Q&A with Matt Condon

Q: Have you had to put any in-person services on hold during COVID-19, or found a way to transition any of these services to work during the time of COVID?

A: Bardavon Health Innovations transitioned to a remote workforce, practically overnight. Since March 16 our team members have been thriving in a work-from-home setting due to amazing leadership across the board by every associate, and a profound commitment to communication throughout the company. We have also added 46 new team members to our growing company, supported twenty-three “All-Hands” weekly teleconferences with our entire team, and had the largest five-month increase in new hires in our company’s history. We have also added multiple new products.

Q: How have the challenges Bardavon Health shaped or shifted compared to preparing for work post-COVID? What longer-term challenges do you anticipate?

A: I have been incredibly impressed with the way Bardavon team members transitioned to a remote workforce. Everyone stepped up and met the challenge. I continue to stress to all Bardavon team members that however this pandemic plays out, we will work with them and their unique situation to ensure they continue to thrive. Long term, they’ve earned the right to work remotely, no matter the COVID status.  People made commitments to their families and their schools – and we will honor those commitments as we navigate out of this pandemic.  While I am so proud of our performance, I am more excited every day to see our people in person as soon as it is safe to do so.

Q: How is the trend to more employees working from home altering the whole worker’s comp dynamic, especially with employer liability?

A: No matter where the work is occurring—at home or in-office—in order for Workers’ Compensation to function well, there must be communication and transparency. Bardavon is the only National Network that demands and provides communication and transparency from all stakeholders in the claim, including employers, physicians, therapy providers, adjusters, and patients, and ourselves. We’re a team, all working to ensure that the Workers’ Compensation patient achieves the best functional outcomes.

From a market perspective – it has been a wild ride.  Many of our partners are facing devastating economic cutbacks – and we are there to support them.  However, ironically, more of our partners are actually managing record breaking economic growth (due largely to their unique sector/positions) – so we are there to support that as well.

Q: A lot of blue-collar occupations, specifically construction, have worker safety as their No. 1 operational priority. Has COVID pushed your understanding of employee safety, broadly, into the white-collar realm?

A: You are correct. Traditionally, employees with physically demanding jobs are considered the biggest Workers’ Compensation risk, but COVID-19 has shown that office settings can also be a risk. The courts are now determining the liability for COVID-19 exposure and it will be interesting to see how they make the determination.

Inevitably – more and more companies across the country are evolving their corporate strategies to embrace the fact that their most important asset is their people.  The way that corporations help their associates navigate an increasingly confusing and frustrating healthcare system has a direct connection back to their desire to develop a culture of excellence.  In some ways COVID has accelerated the evolution of this strategy.  Companies are actively looking to engage partners that help them efficiently and effectively support the health and wellness of their associates – and the tragedy of COVID has only intensified that drive.

Q: What are the emerging trends you’re seeing in rehabilitative practices and therapies that will be game-changers?

A: I think telerehabilitation will be a game-changer. Many of the regulations that held back the use of telerehab were cleared due to the pandemic. Now that therapy providers and patients are using this technology, I think we’ll see this as a normal therapy practice. The amazing thing, is it is a win for everyone. Therapy providers will no longer be bound by their geography. Patients will have access and enjoy convenience, especially in underserved or rural areas where therapy providers may not be available. Employers will see compliance and better functional outcomes.

I’m also excited about the Bardavon Deferred Surgery, a newly announced program. We developed this prehabilitation program to directly meet a pandemic need. When the entire country went into lockdown this spring, surgeries were deferred. This meant that Workers’ Compensation patients might languish as they waited for surgery. By getting these injured workers into physical therapy before their surgery, we can ensure they stay on a path to healing.

Last – I think the trend to transition from managing healthcare from a “claims-only” standpoint is finally maturing to incorporate, at scale, meaningful evaluation and assessment of “clinical quality”.  We all intuitively know that there is a difference in quality of providers – but the only data we are ever given in healthcare is related to what those providers charge.  The fact that new interfaces are facilitating a deeper understanding of clinical performance is great for healthcare generally, and the fact that (in the musculoskeletal sector) the provider that spends the most time with the patient is the physical/occupational therapist is driving the excitement around the rehabilitation sector specifically.

Q: As an employer yourself, what do you see as the strengths of the Kansas City region in terms of producing a deeper bench of qualified candidates, and where must we make improvements?

A: It depends on what type of talent you’re referring to when talking about a “deep bench.” For a number of fields of practice, there is a lot of great talent in the area.   However, when we look at areas that require a specialized skill set – for example, technology – the bench isn’t as deep… but it is improving.   As a region, we need to identify new ways to either grow that talent locally or bring it to KC to join our local tech community.  Undoubtedly, the ability to attract talent to Kansas City has improved in recent years – and I anticipate that trend will only improve in the years ahead.