10-26-2006
Presagia Corp®, Montreal, announced the creation of an Advisory Group comprised of health and productivity industry thought leaders. The establishment of the Advisory Group comes at an important time for Presagia as it expands its software offerings to include applications that support integrated workforce health and productivity management and analysis. As such, the Advisory Group will help guide Presagia’s future direction by providing valuable advice and insight into this rapidly growing market.
Members of the Presagia Advisory Group have extensive experience in the workforce health and productivity arena and will advise Presagia’s senior management on a variety of strategic issues, including product development, sales, and business development. This initiative will enable Presagia to deliver to its customers the first truly integrated workforce health and productivity software solution, thus facilitating more efficient management of employee health and productivity and thereby reducing both direct and indirect costs associated with employee injury and illness.
“Presagia is proud and excited to welcome our newly created Advisory Group,” says Rick Bercuvitz, COO of Presagia. “The Presagia Advisory Group brings together distinguished individuals possessing substantial and diverse knowledge and experience. We are confident that the contributions of the Advisory Group will help Presagia to grow rapidly and to become the pre-eminent vendor in this emerging market space.”
Members of the Presagia Advisory Group include:
David C. Bachman, MD, is a board certified orthopedic surgeon and senior medical director for the United States Postal Service. In this capacity he is engaged in the ongoing management of employee health and the development of new initiatives such as the “Proactive Medical Case Management” program. He has been an active speaker and author on issues in sports medicine and occupational health and believes that the athletic model used for returning athletes to full competition is applicable to occupational injuries.
Michael Boyd received an MA in economics from Cambridge University and has since had a successful and distinguished business career. He is currently chairman of Michael Boyd Associates, as well as a founder and director of Olameter Inc, which provides metering services to Canadian electric and gas utilities. Prior to that he was founder and chairman of Fonorola Inc, a Canadian telecom company that was bought by Sprint in 1998. Prior to this he was a founder and chairman of Morguard Trust Company, a prominent mortgage banking company in Canada. He also was a chairman of Westmount Life Insurance and a founder of the Mortgage Insurance Company of Canada.
Pamela M. Caggianelli, RN, LNCC, COHN-S, CCM, CDMS, is manager of Corporate Health for Bausch & Lomb, where she is responsible for worldwide employee health strategy, policy, program oversight, and quality assurance programs. She has authored and co-authored numerous articles such as "Health and Productivity: Shifting the Focus from Claims to People” and is a frequent speaker at industry events. She is also chair-elect of the Certification of Disability Management Specialists Commission (CDMSC) and has been involved with The Business Council of New York State’s workers’ compensation committee.
Sharon Kaleta, ARM, CPDM, is the co-founder and chairman of the Board of the Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC), and has over 25 years’ experience in the risk and benefits arena. She has developed and implemented transitional return to work and integrated disability management programs for major California employers, is a frequent speaker at national conferences, an accomplished author, and an instructor for IEA programs and the University of California San Diego. Business Insurance magazine recently included Sharon among the 2006 “Women to Watch.”
Kenneth Mitchell, PhD, is vice president of health and productivity development for UnumProvident Corporation, where he oversees the absence management research and education services offered to employers. He is a visiting faculty member at the University of North Carolina and Duke University, an adjunct faculty member at the University of Tennessee, a consultant to Cardiff University, and has served as president of the National Industrial Rehabilitation Corporation and executive director of the International Center for Industry, Labor and Rehabilitation.
Patricia Salber, MD, MBA, is a highly qualified physician executive who has gained national recognition in the disease management industry. Salber is president of PRS Strategic Healthcare Consulting, a company specializing in helping health organizations to improve chronic illness care. Prior, she founded Acelacare, a company that provided diagnostic testing and support to individuals with chronic illness, was senior medical director for Blue Shield of California’s Center for Health Improvement (CHI) and CalPERS business unit, and medical director of Managed Care for The Permanente Company. Salber has also been intensely involved with Physicians for a Violence Free Society (PVS) and other nonprofits, is an experienced public speaker, a noteworthy author, journal reviewer, and on the editorial board of industry publications.
Bill Zachry, is VP Corporate Workers’ Compensation for Safeway Inc, where he manages the workers’ compensation program which spans 22 states. He has also been chairman of the State of California Fraud Assessment Commission since 1999 and has been involved with the Self-Insurance Security Fund, California Grocers Association, California Chamber of Commerce, California Retailers Association, and California Applicants’ Attorneys Association. He is an author of many articles and industry manuals, and an accomplished speaker on industry issues.
Frank Alvarez has agreed to serve as workplace law counsel to the Advisory Group. Alvarez is an attorney and a partner at Jackson Lewis LLP where he heads the firm’s Disability, Leave and Health Management Practice Group. In that practice, Alvarez counsels and trains employers on the challenging array of federal and state laws that protect injured and ill employees. He also represents management in workplace litigation in federal and state courts and administrative agencies. Alvarez frequently writes and speaks on disability and health management issues and is regularly interviewed and quoted by media.
Mitchell says: “Presagia has an excellent vision and the domain knowledge to execute it. I look forward to being involved with this project because it holds the potential to fundamentally change how employee health and productivity are managed.”
“I have respect for each and every one of my colleagues in the Presagia Advisory Group and look forward to working with them on this exciting endeavor,” Kaleta says.
[SOURCE: Presagia, October 2006]
