The California Consortium for Stay-at-Work/Return-to-Work has been meeting monthly since September of 2007. We are a group of "invested" stakeholders who have decided to make the time to meet face-to-face collaboratively in order to develop up-to-date, meaningful resources for all California stakeholders in the SAW/RTW process.

These monthly meetings have revealed the depth and breadth of needs amongst hundreds of individuals and organizations for information, education, training opportunities and for collaborative relationships. There are affiliations with like stakeholders, as well as the opportunity to work across stakeholder groups in a neutral forum in which stakeholders across all groups can share ideas and strategies related to SAW/RTW.

Our goal is to continue to cultivate a forum in which the respective interests of all stakeholders are better understood and that opportunities for further understanding and collaboration can emerge.

A Northern California summit of experts convened in Pleasanton, California on June 21, 2007 on the topic of reducing medically unnecessary time off work for injured or otherwise disabled employees. The goal of this “Summit” was to advance toward sustained solutions for preventing needless time away from work, and the realignments needed to meet this goal.

The Summit organizers found the ACOEM Guideline, “Preventing Needless Work Disability by Helping People Stay Employed” to be a clear blueprint for a better stay at work/return to work (SAW/RTW) process from various vantage points, including those of healthcare providers, businesses, public agencies, labor and government. The intent of the Guideline was to open dialogue with all “stakeholders” involved in the SAW/RTW process and create a shift in the way people think. The Guideline provides a framework for communication and collaboration, and makes 16 common sense, powerful recommendations related to:

• Adopt a “work disability” prevention model and decrease needless time away from work


• Address behavioral and circumstantial realities that create and prolong work disability


• Recognize the contribution of motivation on outcome and make changes to improve incentive alignment


• Identify and invest in system and infrastructure improvements

The Northern California Summit (in conjunction with other regional groups throughout California) was a unique opportunity for key stakeholders to participate in an interactive dialog about how to best implement these recommendations and improve our overall SAW/RTW systems. The Summit was both a learning experience, as well as a springboard for enlightened organizational change. Representatives from multiple stakeholder groups worked collaboratively at the meeting table toward our common goals.

• Create a greater commitment among stakeholders to the importance of the SAW/RTW process, its current malfunctions, and the role that each party involved in the process can play to improve it.


• Provide and moderate a forum in which the various stakeholders can both speak their thoughts and actively listen to one another’s point of view.


• Explore the feasibility of implementing specific recommendations made in the ACOEM Guideline.


• Create opportunities for concrete constructive action within, and between, all participating employee and employer groups, state entities and organizations.

The California Consortium for Stay-at-Work/Return-to-Work seeks to build upon the efforts made during the Summit and affect positive change to ensure that more California employees stay at and/or return to work.

To view the Summit keynote click here.