FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Program Enables Employees at Foley & Lardner and Children’s Hospital and Health System to Get to Work When They Experience Any Type of Breakdown in Their Child, Adult and Elder Care Arrangements.
MilWAUKEE — SEPT. 22, 2005 — Foley & Larder LLP, one of the nation’s leading law firms, and Children’s Hospital and Health System, a leader in pediatric health care, both announced today they will be providing Work Options Group’s Backup Care Options program to employees. Foley and Children’s Hospital and Health System join the growing list of employers offering Backup Care Options to employees in Wisconsin, which includes AT&T, KPMG, Merrill Lynch, Unilever, and Kraft Foods.
Backup Care Options is a nationwide program that enables employees to get to work when they experience temporary breakdowns in their child, adult and elder caregiving arrangements. Examples of these breakdowns include children who are unable to go to school or day care because of illness or a school holiday, and adults or elders who are recovering from surgery. Work Options Group’s individually contracted network of thousands of child care centers and licensed home health care agencies allows Backup Care Options to resolve breakdowns in care for any age dependent (infants through the elderly), healthy or mildly ill, anywhere, any time of the day or night, every day of the year.
Foley and Children’s Hospital and Health System selected Backup Care Options because of two separate and unique benefits; Foley wanted to provide a consistent backup care program to employees in its 18 U.S. locations, and Children’s wanted to provide backup care any time of the day or night for employees working non-standard hours.
Marilyn Lagerman, national director human resources at Foley, said, “The Work Options Group program addresses our workforce’s broad spectrum of caregiving issues, which includes more than just care for healthy children. The breadth of the program, coupled with the ability to cost-effectively offer it in all of our office locations, made it the clear choice for Foley.”
Added Staci Benz, benefits manager at Children’s, “Our focus is helping to support employees to balance their work and family lives. Backup Care Options gives us a benefit – available any time of the day or night – that meets the needs of our employees across all of our entities in Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Because of the kind of work we do, including 24-hour hospital care and social work services to families in their communities, we have very diverse work schedules. Backup Care Options works well for us because we can provide our employees with a great benefit that gives them confidence that their loved ones will be cared for day or night.”
About Children’s Hospital and Health System
Children’s Hospital and Health System is the region’s only independent health care system dedicated solely to the health and well-being of children. Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, rated the No. three pediatric hospital in the nation by Child magazine, is the flagship member. Health system entities include Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin-Fox Valley, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin-Kenosha, Children’s Hospital and Health System Foundation, Children’s Health Education Center, Children’s Medical Group, Children’s Service Society of Wisconsin, Children’s Specialty Group, Surgicenter of Greater Milwaukee, Children’s Research Institute, Children’s Community Health Plan, Seeger Health Resources and National Outcomes Center. Children’s Hospital and Health System serves children throughout Wisconsin, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, northern Illinois and beyond, through medical care, advocacy, education and pediatric medical research.
About Foley & Lardner LLP
Foley & Lardner LLP is a provider of legal counsel to global companies. The firm’s experience encompasses a full range of corporate legal services. Foley ‘s nearly 1,000 attorneys understand today’s most complex business issues including corporate governance, securities enforcement, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property and IP litigation, labor and employment, and tax. The firm offers total solutions in the automotive, e-business and information technology, energy, entertainment and media, financial services, food, golf and resort services, insurance, health care, life sciences, nanotechnology, and sports industries. The firm’s Web site can be found at www.foley.com.
About Work Options Group
Work Options Group’s Backup Care Options program enables more than 400,000 employees throughout the U.S. and Canada to get to work when they experience temporary breakdowns in their child, adult and elder care arrangements. Backup Care Options resolves every common breakdown in caregiving situations by offering backup care in every location, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for infants through the elderly, whether they are healthy or mildly ill. Work Options Group’s Provider Network encompasses thousands of individually contracted home care agencies and licensed child care centers in all 50 states and Canada. Work Options Group manages every aspect of the program, including scheduling of care and payments to providers. The result is a proven, cost-effective way to reduce absenteeism and increase productivity. Additional information is available at www.workoptionsgroup.com
