EAP created to serve 7,800 state employees
Will be integrated with wellness services
How do you create an employee assistance program (EAP) for 7,800 employees in 57 major office locations? Sounds like a daunting task, but that’s just the challenge that faced WorkMax, an East Hartford, CT, division of ETP (Educational Training Program) Inc., when it was retained by the state of Vermont.
"We started with six people back in December," recalls Kevin Grunwald, MSW, director of WorkMax. "We have a network of EAP counselors who work for ETP, but we had to do some aggressive recruiting around the state."
When the program was launched on May 1, Grunwald had assembled a network of 20 people in order to have a counselor within 30 miles of any state employee. "All are counselors with a minimum of a master’s degree, some have PhDs, and all are experienced in the delivery of EAP services," he says.
He also hired a program manager, which was a requirement the state placed in the EAP contract. "Her responsibility is to serve as an ambassador throughout the state," Grunwald explains. "She’s involved with the oversight of all day-to-day operations and delivery of services."
How the program works
The program uses what is called the five-visit, brief treatment model. First, the EAP is accessed through a toll-free telephone number, which is answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week. An initial screening process takes place, after which the employee is directed to a counselor.
"They are dealt with based on the urgency of their request," says Grunwald. "If they are in crisis and need immediate help, we provide crisis intervention, but we also make arrangements for them to see a counselor immediately. If the need is less immediate, the employee will be offered an appointment within three days with a counselor in their area. If appropriate, they can be counseled within the five visits. If there is a need for referral [for additional visits, which would be covered by the employee’s health insurance], we have developed relationships with all the health insurance carriers in the state to make sure they can be referred easily and without interruption of care."
Is five a magic number?
Grunwald anticipates that more than half of the employees who contact the EAP will be helped within the five-visit period.
"A surprisingly wide range of problems can be helped in five sessions — job-related stress; family or marital problems if they are pretty well defined and acute, not chronic; and financial problems, for example."
If an employee has financial problems, WorkMax will provide a counselor to help the employee set up a budget, or take a closer look at how he manages credit.
"What we see more and more is people using an EAP who do not necessarily have a diagnosable medical condition, but are having problems in living," Grunwald explains. "They could be having difficulty with a co-worker or a boss; they may need assistance with eldercare or child care. These things really have an impact on people’s ability to do their job and be productive. And employees are very amenable to working in the five-session setting. For us, it allows us to do a full assessment, and connect the employee with other resources when necessary."
Making the pieces fit
The state of Vermont has actually designed a highly innovative program that combines a traditional EAP with a larger, organizational focus, says Grunwald.
"What’s innovative about it was that the state chose to position the EAP in an integrating function for other services," he notes. "We work closely with wellness, risk management, the state employee learning and development center, and also the state employee association. And the EAP is the hub of the wheel." (See illustration, above.)
The structure works like this: If WorkMax identifies a department or a business unit where it sees a large number of employees reporting job-related stress, for example, it has the opportunity to bring in wellness professions, conduct health risk appraisals, and perhaps provide some stress management training.
"Or, if a large number of employees are going on workers’ comp, we’ll try to find out what’s keeping them from going back to work, or what can be done organizationally," adds Grunwald. "It’s a very holistic approach. Even though the EAP provider is an external vendor, we will be the central point of organizing the delivery of services."
WorkMax has organized an advisory committee with representatives from all of the service groups it coordinates and meets on a regular basis to talk about new trends, issues in state government that affect employees, and strategies for program services that will be responsive to those needs.
"We do more than treat the individual," says Grunwald. "We look at the entire organization, and then coordinate the services being delivered."
[For more information, contact: Kevin Grunwald, WorkMax, 111 Founders Plaza, 12th Floor, East Hartford, CT 06108-3298. Telephone: (860) 610-4615. Fax: (860) 610-4640.]
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