Mental Wellness Programs for Employees

Address to the Conference on Employee Mental Wellness by Walter B. Wriston, Chairman, Citicorp The mental well-being of employees is a subject of fundamental importance to each of us, our companies, our professions, and the nation. Both the Washington Business Group on Health and Boston University's Center for Industry and Health Care should be commended for the timely initiative this conference represents. I hope it will be­ come an ongoing effort to improve the mental health services to the nation's private sector workers and their dependents. I have had a deep interest in the delivery of health care for a long time, both from the perspective of a major employer and from my participation in the governance of New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. It has also been my privilege to chair the Business Round­ table's Task Force on Health and to serve on the President's Labor­ Management Committee which, among other things, has been working on heaith care problems. This experience obviously does not give me any claim to special expertise on the issue of mental health. It may prove helpful, however, as we work together formulating our thoughts about the nation's health system, the role of industry, and where the mental health issue fits into the picture.