ACCESS is Opening Doors to Inclusive Opportunity and Care

Living with a disability can create barriers to opportunities and access to care. Humana’s voluntary employee-led network resource group (NRG) for people living with disabilities, their loved ones and allies, called ACCESS, is breaking down barriers and challenging the status quo for people living with disabilities. The ACCESS NRG actively promotes an accessible work environment and nurtures a culture of belonging for employees of all abilities. Observed each October, National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) celebrates the contributions of people living with disabilities to the advancement of supportive, inclusive employment policies and practices that benefit both employer and employee. During NDEAM and year-round, Humana champions the ways ACCESS helps employees achieve their full potential and improves health outcomes for our members, patients and the communities we serve.

Expanding Inclusion and Opportunity Across the Company

Humana and the ACCESS NRG believe that when we understand and respect the experiences and needs of all populations, we are enabled to ensure that employees thrive in the workplace. Then, we are better equipped to support the needs of our customers and employees in achieving their best health. ACCESS provides resources to improve accessibility of communications across the company and to increase an understanding of accommodations to support physical, cognitive or invisible disabilities. 

To support the broad range of interests among the disability community, ACCESS hosts webinars and panels discussions throughout the year covering a wide range of disability-related topics, in addition to a monthly support group. The most recent event was a collaborative effort organized with other Humana NRGs—Salute, GenUs, Women’s, IMPACT, and Caregivers—and featured a panel discussion on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) awareness. PTSD is a condition that affects people across a wide range of identities and demographics, including those living with disabilities. Panel discussion attendees learned about the causes of PTSD, its various presentations and how people with PTSD can be supported in the workplace.

The ACCESS NRG also hosts regular discussions on Humana’s internal social media platform to bring awareness of specific disability concerns through a recurring 'Dear ACCESS NRG' feature. The posts present a first-person perspective on challenges faced by differently abled individuals and provide employees with the opportunity to ask questions and contribute to discussions. The group also maintains a library of advocacy resources and documents on their website, including an ally toolkit for any employee seeking to better support and advocate on behalf of differently abled coworkers. 

In support of career advancement, the NRG has held webinars to share information on seeking career opportunities with, or without, disclosure of disabilities and routinely assists individuals on the process for making requests to their leaders for assistive devices/technologies and other accommodations to enhance their ability to complete work tasks that may be complicated by living with disability. For employees in need of individualized assistance, ACCESS has created a mechanism to submit support requests on their website. Once received, the requestor is paired with an NRG member who has the knowledge and skills to assist them.

Addressing Barriers to Care

Through lived experiences and the experiences of loved ones, ACCESS NRG members have insight into healthcare challenges faced by people with disabilities that help Humana to care for the diverse needs of members and patients. Recently, an employee of the inbound sales team raised a question about accessibility for deaf individuals who contact Humana but do not use teletypewriter (TTY) services. It was suggested that we could incorporate live American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation via video in addition to traditional TTY services. The idea was shared with ACCESS, and the group’s deaf awareness subject matter expert, with assistance from the NRG’s executive sponsor, coordinated a meeting between the inbound sales team and leaders in Humana Care Support to discuss the feasibility of this solution. Research on the topic is ongoing, including the potential to pilot the service in a specific location before larger rollout. The subject matter expert is also working with the individual who originally raised the idea to identify other opportunities across the company to enhance accessibility options.

Learn more about our efforts, goals and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in Humana's Impact Report. Interested in working for an organization committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion? Visit Careers.Humana.com to learn more about our culture of inclusion and explore open job opportunities.