Training, Coaching and Guiding

Feb 23rd, 2012 | by CareSource

We are honored to be recognized for a third year in a row as one of Training magazine’s Top 125 companies that excel at staff development and training.

Listed at #14 on the Top 125 list, we join the ranks of some of the nation’s largest and most successful organizations including Farmers Insurance, the United States Navy and Coldwell Banker. The past two years, we have been ranked in the top 15.

“We are honored and extremely excited to be recognized again,” said Pamela Morris, President and CEO. “This is a testament to our exceptional training and development programs that continue to evolve and grow.”

With choices from more than 500 curriculum offerings, CareSource University provides career planning and development resources to all employees, including clinical licensure programs, new employee training, leadership and career development and coaching.

“Our organization is unique in that we place a high emphasis on learning and career development,” stated Jackie Smith, Vice President of CareSource University. “I believe successful organizations, like CareSource, realize the importance of training their employees as well as offering ongoing coaching and development programs. I am honored to be a part of an organization that places such a high value on employee development.”     

Two CareSource employees know the the importance of ongoing training and development firsthand.

“Over the years I have had the privilege of working for several large Fortune 500 companies, but none of them had a training program as relevant and accessible as CareSource’s,” Mark Quick, Business Analyst, stated.

“I am grateful for the opportunities I have been given to learn and grow,” said Heather Boehmer, Grievance and Appeals Specialist. “The skills I have gained through the development classes have not only helped me earn a promotion and grow professionally, but have led me to take a far more active role in my own destiny.”

 Training magazine selects 125 global and national organizations annually that exhibit best training practices, evaluation methods and outstanding training initiatives. Honorees range in size from Fortune 500 companies to smaller organizations of 100 plus employees. Judging is based upon elements such as scope of development programs, financial investment in employee development, and how closely training efforts are linked to business goals and objectives.

“We are honored to be recognized again and to be in the same category with nationally known organizations,” Smith added. “We look forward to continuing to train our employees in a way that is innovative, personalized and immediately applicable to our organizational objectives.”

It’s Good to Be On Top

Jan 30th, 2012 | by CareSource

We are honored to be named 1 of 60 organizations on the Dayton Daily News’ Top Work Places list. We placed #8 out of 10 in the large business category.

This is a testament to all of our employees not just in the Dayton office, but in Columbus, Cleveland and Lansing, Michigan. It reminds us of the outstanding culture and professional environment we have cultivated. 

Join our team. We are hiring! View our jobs and apply online.

Top 10: Large Business Category  

1. Coldwell Banker Heritage Realtors 
2. MacAulay-Brown Inc.
3. The Hospice of Dayton Inc.
4. Miami Valley Career Technology Center
5. Gem City Homecare
6. St. Leonard
7. Hillsboro City Schools
8. CareSource
9. Comfort Keepers Miami Valley
10. Dayton Children’s Medical Center

Can It Happen to Your Baby?

Jan 19th, 2012 | by CareSource

Guest post by Jessica Bertolo, Credentialing

While most birth defects cannot be prevented because their causes are not known, women can take a number of steps before and during pregnancy to reduce their risk. These steps include taking a multivitamin containing 400 micrograms of folic acid daily starting before pregnancy and in early pregnancy. This helps to prevent serious birth defects of the brain and spinal cord, including spina bifida, and may also help prevent heart defects. Another step is getting a pre-pregnancy check-up and making sure that the medications you are taking are safe to use during pregnancy.

The March of Dimes is a great resource to pregnant women, especially those at risk for birth defects.

Since the late 1950’s, The March of Dimes has developed and promoted numerous initiatives to advance this field as part of their mission to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. March of Dimes also awards research grants aimed at understanding the causes of birth defects and advocacy priorities focus on authorization and funding for birth defects surveillance, research and prevention at the federal and state level.

Many families walk and raise dollars to support the work that the March of Dimes conducts targeting birth defects. The Cornell Family of Dayton reached out to the March of Dimes following the birth of their son, Carter, in January, 2011. At twenty, parents Blair and Kat found out that their new baby would be a boy. That same day, they also received news that their baby appeared to have multiple birth defects. After additional testing, it was confirmed that their baby would be born with clubbed feet and that his brain had multiple signs of developmental abnormalities. Eventually, their baby was diagnosed with a birth defect called Dandy-Walker Malformation, a brain malformation that occurs during embryonic development and leads to abnormally high pressure within the skull and swelling of the head that can lead to neurological impairment. Doctors prepared Blair and Kat for a baby with moderate to severe physical and/or mental disabilities in the event he would even survive. With these brain abnormalities it was highly likely that their baby would also be born preterm creating additional health concerns.

