Dr. Seema Parmar holds a PhD in international public health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is the senior director of Global Corporate Advisory Services at Cleveland Clinic Canada, a medical centre where physicians, wellness experts and management consultants help organizations improve employee health and manage organizational risk.
Dr. Shaan Chugh, MD FRCPC, is a practicing Internal Medicine Specialist, the interim physician lead for Global Corporate Advisory Services at Cleveland Clinic Canada, and chief medical director at Purolator.
A year ago, Glenn Sakaki received startling news that changed his life and is altering the way his company manages chronic disease. After a colonoscopy during a company-sponsored executive health assessment, doctors found a small tumour in his colon even though Mr. Sakaki showed no symptoms. Because his cancer was detected early, Mr. Sakaki – the global director of marketing and communications for Hatch, a Mississauga-based global engineering and consulting firm – recovered from his surgery in just four weeks and was back behind his desk in five. No chemotherapy, no radiation and no negative health implications.
Early detection played a critical role in Mr. Sakaki’s relatively short recovery – and its importance cannot be overstated. Detecting diseases such as cancer and diabetes early leads to better outcomes for people including a fuller quality of life, fewer side effects from aggressive treatment and lower mortality. It’s also better for organizations and their teams as early detection minimizes absenteeism, improves productivity and retains talent. Finally, it’s better for Canada’s health and social systems, which experience reduced demand for services and cost savings. For instance, late-stage diagnoses result in higher treatment costs. Canadian data shows costs for breast cancer treatment rose with severity, ranging from $15,588 for stage I to $137,319 for stage IV.
Canadian employers can motivate employees and equip them to make healthier decisions, seek timely and appropriate health care and advocate for themselves to obtain the services they need by innovating employee healthcare benefits and championing a culture of wellness. This may include integrating health and wellbeing discussions into employee training and performance conversations or adding virtual and preventive care to Employee and Family Assistance programs.
Mr. Sakaki’s story of early detection and rapid recovery is, unfortunately, not always the norm at a time when the burden of chronic disease is rising, particularly in younger people. Sun Life data shows that chronic disease-related claims are growing quicker for younger age groups, and many employees in their 30s and 40s are living with one or more chronic conditions. Recent Government of Canada statistics show 46 per cent of Canadians live with at least one major chronic disease. Meanwhile, the Canadian Cancer Society’s most recent report estimates that two in five Canadians will have cancer in their lifetimes and one in four will likely die from the disease unless we – as a society – become better educated and more proactive about taking care of our health.
While Hatch did so many things right, Mr. Sakaki realized that his company – like many others – needs to talk more about cancer and other chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, inflammatory conditions and obesity to make sure employees get the information and help they need. Since his recovery, Mr. Sakaki has started discussing his cancer with colleagues. He’s amazed at the number of people who appreciate his candor and share their personal stories about cancer and its impact.
With his encouragement, Hatch has held seminars with healthcare experts on cancer detection and treatment to motivate employees to get screened and provide guidance to those supporting a loved one with cancer. Recently, a lunchtime seminar on general cancers offered in North and South America attracted 700 employees (15 per cent of the Hatch workforce) – a turnout that shocked Mr. Sakaki and underscored deep employee interest in the topic. Employees appreciated the discussion and many subsequently booked appointments with their doctors.
Hatch is a leader but not the only Canadian company proactively supporting employees in detecting, preventing and dealing with chronic disease. Purolator, for instance, is currently piloting a program that includes on-site testing to employees for blood pressure, LDL cholesterol and diabetes, one of Canada’s most common chronic diseases and a risk factor for strokes and heart attacks. Moreover, screening for cholesterol, heart disease and various types of cancer can be done in private spaces at the workplace, thereby reducing barriers to testing.
In our work at Cleveland Clinic Canada with clients like Hatch, we stress the impact corporate culture, healthcare benefits, flexible workplace policies and boardroom and townhall conversations can have in identifying and supporting employees with chronic diseases.
However, every company is unique – a one-size-fits-all approach to health and wellness won’t work. We talk to employees at all levels to understand their specific health and organizational challenges before creating a bespoke plan to address their issues and cultivate healthy behaviours workforce-wide. This includes the appointment of medical directors. These physicians are dedicated to our clients and leverage our multidisciplinary group of clinicians, researchers and business consultants to develop customized health and wellness programs, mitigate organizational risks and enhance corporate performance.
The environment today around chronic disease in the workplace reminds Mr. Sakaki of the pandemic, when corporate Canada recognized and invested in supporting employees’ mental health.
“Now, we talk about mental health at Hatch every day, all the time,” he said. “I hope that the discussions we are having about chronic diseases also help our people become educated, understand the risks, prevent disease and be well. It’s great that we have a workplace that supports and encourages people to talk about cancer and get the testing and care that they need.”
The coming tsunami of chronic disease will impact Canadian companies, driven by rising obesity rates, sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy diets and higher stress. While Canada’s strained medical health system is ultimately responsible for Canadians’ healthcare, we all have a responsibility when it comes to Canadians’ overall health. Companies should recognize that investing upfront in chronic disease information-sharing, detection, benefits and support will help protect employee health and improve business continuity.
This column is part of Globe Careers’ Leadership Lab series, where executives and experts share their views and advice about the world of work. Find all Leadership Lab stories at tgam.ca/leadershiplab and guidelines for how to contribute to the column here.