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Assistive Technology Makes a Lifetime of Difference to UnumProvident VP and Medical Director Dr. Glenn Higgins

A wrestling accident at the age of 17 left Glenn Higgins a quadriplegic. But it didn't stop him. Thirty-six years later, Dr. Glenn Higgins is vice president and medical director for UnumProvident, the $9.4 billion provider of income protection insurance, return-to-work products and services, and income-protection services for employees who become injured or ill and unable to work.

In a company dedicated to helping people with disabilities, Higgins demonstrates that having a physical disability doesn't need to be an impediment to succeeding in a high-level job. Employing hard work, talent and Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech recognition software on his Windows-based computer, Higgins is a fully productive contributor to the success of his employer—and himself.

Three decades of experience using assistive technology has given Higgins a unique perspective on the evolution and status of the available technology. "What I can do now with assistive technology is a thousand times beyond what was possible 20 years ago, 10 years ago," he says. "Early solutions were remarkable but incredibly slow, frustrating, and 'not ready for prime time.' The current state of continuous-speech recognition solutions is amazing, fantastic, and something I could only hope for as recently as three or four years ago."

Today, Higgins uses a puff-stick (a straw-like device that he "puffs" on to generate a click or selection) and the Dragon NaturallySpeaking 4.5 speech recognition system running on Microsoft Windows 98 on his office PC. Higgins augments Dragon with a headset, a keyboard anchored microphone, a tele-dictation system that allows him to dictate long memos and receive the text in e-mail, a scanner that allows him to manage visual records and forms as PowerPoint images, and the accessibility features built into Windows including StickyKeys and keyboard shortcuts.

Together, these tools allow Higgins, who holds a PhD in neuropsychology, to direct medical affairs for UnumProvident. Higgins reviews evidence on the quality of insurance claims to confirm that alleged impairments are supported by medical evidence. In addition to meeting with claims payers to discuss individual cases, the bulk of his day is spent reviewing files and writing reports—activities for which his assistive technology solution is essential.

UnumProvident Support Helpful

Higgins has plenty of praise for his employer—UnumProvident. "They've been very good about helping me," he says. "An occupational therapist reviewed my workspace needs when I first joined the company. A disability manager reviewed the therapist's proposal for assistive technology and came up with the solution I use. The company set it up and hired an outside trainer to train me on Dragon. They've been extremely supportive of everything I need to do the job."

UnumProvident's commitment to Glenn Higgins is hardly unique for the company. With more than a century of industry leadership, UnumProvident is the nation's number one provider of insurance products and services that help employees protect their incomes if they become injured or ill and unable to work. The company also provides extensive resources to help those employees get back to work whenever possible.

WorkRX Program Finds Innovative Ways to Get Employees Back On Job

UnumProvident knows that employee disability can be a significant drain on a company's productivity. Its WorkRX Return-to-Work program is designed to find innovative ways to get people back on the job, restoring their dignity and their company's productivity at the same time. Innovative support for employees with disabilities—including assistive technology—is high on UnumProvident's list.

The company estimates that out of a nationwide workforce of 12,000, it has about 550 employees with some level of disability. Most require only modest accommodation, such as a change in job or the addition of ergonomic support. About 10 percent of its employees with disabilities, about 50, use some form of assistive technology. Half use speech recognition technology to compensate for repetitive motion injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome. The remainder use screen magnifiers, screen readers, and other devices to compensate for visual impairment.

Providing Accessible Technology Makes Good Business Sense

UnumProvident tells its customers what it knows itself: That the use of assistive technology to attract or retain qualified employees who have disabilities is more than the moral or legal thing to do—it's the sound business thing to do. Assistive technology is a key component of the company's WorkRX Return-to-Work program, which helps customers minimize the impact of employee disabilities.

"It makes absolutely no business sense to take people with expertise and training for specific jobs and put them out on short- or long-term disability, at significant portions of their pay, when a modest investment in assistive technology could keep them on the job," says Joel Proper, disability manager for UnumProvident.

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