Carter Thompson Cornell was born full term, just one week before his due date, miraculously eating and breathing on his own. He had a shunt placed to drain excess fluid off of his brain when he was just six days old. Over the past year, Carter has had many medical appointments as his team of doctors attempt to diagnose and meet his medical needs. He is currently undergoing treatment for his clubbed feet and is receiving occupational and physical therapy on a regular basis. Although, Carter is developmentally delayed he is gaining strength and making continual progress. In his spare time, Carter loves to laugh and play with his big sister Caitlin. He recently reached his one year goal of sitting up on his own. He is one special boy! 

In 2011, employees and clients of UBS Financial Services, Inc., Blair’s employer, raised $10,000 to support the March of Dimes work to fight birth defects. This April, the Cornell Family along with the UBS

Financial Services Team will once again be walking at the Miami Valley March for Babies. For more information on the Dayton March of Dimes chapter, log on to  http://www.marchofdimes.com/ohio.

What You Think Matters

Jan 11th, 2012 | by CareSource

If you are a CareSource member, join our new iConnect program and share your ideas with us. Your point of view helps us design medical benefits, customer service and wellness programs. iConnect will let you choose how you want to communicate with us. You can text or email us or join us on Facebook and Twitter.

We’ll also give you the chance to come to face-to-face meetings. Some members will be picked
to join our CareSource ambassador program.

This is your time to be heard. To join, call (888) 882-3613, email iConnect@CareSource.com or fill out our web form at www.caresource.com/iconnect. As a thank you, we will send you an iConnect t-shirt.

Now’s your time to be heard.

CareSource Named Healthiest Employer

Jul 8th, 2011 | by CareSource

CareSource was named one of Dayton Business Journal’s first ever Top 10 Healthiest Employers. The awards are given to Dayton-based organizations that incorporate wellness programming in the areas of culture and leadership commitment, foundational components, strategic planning, communication and marketing, and programming and interventions.

The Healthiest Employer program participants were scored after completing an online assessment that measures wellness programming in six key categories.

Over five years ago, our passion for health and wellness led to the creation of our official employee wellness program. The mission of our Employees First wellness program is to establish, encourage and maintain a culture of health and well-being that promotes healthy lifestyles through education, environment and policies to support employee efforts.

 The Top 10 winners are:

• Brower Insurance Agency 
• CareSource
• City of Kettering
• Dayton Metro American Heart Association
• DMAX Ltd. 
• McGohan Brabender 
• Midmark Corp. 
• NewPage Corp.
• Shumsky
• YMCA of Greater Dayton 

Pinnacle Award

Jun 9th, 2011 | by CareSource

CareSource was recognized with a Pinnacle Award at the 2011 Ohio Association of Health Plan’s Annual Convention. The Pinnacle Award is presented to the top overall entry in each category. There were only three Pinnacle Award winners. Our Care Management team was recognized with the top honor in the Health Care Programs category for their Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Care Transitions Program.

The CareSource NICU Care Transitions Program eases the transition for babies in the NICU to home by pairing experienced NICU Case Managers with parents and providers to create a comprehensive transition plan. The program works to safely send high risk infants home and to lower utilization and reduce hospital stays.

Congratulations to the Care Management team for their outstanding Care Transitions Program and for being recognized with such a prestigious award.

Find a Doctor

May 16th, 2011 | by CareSource

We have updated our Find a Doctor tool. Now it’s easier than ever to find a health care provider who participates with CareSource.  And you can use it any time – day or night. 

Get information on providers such as:

• Address and phone number
• Accepting new patients
• Specialty type
• Maps and driving directions
• Languages spoken

How do I use the Find a Doctor tool?

• Click on the Find a Doctor button located on the homepage of our website
• Select the state you live in
• Follow the instructions when prompted

There’s never been an easier way to search our current list of providers. We verify our data and update it daily, but you should always confirm with the provider. If you have questions, call Member Services at 800-488-0134.

Ideas to Decrease Poverty

Apr 6th, 2011 | by CareSource

CareSource held its first Consumer Advocacy Summit in Columbus, Ohio recently to solicit “big ideas” from Ohio’s most influential consumer advocacy groups to identify high impact strategies that could decrease the number of Ohioans living in poverty. Once identified, the “big idea” will be supported through a $1 million grant opportunity funded by the CareSource Foundation – marking the largest commitment made in the Foundation’s five year history. Approximately 30 key groups representing a wide variety of issues ranging from children’s health and welfare to aging, homelessness and disabilities were all in attendance.   

Summit participants identified several key challenges faced among Ohio’s poor, particularly among the Medicaid population.  

