Worcester Business Journal

18 Worcester Business Journal | January 20, 2020 | wbjournal.com 10) The needs are increasing. The needs of people served by the healthcare and human service systems are increasing – mental health challenges, substance use disorders, trauma, homelessness, food insecurity and more. These needs make it more critical we approach care as whole-person care and be sure to include supports to address social determinants. 9) Social determinants of health contribute more than 60% of an individual's health status. Social and environmental factors such as housing, nutrition, employment status contribute in a big way to the health and wellbeing of everyone. 8) Healthcare and human services systems must continue to align with and support each other. Each sector has unique strengths, and by working together we can leverage those strengths to improve the health of our community. 7) Cultural responsiveness and inclusion matter. We must provide culturally responsive, equitable and inclusive supports. We must make intentional efforts to ensure our organizations are reflective of and responsive to the communities we serve. 6) There is a workforce crisis. Our society must more strongly value the work of the direct care professionals who provide services for the most vulnerable among us. 5) There is an increased focus on value-based care. The health and human service system is moving away from fee-for-service payment struc- tures to one valuing quality over quantity. To thrive, we must collect and share data demonstrating the impact we are having on people's wellbeing. 4) An aging population brings additional challenges. 10,000 people turn 65 every day in this country, putting more pressure on healthcare and human services. More people will need more ser- vices while fewer workers remain to provide those services. Moving the focus of care from institutions to home- and community-based supports, as well as exploring technology use, will be needed. 3) Technological advancements are vital. Technology must be leveraged to improve patient outcomes and experiences, while reducing costs. 2) Grassroots community organizations are critically important. While the integration of health and human services is ongoing, grassroots community organizations and initiatives must remain strong and engaged in creating healthy communities. 1) Peer supports will continue to grow. Peers enhance the recovery of people with mental and substance-use disorders. Peers offer their unique lived experience and work one-on-one as role models, mentors, coaches and advocates. K N O W H O W Keep your advertising honest 10 1: P O L I C Y D E V E L O P M E N T M ission statements seem to be getting a lot of buzz these days. But old-fashioned rules – also known as policies and procedures – still have important roles in keeping companies safe, organized and nondiscriminatory, and shouldn't be overlooked. Experts say a balance needs to be set between too many policies and too few – where a free-for- all environment is detrimental to the company overall. Recognize situations needing policies, including inappropriate attire (dress code) or behavior (internet use), according to eBalanceCareers.com's Susan M. Heathfield. Legal protection for the company, such as fair hiring or promotion practices, is another reason to establish or revamp policy, as is compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, for example. Safety and fairness are other main themes, establishing consistency for things like jury duty or tuition assistance. "ere may be other reasons to develop a policy, but don't let one employee's poor behavior force implementation of a policy that will affect others," writes Heathfield. Get stakeholder buy-in. A sure way to get new-policy implementation off to a shaky start is by letting it take team members by surprise. Before legal-counsel review, communicate with managers and supervisors who will be upholding the policy. "Include why the new policy (or revision) is needed, address the impact the policy will have on the stakeholder's area(s) and address any potential thoughts or concerns the stakeholders may have," advises SHRM.org. Don't forget newbies. Policies and procedures need to be folded into orientation classes. New team members should have an employee manual and sign a statement they've read it, with a copy of the statement put in the employee's file, says George N. Root III at BizFluent. com. "Designate one person per department to be responsible for assisting employees with policy issues. Those … representatives should be given a separate monthly training on any upcoming changes," he says, with additions or policy revisions distributed to all employees as needed. 1 0 T H I NG S I know about . . . ...Healthcare and human services integration BY NANCY B. CAHALEN Special to the Worcester Business Journal T ruth-in-advertising is a cornerstone of Better Business Bureau's mission to build marketplace trust. We have decades of experience keeping a watchful eye on advertisements to identify cases of misleading, deceptive or untruthful advertising. We call this process advertising review. BBB monitors a wide range of advertisements, including internet, print, television and radio, as well as company websites based on our Code of Advertising. is code aims to help businesses avoid creating advertisements and websites with insincere offers to sell a product or claims that are misleading, untrue, deceptive, fraudulent or falsely disparaging of competitors. I'll share with you an overview of some of the standards we use to evaluate advertisement. To start with, advertisements should be truthful and sincere about offers. It's possible for an advertisement to be misleading even though each sentence, when separately considered, is literally true. Misrepresentation also happens when facts are withheld or omitted. Better Business Bureau pays careful attention to how companies promote their prices. When a company compares prices to its own former selling price, current price of others, list prices, wholesale prices or to items which are imperfect, it needs to make sure consumers have all the necessary information to make an informed purchase. When comparing its prices to those of competitors, a business must be clear in the description and certain about the comparison. BBB scrutinizes how businesses describe their sales. e unqualified term, "Sale" may be used in advertising only if there is a significant reduction from the product or service's usual and customary price, and the sale is for a limited period of time. BBB will look deeper into superlative claims like "#1 car sales in the city" because they must be substantiated by the company. And any testimonials and endorsements should not include claims a company cannot make and support on its own. Better Business Bureau works with companies when an advertising review uncovers a problem. We inform the company and encourage it to voluntarily substantiate or modify claims of the advertisement in question. We also invite consumers to alert us about misleading advertising they might encounter. Anyone can report a questionable ad in real time using the online tool AdTruth. But if you're vigilant about ways to build trust with your customers, don't wait for BBB to get involved in your advertising. Measure your advertising creative and website copy against our Code of Advertising and make adjustments accordingly. ose businesses that would like help with this can call on BBB to review advertisement and/or website copy before publication. We're happy to provide this service and offer suggestions if something is out of sync. Nancy B. Cahalen is president and CEO of Better Business Bureau of Central New England. For more information about BBB, visit cne.bbb.org, call 508-755-3340 or email info@cne.bbb.org. BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal By Ken Bates Ken Bates is the president and CEO of Worcester nonprofit Open Sky Community Services, where he led the $82-million merger of The Bridge of Central Massachusetts and Alternatives Unlimited. W W W

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