Employee Assistance

A vital part of maintaining a drug-free workplace is having an Employee Assistance Program, or at least a list of area resources if a worker needs help with drug or alcohol counseling and rehabilitation.

Southern Health Care Resources can provide this service for your workers as part of our overall package. The service includes a local and a toll-free phone number to call for help, a website if they prefer online assistance via e-mail, and we also provide a specialized listing of the closest outpatient centers that can help. Our trained professionals can also help locate effective inpatient facilities both in the state and around the country to fit their needs after an initial assessment.

Drug-Free Work Week

Held annually in October, Drug-Free Work Week is a public awareness campaign intended to highlight the fact that being drug free is key to protecting workplace safety and health and to encourage workers with alcohol and drug problems to seek help. Drug-Free Work Week is sponsored by the Department of Labor and implemented collaboratively with members of its Drug-Free Workplace Alliance and several other organizations, including government agencies, non-profit associations and private companies.

The true spirit of Drug-Free Work Week lies in activities conducted by individual employers and their employees, and the Department of Labor offers a number of specific suggestions for how organizations of all sizes and in all industries can participate. Ideas range from simple to comprehensive, but all help promote safer, healthier workplaces through substance abuse prevention and intervention and represent wise business practices that can be implemented at any time of the year. Although Drug-Free Work Week is a dedicated time each year to place special emphasis on the importance of working drug free, in a safe and healthy workplace, every week is Drug-Free Work Week.

To achieve a drug-free workplace, it is critical that an organization educate its workers about the nature of alcohol and drug use and its negative impact on workplace safety and productivity. Drug-Free Work Week is a natural time to step up such efforts through training sessions and guest speakers. Southern Health Care Resources can design a special speaking presentation for this time for your company, such as focusing on a particular drug, issue, or set of circumstances.

Remind employees about the availability of employee assistance services - Drug-Free Work Week presents a perfect opportunity to remind them of its availability. Such programs offer free, confidential services to help all employees, including supervisors, resolve personal and workplace problems, such as substance abuse. They also offer confidential substance abuse screenings as well as brief intervention, if warranted, and help employees locate local treatment resources.