The list of issues included the following:

• Transportation  
• Access to quality health care
• Access to education
• Successful transition from childhood to adulthood
• Violence
• Racism
• Discrimination
• Living wage job availability
• Proximity to environmental pollutions
• Affordable housing
• Access to banking
• Health literacy and disparities
• Systemic issues that promote the cycle of poverty  

Strategies for combating these issues were also discussed which included a substantial listing of initiatives that appear to be making a positive impact on Ohio communities today.

In general, group participants agreed that if the change is to be substantial, it must:

1. Be targeted toward a key area of the state and that
2. CareSource should consider being the catalyst for pooling additional resources from other corporations to ensure the “big idea” is both significant and sustainable.

Given the wealth of information provided during the summit, CareSource staff plan to identify common themes among the data collected and use it to inform the grant allocation which is expected to be awarded in the coming months.

We would love to hear what your ideas are. Please share your thoughts here.

It’s Good to Be #10

Feb 25th, 2011 | by OurHealthCareSource.com

A few weeks ago, CareSource was awarded the Top 125 award by Training Magazine for the second year in a row. Last year, we placed #78. This year, we placed #10.

We join the ranks with some of America’s largest and most successful companies including Best Buy, FedEx, McDonalds and MetLife.

Every year, Training magazine selects 125 global and national organizations that exhibit best training practices, evaluation methods and outstanding training initiatives. Awardees range in size from Fortune 500 companies to smaller organizations of 100 plus employees. Judging is based upon elements such as scope of development programs, financial investment in employee development, and how closely training efforts are linked to business goals and objectives.

CareSource University (CSU) offers more than 500 training programs and classes and is a full-service career planning and development resource to all employees. We have made a commitment to invest in our employees – to help them be their very best both in the community and in their job. And our employees appreciate what CSU has to offer.

Our latest employee engagement survey told us that 57% of employees rated our training and development opportunities better than other companies and 86% rated it better than or equal to other companies.

As I was writing this blog post, I attended CSU’s poverty simulation class. It’s designed to provide our employees with a better understanding of what it’s like to experience the daily realities and frustrations of a family in poverty. It was certainly an eye-opening experience. I will blog about that next.

Does your organization invest in training and development programs? Do you think it’s important for an employer to do?

Here are the 2011 Top Ten Training award winners. We are honored to be a part of this group.

1. Farmers Insurance
2. The Economical Insurance Group
3. Verizon
4. SCC Soft Computer
5. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.
6. EMC Corporation
7. United States Navy
8. Vanguard
9. Microsoft
10. CareSource

Written by Betsy Woods, Media Relations Specialist at CareSource

One Smart Mom

Feb 17th, 2011 | by OurHealthCareSource.com

All Medicaid programs are required to cover pregnant women who meet income requirements. Providing this coverage increases the chances for babies to be born healthy and get a fresh start on life. However, just getting “coverage” for benefits does not always mean pregnant women will proactively obtain the services she needs when she needs them. This is especially challenging in households faced with limited income, education or even a regular means of transportation. 

As a result, Medicaid health plans like CareSource develop creative strategies for encouraging expectant mothers to get prenatal care early and provide resources that will help them understand how to raise a healthy child. That’s why CareSource has officially partnered with “text4baby” to offer a new service directly to its members. 

This imaginative program offers expectant and new moms an opportunity to get health information delivered directly to their cellular phone to help them care for themselves and their newborn. All they have to do is simply text the word BABY (or BEBE for Spanish) to 511411. They’ll be asked to enter their baby’s due date or their baby’s birthday and their zip code.

Once registered, they will start receiving free messages with tips for their pregnancy and caring for their baby. These messages are timed according to their due date or their baby’s birth date. If their due date changes, they can text UPDATE to 511411 and enter their new due date.

Many of us can remember the days when this information was only available books with several hundreds of pages and volumes with conflicting information and varying literacy levels.  But getting this kind of information delivered directly to a cell phone? Such a cool concept! It’s short, simple, customized and sent on a regular basis. All they have to do is look at their phone!

And that’s part of the reason why we partnered with “text4baby.”  We are totally committed to ensuring good health for mom and baby, and proud that many of our members who are pregnant show such an appreciation for our prenatal program.  Pregnant members enjoy individual case management, gift cards for attending prenatal visits on time and transportation if needed. Plus, once the baby is born, we provide regular follow up with the new mother to ensure postpartum and well-child checkups are scheduled to ensure the child has the necessary screening needed to thrive and be successful.

In our opinion, “text4baby” simply makes our job more visible for mom and child.  It integrates well with our responsibility of helping our pregnant members stay healthy and upbeat about one of life’s biggest accomplishments – motherhood.