Hartford Business Journal

18 Hartford Business Journal • September 11, 2017 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By Gregory Seay gseay@HartfordBusiness.com F or most of his 46 years, Dino has worked lifting heavy loads at Connecticut construction sites, as a crane operator. In his free time, he also lifted heavy loads in the gym, chiseling his stocky frame. But when Dino, whose last name is being omitted to shield his privacy, injured a shoulder in training, he was prescribed Percoset — a painkiller brand that combines acetaminophen and oxycodone, an opioid. Opioids are a class of natural and synthetic compounds found in narcotics, like heroin and morphine, that act on the body's central ner - vous system to relieve pain or sedate users. The shoulder healed, but Dino found himself eventually tethered to a smorgasbord of synthetics: the Percoset made it hard to sleep, so he turned to pills for that. Then, he embraced Valium, prescribed for anxi- ety disorders, just to function, Dino said. Before long, he said he was spiral- ing down, to the point he began missing work. A senior official in the con- struction union where Dino was a member intervened, threatening him with no work assignments if he didn't take advantage of the union's employee assistance program and get professional help. "Wow, I didn't realize it had gotten that bad,'' Dino said he recalled at the time. "The addict is the last to know,'' said Kyle Zimmer, health and safety director at the operating-engineers union, IUOE Local 478, in Hamden, of which Dino is a member. Employee assistance programs, or EAPs, exist as part of employee-benefits pack- ages at most major employers' — and to a lesser extent in smaller employers' — offices, workplaces and shop floors in the country. With formal roots that date to the mid-1950s, EAPs hark to the days, experts say, when one worker would notice another intoxicated on the shop floor, and intervene to get them treatment so they could return productively to work. Today, however, opioids have replaced al- cohol as a major substance of choice among people looking for synthetic relief from life's day-to-day demands or an addiction. And the growing opioid crisis is expect- ed to increase the need and role of EAPs as "bridges'' between struggling employees and employers, EAP experts say. On Oct. 1, federal law takes effect requir- ing employers and federal agencies to screen for four more opioids — hydroco- done, hydromorphone, oxycodone and oxy- morphone — that have increasingly been showing up in workers' drug tests. Dan Boisson- neault, a certified EAP professional who is president of the Connecticut Employee Assis- tance Professionals Association, says widened testing for those narcotics will likely prompt users to turn to corporate and labor-union EAPs for help. The law mandates that workers in "safety-sensitive'' industries such as construction, commercial drivers/ chauffeurs, airplane mechanics, etc., must be randomly tested for additional opioids, along with the standing list of drugs that includes morphine and codeine. "I think we're going to see more activ- ity in safety-sensitive areas,'' said Bois- sonneault, who works for East Hartford jet-engine maker Pratt & Whitney and by contract acts as senior EAP coordinator for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 26. He also sits on the board of the Employee Assis- tance Professionals Association. EAPs are also still around, ostensibly to not only help opioid, alcohol and marijuana users, but also help others struggling with the myriad pressures 21st-century work- ers encounter — problems with finances, significant others, the law, etc. But experts who hail EAPs and the purposes for which they were created claim many employers today have emasculated their programs, making them more tools of punishment than reclamation vehicles. "EAPs have become commoditized and a political creature,'' said Joel Bennett, of Fort Worth, Texas, who consults with private em- ployers, nonprofits and municipalities on or- ganizational health and employee well-being. Bennett contends, and others concur, that too much emphasis from EAPs nowa- days is short-term, revolving-door treat- ment, particularly with opioid misusers, rather than on prevention. "EAPs work if they promote healthy use of [painkiller] substances,'' Bennett said. "EAPs need to educate employers as to what those look like.'' He and others also insist that too many employers nowadays blindly rely on their EAPs to handle troubled employees after they are addicted, rather than investing up front more to educate their workers about prevention. The solution, some say, could be as simple as teaching workers better ways to manage their money, which might curb the incidences of domestic abuse, depression and other mental-health issues that prompt victims to self-medicate. EAP frontlines Several central Connecticut institutions serve on the EAP frontlines. Plainville's Wheeler Clinic has provided employee-assis- tance services to Connecticut businesses, mu- nicipalities and nonprofits for more than 40 years. EAP services are among the more than 100 Wheeler offers, including medication-as- sisted treatment for opioid misuse, said Dan Fallon, a certified EAP professional who is a program manager at Wheeler. Wheeler offers EAP services to more than 65,000 individu- als across approximately 70 for-profits and nonprofits based in Connecticut. Fallon said EAPs offer individuals with addictions an accessible, confiden- tial portal through which to seek and get help. They also refer people to other beneficial services to arrest opioid use and can monitor employ - ees' treatment and aftercare, he said. One trend Wheel- er has witnessed, he said, is more companies partner- ing with health and wellness providers, pharmacy-benefit management organiza- tions and EAP practitioners, to analyze data and better coordinate patient care. Also, employers are re-evaluating their current workplace drug and alcohol policies, and educating workers and hiring prospects to identify substance-abuse issues and help affected employees as early as possible. In Wallingford, health insurer Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield houses its national EAP call-in center, serving em- ployees of private companies, municipal agencies and nonprofits that subscribe to its EAP-support network. Calls to its confidential hotline launch a team of licensed EAP professionals to answer caller concerns ranging from drug/alcohol misuse to troubles at home or work, said Jodi EAPs are popular among employers, but underutilized by workers Seventy percent of all U.S. companies and 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies purchase employee assistance programs (EAPs), ac- cording to the National Safety Council. Findings from 21 studies assessing the efficacy of corporate health and productiv- ity programs found that EAPs have positive returns on investment. All programs reported favorable returns ranging from $1.49 to $13 per dollar spent on the program. It is noteworthy that the mental health program showed one of the highest ROIs, according to the National Safety Council. The problem with EAPs, however, is that few employees use them either because they don't understand the value or may fear nega- tive ramifications if they seek help. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield behavioral-health manager Ana Secondo (foreground) with her team of employee assistance program (EAP) case managers at the health insurer's Wallingford call-in center. Anthem has seen a rising number of EAP calls involving opioid misuse, signaling, Secondo says, growing public awareness — and less stigma — about their hazards. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER Dan Fallon, a program manager at Wheeler Clinic, says EAPs offer employees an accessible, confidential portal through which to seek and get help. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER Dan Boissonneault, President of the Connecticut Employee Assistance Professionals Association Helping Hands Employee assistance programs offer a bridge to addiction recovery

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