Dear Colleagues:

This week’s discussion will focus on both public policy and university policy.

For many years, policy and business analysts have argued that health care costs are too high in part because people do not do enough to avoid getting sick. The Human Resources departments of many employers, seeking ways to reduce spending, are looking for ways to implement this logic. One approach, suggested by Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove, is simply not to hire people with health risks related to behavior, such as obesity. Instead, many other employers are trying to encourage healthier behavior through less direct (and less legally dubious) encouragement and incentives. This could not only reduce health care costs but improve employee productivity and well being. But what does that involve, and will it work?

Before coming to CWRU’s School of Nursing, Professor Click spent twelve years as manager for wellness training at Progressive Insurance. Join us as she describes the university’s new policies and join a discussion about how they might work and with what results.

All best regards,
Joe White
Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and Director, Center for Policy Studies

About Our Guest

Elizabeth Click is the University Medical Director and an Assistant Professor at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. As a nurse with a background in wellness program management and working with groups, Dr. Click is uniquely qualified to speak and write about wellness and health management subjects. She received a B.A. from the College of Wooster with a major in psychology and a N.D. (Doctor of Nursing) from CWRU. She also is a Certified Lactation Educator and a Certified Wellness Practitioner.

Within the FPB School of Nursing, Dr. Click teaches in the undergraduate (BSN), masters (MN & MSN), and doctoral (DNP) programs. Dr. Click serves as a Co-Chair of the University’s Collegiate Behavioral Health Group and has been a Visiting Committee member for the School of Nursing for many years. Prior to joining the CWRU faculty, Dr. Click managed the wellness program at The Progressive Corporation in Cleveland, Ohio. While working at Progressive, Dr. Click was responsible for the design, development, budgeting and implementation of the Wellness Training curriculum. She incorporated wellness initiatives within corporate-wide programs and developed and communicated wellness policies and procedures. Programs that Dr. Click developed focused on the following topics: ergonomics, lactation, prenatal education, complementary medicine, blood-borne pathogens, spirituality, back health, stress management, child care, work-life balance, weight reduction, financial wellness and physical fitness. Many of these programs led to health improvements and cost savings amongst participants.

Prior to her Progressive experience, Dr. Click was on the faculty at the University of Tennessee, Memphis. Her research has been published in varied journals and she has spoken at a number of national conferences. Dr. Click’s major interest professionally and personally is in working with people individually and in groups to support their present level of health and to help them reach even higher levels of wellness.

Where We Meet

The Friday Public Affairs Lunch convenes each Friday when classes are in session, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. We usually meet in the Dampeer Room of Kelvin Smith Library. The Dampeer Room is on the second floor of the library. If you get off the elevators, turn right, pass the first bank of tables, and turn right again. Occasionally we need to use a different room; that will always be announced in the weekly e-mails.

Parking Possibilities

The most convenient parking is the lot underneath Severance Hall. We regret that it is not free. From that lot there is an elevator up to street level (labeled as for the Thwing Center); it is less than 50 yards from that exit to the library entrance. You can get from the Severance garage to the library without going outside. Near the entry gates – just to the right if you were driving out – there is a door into a corridor. Walk down the corridor and there will be another door. Beyond that door you’ll find the entrance to an elevator which goes up to an entrance right inside the doors to Kelvin Smith Library.

Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers:

March 7: Shared Success: Law Enforcement, Faith-Based Organizations, and the Fugitive Safe Surrender Program. With Daniel Flannery Ph.D., Semi J. and Ruth W. Begun Professor and Director, Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education.

March 14: Spring Break

March 21: What the Jewish Experience Tells Us About Religion in America Today. With Peter J. Haas, Abba Hillel Silver Professor of Jewish Studies and Chair, Department of Religious Studies.

March 28: Muslims in the United States. With Justine Howe, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies.

April 4: The “Problem” of Teen Mothers. With Mary Erdmans, Associate Professor of Sociology.

April 11: Is the Federal Government’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States Anti-Asian? With Timothy Webster, Assistant Professor of Law and Director, East Asian Legal Studies. ***Alternate Site: Mather House Room 100.***

April 18: Is Cleveland Dying? With John A. Begala, Executive Director, Center for Community Solutions.

April 25: Pope Francis: So Far. With Paul V. Murphy, Professor of History and Director, Institute of Catholic Studies, John Carroll University