That's an important question, and it's one that Patrick and I are particularly concerned about. Having considered “return to work“, we became interested in communication with the employer. This came up in the meeting, and I think Patrick will add to what I'm going to say. But we didn't actually spend the amount of time that it would take to discuss how this could happen. We didn't include a number of steps in the report. But you're right on the money—you really do need to be in touch.
I have since talked to the manager of rehabilitation, Brenda MacCormack, about the importance of linking with employers. It's a different culture. I worked with CEOs of companies for many years, and they used to say to me that they were one culture, and I was the other. I was health and rehab, and they were business, and they didn't really understand what I was trying to get them to do. So in my community, I formed an employer rehabilitation and health care specialist group to break down these barriers.
Then we have the culture of veterans in the military, which is a whole different culture. It is different from one made up of individuals who have never served. So you have a number of things that need to be interpreted. The research will tell you that the middle manager is usually the key person who can make or break a person's employment. It's not the CEO of the company. If they're on board, great, but it's the middle manager that counts, and if you don't have that person buying in to having individuals return to work, it's going to be a huge battle. So that's a big piece.
We didn't get into the specific details breaking it down. Patrick, do you want to add to that from the discussions in the committee?