Four Health Trends Changing How Employers Care for Their Workforce

By: Dr. Tammy Kaza, Traci Tauferner, Shelly Smith, & Darin Schumacher
Wednesday, November 11, 2026

Tundra Lodge

11:00AM - 1:00PM

ABOUT THE PROGRAM:

The traditional model of employee healthcare is changing. Employers are no longer relying solely on an insurance card and hoping employees find the right care at the right time. Direct primary care, onsite injury prevention and musculoskeletal care, expanded mental health access, and direct pathways to specialty and surgical care are creating new ways to improve access. This multidisciplinary panel brings together a direct primary care physician, mental health professional, and athletic trainer/strength and conditioning specialist to examine what these evolving models actually look like in practice. Panelists will discuss where traditional healthcare pathways break down, what employers can do before health concerns become absences, claims, or turnover, and how HR leaders can build more proactive connections between employee health and the workplace. Rather than another conversation about “wellness,” this session focuses on a more practical question: What healthcare could we bring closer to employees before small problems become expensive ones?

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Identify emerging employer-healthcare strategies including direct primary care, onsite musculoskeletal and injury services, accessible mental health care, and direct specialty-care pathways.
• Recognize common gaps in traditional healthcare delivery that contribute to delayed care, unnecessary healthcare utilization, lost work time, prolonged restrictions, and poor return-to-work outcomes.
• Evaluate opportunities to move healthcare closer to the workforce through earlier intervention, better care navigation, onsite resources, and stronger connections between healthcare providers, HR, and actual job demands.
• Identify practical steps HR leaders can take to shift from reacting to illness and injury toward a more proactive workforce-health strategy.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

Dr. Tammy Kaza is a board-certified Family Practice & Palliative Care physician. She completed her residency at Louisiana State University and fellowship at Emory University. Since moving to Wisconsin, Tammy has worked with ThedaCare hospitals and as medical director for various nursing homes and hospices. In addition to her family practice clinical experiences, she has expertise in integrating advance care planning and palliative care into the outpatient primary care setting. She is active in the Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and serves as the Chair Elect to the Long-Term Care committee.

Traci Tauferner is a Licensed Athletic Trainer and Strength and Conditioning Specialist. She brings 20 years of experience as an educator and service innovator, advocating for prevention-focused strategies that strengthen workforce health, safety, and readiness across tactical and industrial environments. Recognized internationally in the occupational community, Traci leads initiatives that elevate performance and strengthen sustainable career pathways for public safety and industrial workforces. She is the 2025 recipient of the World Federation of Athletic Training & Therapy Trailblazer Award. A veteran of the Wisconsin National Guard, she also earned the prestigious Sergeant Audie Murphy Award, which honors non-commissioned officers whose leadership and service exemplify excellence. As the Director of Industrial & Tactical Medicine at Advanced Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine, Traci partners with tactical communities, industry, and municipalities to design and implement proactive and responsive employee care programs. Additionally, Traci is a Performance Enhancement Specialist, Modern Cupping Therapy Practitioner, and Mental Health First Aid instructor.

Shelly Smith worked for several years as a middle school teacher and youth director in Indiana after earning her Bachelor of Science from Butler University in Indianapolis. It was incredibly rewarding and challenging. Working with students and their families helped her realize that her passion was in helping people create meaningful change. This led her to pursue her Masters’ degree and License in Marriage and Family Therapy (LMFT).  

Shelly provides systemic supervision for therapists and enjoy mentoring colleagues. She has specialized counselor training including Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Mindfulness-based Therapy, Narrative Therapy, WPATH Foundations for Health Professionals, and CBT-I for Insomnia. She is a Certified Prepare/Enrich Facilitator working with couples and a Certified Integrative Mental Health Professional. She uses these and other modalities in an integrative, wholistic approach to individual, couple, and family therapy. She encourages self-care practices to help you tap into your own resources for healing and growth. In addition to providing therapy, she spends time speaking and enjoys opportunities to inspire and teach others at conferences and within organizations.

Originally from Appleton, Wisconsin, her and her husband spent 15 years living in Indianapolis, where their children enjoyed their earliest years. They then lived in Illinois for five years. Now they are happily settled in the Milwaukee area. Shelly volunteers with Scouts and the Elmbrook Swim Club, and as a mentor for CareerVillage and newer entrepreneurs. When she's not spending time with family and friends, her self-care includes reading good books, being in nature, yoga, triathlons, laughing, and good coffee.  

Darin Schumacher has over 25 years of experience working in the marketing and communications industry. He provides a well-rounded perspective on marketing as he has experience working at marketing agencies as well as leading marketing departments at companies. A UW-Green Bay graduate, Darin currently is the Director of Marketing & Business Development at Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Specialists (OSMS) where he is responsible for all marketing and business development efforts. He also believes in giving back serving on boards or volunteering for organizations like UW-Green Bay Alumni Advisory Board, Friends of Pals, Youth & Families, Miracle League of Green Bay, and Donate Life Wisconsin.

11:00AM – 11:30AM                       Registration and Lunch Buffet

11:30AM – 11:45AM                       SHRM Business and Sponsor

11:45AM – 1:00PM                         Presentation  

Reservation Deadline: Friday, November 6th at 5:00 PM.     

$35 – GB SHRM Member

$40 – Guest of GB SHRM Member/Non-Member

$20 – SHRM Student Chapter Member

THIS MEETING'S PLATINUM SPONSOR:

THIS MEETING'S NON-PROFT: