two decades of executive health care leadership experience in a variety of industries, including payer, payment integrity and health care diagnostics. Throughout his career, he has built strong, collaborative and results-driven cultures. Before joining Regence, Cole served as Aetna's president of the North Atlantic territory and president of the Aetna Keystone Market overseeing the commercial, Medicare and individual lines of business. Gina Delahunt, vice president of Human Resources, Bridgetown Natural Foods. Gina Delahunt spent the first decade of her career in the insurance and risk management industry. She began her legal career as an attorney at Davis Rothwell Earle & Xochihua and United Employers Association before transitioning to an HR leadership role at Dave's Killer Bread. Delahunt joined the Bridgetown Natural Foods team in 2016 and has led the HR department and been a member of the Senior Leadership Team since then. Delahunt received her MBA from the University of Portland and her law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School. Dr. Phil Mitchell, chief medical officer, Dispatch Health. Dr. Phil Mitchell brings over 20 years of emergency department experience and a strong background in patient safety, quality management and clinical education. As chief medical officer at DispatchHealth, he leads teams focused on clinical medicine, quality, compliance and patient experience. A champion of evidence-based care and innovation, Mitchell has chaired Utilization Management and Quality committees, and has been actively involved in training medical students, nurse practitioners and physician assistants throughout his career. Elizabeth Garvin, senior VP of HR, Certified Languages International. Elizabeth Garvin, SHRM-SCP, is a seasoned human resources leader with over 20 years of experience helping Certified Languages build a strong, people-centered culture. As the senior VP of Human Resources, she champions employee well-being, leadership development and strategic workforce planning. Known for her collaborative approach and belief that we rise by lifting others, Garvin is passionate about creating environments where people can thrive — both personally and professionally. Kathleen Quandee, vice president of Human Resources, Pacific Coast Fresh Company. Kathleen Quandee is vice president of Human Resources for Pacific Coast Fresh Company, where she's led the company's people strategy since 2011. Quandee was recognized by the Portland Business Journal for HR Leadership and has volunteered with several community organizations. She is currently a member of the Talent Advisory Committee for the International Fresh Produce Association and is on the Advisory Board for the Assistance League of Portland. While she's always loved fresh fruit and vegetables, joining Pacific Coast Fresh Company has given Quandee a deeper appreciation for fresh produce, family businesses and the people who put so much effort into growing and delivering safe and healthy food.
Business Journals
25-04-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Skanska USA's Trevor Wyckoff talks Vancouver development
By submitting your information you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy and User Agreement . Skanska's GM says the Vancouver building department is the best he's ever worked with. After 25 years working for Skanska USA, Trevor Wyckoff in December took over as general manager for the firm's Oregon and Southwest Washington region. He's a 30-year Vancouver resident and said more than 50 of the firm's craft and salaried employees call SW Washington home. Wyckoff sat down with Portland Business Journal Publisher Candace Beeke on April 10 to kick off the PBJ's first ever Grow Vancouver event, held at the AC Hotel on the city's waterfront. GET TO KNOW YOUR CITY Find Local Events Near You Connect with a community of local professionals. Explore All Events See also: The two talked about what makes Vancouver a good market for projects. Here are lightly edited takeaways from the conversation. On why Vancouver is a prime market for development The building department here is by far and away the best that I've ever had the opportunity to work with. The last two projects that we've done, the Mountain View High School and the School for the Deaf, we had expectations on our side and the client side for duration, for permitting, and they were probably tight. We met early on with the building department, went through what we were hoping to get out of permit timelines and then they set their expectations. It was extraordinarily collaborative process. (There is also) a large group of subcontractors and a large craft contingent based here in Clark County, so when we do projects in Vancouver, we know that we're going to get really good subcontractor participation. On how the Vancouver Waterfront has been a "game changer" I think this waterfront is one. I remember around 20 years ago when I first heard about this project. I'd been living in Vancouver for about 10 years, and I wasn't sure if it would actually take off. At the time, my wife and I wouldn't come downtown. Weekends and evenings, you would not see people downtown at all in Vancouver. What's happened over the last several years here has been a real game changer. As a community member, the pride that I have in what's happened here in this waterfront, and what that's done for the city of Vancouver, it's just amazing. On Skanska's work in Vancouver We're very excited about the growth that's happening here in Vancouver and the opportunities that will present for us as a company. So we're making a conscious effort to put more of a focus on Southwest Washington and Vancouver. One thing that is extremely exciting to us is that recently we were awarded the city of Vancouver's Maintenance and Operations Center. That is a project that we have been chasing, and we identified about three or four years ago as one that we really wanted to win.
Los Angeles Times
27-03-2025
- Automotive
- Los Angeles Times
California now has more EV charging ports than gas nozzles
There has been a shift in what moves California. Electric vehicle charging ports now outnumber gas nozzles across the Golden State, a sign of the increasing number of zero-emission vehicles on the road. But the milestone arrives as the federal government has moved to deprioritize the shift away from gasoline-powered cars. California has steadily amassed its EV charging network with both public and private charging ports over the last few years. In 2024, California boasted 178,500 total EV ports compared to around 120,000 estimated gas nozzles, according to the California Energy Commission. The number of accessible chargers across California has nearly doubled since 2022. Just since August, the last time these figures were publicly updated, the state has recorded roughly 26,000 additional publicly accessible EV chargers. The commission estimates that more than 162,000 chargers are Level 2, which can provide roughly 14 to 35 miles of range per hour of charging, and nearly 17,000 are considered fast chargers — which juice up a vehicle in minutes. Many hybrid vehicles are not equipped to work with fast chargers, however. More than 700,000 Level 2 chargers are installed across the state in single-family homes, according to state estimates. All of this expansion is taking place as California aims to ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles in the state by 2035 — though those plans have come under fire by the Trump administration and congressional Republicans. 'The California EV driver experience is getting better by the day,' CEC Chairman David Hochschild said in a statement. 'The state will continue to heavily invest in EV infrastructure, with particular emphasis in hard-to-reach areas, making these vehicles an easy choice for new car buyers.' Part of the dramatic increase in the statewide tally is due to new data sources that track operational chargers, though there has also been a large increase in new chargers installed, the agency said. Roughly 73,500 chargers were incorporated into the state's data in 2024, but only approximately 38,000 of those were newly installed chargers. Nationwide, the EV market now has to tangle with a major obstacle: the White House. The Trump administration has signaled fierce opposition and taken steps to reverse policies enacted by former President Biden that were intended to bolster the EV market and phase out gas-powered vehicles — including the goal for EVs to make up half of new cars sold in the U.S. by 2030. The federal government has paused a $15-million grant to expand Oregon's EV charging network, according to the Portland Business Journal, and the Miami Herald reports a similar pattern for Florida's plans to build more EV charging ports. In August, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded 29 states, eight federally recognized tribes and the District of Columbia $521 million to expand the nation's EV charging network. California received nearly $150 million for the construction of more than 9,200 EV charging ports, with $15 million meant to go toward building them in underserved communities in Los Angeles County. Across the country and Puerto Rico, there are more than 77,300 EV charging stations and roughly 216,400 public ports, according to the latest federal data from the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation.
