Ernst & Young’s Assist: How Internal and External Service Integration Created a ‘Single Source Solution’

This article is written jointly by Ernst & Young’s EY/Assist program, with vendors Managed Health Network (MHN) and LifeCare. Ernst & Young contracted with MHN and LifeCare in 1999 to provide EY/Assist services to partners, staff and family members. This article describes the genesis of that integrated program model. It offers the strengths, limitations, and compromises required by such a model over time. This portrayal of EY/Assist allows other employers to consider this model for their workplaces, and to enhance the implementation and maintenance of such a service. This article is both a theoretical and practical analysis of this program.