Even in normal times, employees in the senior care sector can find themselves stressed, trying to make ends meet while providing care for often-difficult residents, with aspects of the job that can be physically onerous.

But when the business becomes a vector for the spread of a pandemic like the COVID-19 novel coronavirus, stress levels shoot through the roof. As operators put protections in place for residents and staff, they should look into Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) to help their people deal with the pressure.

By Friday, March 20, 2020, at least 73 senior care facilities (like nursing homes and assisted living centers) in 22 states reported infections, and at least 55 related deaths among residents had occurred. (However, the official counts frequently don’t describe the decedent’s last place of residence.) While fewer than 1% of Americans live in such facilities, those deaths represented over 25% of the deaths attributed to the outbreak.

Meanwhile, senior care workers are among those most exposed, but not all are required to use personal protective equipment (PPE) due to shortages and costs. And where there’s an outbreak, residents and staff aren’t necessarily being thoroughly tested by state health departments. As the risks mount, so do the stresses. An EAP may be the best pressure release valve that operators can put in place to help employees now and stem even worse issues in the future.

Employee Assistance Programs are employer-sponsored programs offering mental health services to help employees deal with issues like depression, stress and anxiety that can affect their work-life balance. They are good for employers, who experience 21% lower absenteeism and 14% higher productivity than those without EAPs. And the value to senior care employees, especially today, should make it a well-utilized benefit.

As COVID-19 continues to spread, it will exact a personal and professional price from senior care workers. Now is the time get moving on an EAP or aggressively promoting the EAP you might have already. Here are the critical steps:

  1. Establish your EAP framework. Start with the nuts and bolts. Spell out and communicate eligibility – employee and dependents, or expanded coverage for other family members? In the future, will you wrap the benefit into the open enrollment process, or make it a separate benefits callout? And will it be part of the onboarding process? It’s also essential to insist on an EAP utilization report in order to adequately gauge how services are being used and determine if some types of services might require attention.
  2. Assess EAP capabilities. In evaluating services, one critical concern is the quality and accessibility of EAP’s emergency crisis care. (You can test this with periodic after-hours calls to its behavioral health number.) Also important is its access to counselors trained in suicide prevention and substance use disorder treatment. What other resources does it offer? Does it have an online portal with a library with relevant resources your employees can easily access?
  3. “Sell” the program. Actually, do more than just “sell” the idea of the EAP. With utilization rates averaging less than 7%, employees must be educated and informed on what the services are, who is covered, how and when to access its resources, and what the tangible benefits are. Slick tactics aren’t necessary. Simple fact sheets distributed with paychecks or posters with on-point messages along with EAP and crisis hotline numbers posted in common areas are effective. Face-to-face informational sessions are always useful, too.

We are facing an unprecedented health and economic emergency with COVID-19. With the resources to be found in EAPs, senior care employees will be better equipped to manage the pressures and continue to carry on.

HUB International’s team of senior care specialists will work with your organization to deliver tailored insurance and risk management solutions.