The Oregon Caregiver FALL/WINTER 2024 www.ohca.com 16 LEGAL & REGULATORY Supporting Employee Well-being with EAPs By Eugenia Liu, J.D., Oregon Health Care Association Senior living providers cannot serve their residents and clients without their valued staff. It is the staff, from the direct care workers, to nurses, to department heads, who play a vital role in delivering quality care each and every day to older adults and individuals with disabilities in these communities. While residents are at the heart of everything that senior living providers do, equal attention should be paid to supporting the health and well-being of staff. Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are a tool that more and more employers are adopting to support employee well-being, including mental and emotional health. EAPs are often offered as a part of an employer’s benefits plans and provide employees with access to a wide range of services to support their personal needs, such as confidential counseling to assist with family problems, substance abuse or mental health issues, help with managing or overcoming stress, as well as referrals to manage financial or legal problems. EAPs can be effective tools in recruiting and retaining employees. Studies have shown that non-traditional benefits hold more value for younger workers, including support for mental health and work-related burnout. The benefits of an EAP program can also be utilized as a part of a provider’s critical incident or crisis management process to help employees cope with a work-related or emergency response event. To maximize the benefits of an EAP, providers should take steps to ensure the programs are easily accessible to employees and well-communicated. Reports show that oftentimes, employees did not take advantage of an EAP because they were either not aware of the program or did not think of utilizing it. Periodic reminders and education on an EAP will therefore help employees tap into this resource when needed. To best support our residents, we need to support the staff who serve them, and EAPs offer providers one avenue to do so. Eugenia Liu is the SVP and General Counsel at OHCA.
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