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"A stranger was stalking me. I contacted the police, of course, but there wasn't much they could do because I couldn't identify him, and he hadn't broken into my house. I felt very vulnerable. The Employee Assistance Program was able to get me connected right away to a counselor who had experience with stalkers. She helped me immensely by referring me to self-defense courses and suggested other ways to make myself feel safer."
"When it became obvious my elderly father-in-law should no longer drive and needed more day-to-day assistance, my husband and I were overwhelmed and didn't know where to start. The Internet is there, but it's hard to find unbiased information because so many sites are profit-driven. The EAP was awesome. They gave us information, helped us plot our next steps, and then followed up to see how we were coping. Within a couple of days, I felt like we had a plan and knew what to do next."
"My teenage son was rear-ended. I had a question when settling the insurance claim, so I called the EAP, and they arranged a short consultation with an attorney. He provided good advice about what a claim like this was worth, and what to do and not do when working with insurers."
These stories, volunteered by Hutchinson Center employees, illustrate just some of the stresses, questions and challenges of everyday life. To help employees and their immediate family members with such situations, the Center offers free access to the Employee Assistance Program, an assessment and referral service for a myriad of personal issues.
The benefit, available to all Center and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance employees, has been in place for about a decade. The Center contracts with United Behavioral Health to provide around-the-clock phone and Web access seven days a week. All contact is confidential. The only feedback Human Resources receives is unidentifiable information concerning usage, which broadly identifies problems by category, type of service used and satisfaction ratings.
Despite helping employees with everything from family difficulties to workplace issues to substance abuse, the EAP is an underutilized benefit, said Jonathan Sheppard, compensation and benefits manager. "Given its potential to help with so many things that cause people stress and anxiety, I wish it were a noisier benefit," he said. "The EAP is good at helping people with the practical aspects of life by offering well-researched information and pragmatic solutions."
"They can really come in and help not only with the practical aspects, but with the decision-making — helping you think through it. They've been through these issues so many times before. It's their full-time job to quickly and effectively solve these problems."
While the short-term counseling sometimes suggested by the EAP is not intended to replace the Center's mental-health benefits, offered through the medical plans, Sheppard sees advantage to addressing issues while they are still manageable. "Things get bigger than they should because we don't seek help at the right time," he said. "And even when we think we have something figured out, it's OK to get a second opinion."
In an era of rapidly rising health-care costs, there is a strong business case for offering a benefit like the EAP. "There's such a good return on investment. When people are distracted and stressed, they're not as prepared to make important decisions. It costs time and emotional energy to resolve these things," Sheppard said. "If you can get an expert to help facilitate those decisions with information and advice, folks can get back to work, both mentally and physically."
"Reducing stress also reduces our health-care costs. When people experience excessive stress, they fall into destructive cycles that are ultimately expressed in various forms of illness. It is very clear that interrupting this cycle not only improves the individual's quality of life, but helps the Center keep medical-claim costs down," he said.
Critical-incident debriefingIn addition to one-on-one counseling, United Behavioral Health also provides critical-incident debriefing. When something traumatic occurs, like a suicide within a work group, counselors can be brought in to help surviving employees deal with their grief and confusion. "If we get wind of a situation like this, we offer the service and cover the costs," Rose Labonite, benefits analyst, said. She recalled a time when an employee's spouse died after a long illness. "The co-workers grieved along with the employee, but the colleagues didn't really know how to be supportive. A counselor came and spoke with the group, and they all said it really helped."
The EAP is a benefit that Han Nachtrieb, vice president for Human Resources, said he is proud to offer employees. "We offer supportive services like this because it's the right thing to do. Employees give a lot of loyalty and commitment to this institution, and we want to help them through thin spots in their lives or with difficulties that pop up. Doing the right thing is what motivates us as an institution."
Sheppard agrees. "We care about the whole person, and we try to do anything we can to relieve the stresses and help our employees and their families deal with problems and concerns," he said. "There's a culture of reciprocal caring here: people care about the work they do, and we care about their well-being."
To access EAP resources, educational materials and consultation, visit www.liveandworkwell.com or call (800) 358-8515. An employee code is required; go to centernet.fhcrc.org/CN/depts/hr/ben/additional for the number.
