Findings of CCEDC’s First-of-Its-Kind County Business Forum on Substance Abuse, Mental Health Issues in the Workplace

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Chester County Human Services Director, Kim Bowman, the impacts of substance abuse and mental health issues on Chester County.

Did you know: 919,400 people aged 25 to 54 were not in the labor pool due to opioids, in the year 2015?

Michael Duncan, President and CEO of Chester County Hospital shared a personal account of mental health issues.

On Tuesday, May 14, more than 100 people attended a half-day event entitled Drug Addiction and Mental Health in the Workplace: Truths and Solutions.

Held on the Cerner Campus in Malvern, the program was organized by the Chester County Economic Development Council (CCEDC) through its Health Care Connect (HCC) initiative.

The event was planned in response to a recent survey of medical personnel as well as leadership at local hospitals and health care-related companies that found that the number one concern is a shortage of services for the growing number of people facing mental health and substance abuse problems.

Mike Long, Vice President and General Manager of Cerner welcomed attendees.

Mike Long, Vice President & General Manager of CernerWorks, kicked off the program by welcoming everyone to Cerner’s campus.

He was followed by Marybeth DiVincenzo, Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing officer for CCEDC, who provided an overview of her organization to the attendees.

She noted that this issue crosses industries, including five key areas that CCEDC addresses through Industry Partnerships: advanced manufacturing, agriculture, energy, health care, and technology.

Chester County Commissioner Michelle Kichline provided introductions for District Attorney Tom Hogan and his Chief of Staff Charles Gaza, who shared some of the economic impacts of drug use.

They noted that in 2015, 919,400 people aged 25 to 54 were not in the labor pool due to opioids and that between 1999 and 2015 this resulted in 12.1 billion lost hours of productivity.

Efforts in Chester County to address drug use have resulted in the county having the lowest number of overdose deaths in the region.  Since 2014, Narcan has been used 430 times, resulting in 417 lives saved. The county’s prescription drug drop boxes have yielded in the safe disposal of more than 32,000 pounds of medications.

Michael Duncan, President & CEO of Penn Medicine’s Chester County hospital shared a personal story of mental health issues.  He discussed the struggle that both of his sons have faced and their different journeys to address and treat their diseases.

Tom Cain, President of Mirmont Treatment Center noted the importance of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs).

Kim Bowman, Human Services Director for the County of Chester, noted that 1 in 5 people will experience a mental health or substance abuse issue.  She pointed out that people suffering from these issues have an impact on the workplace as well as the individual’s family/social circle.  Bowman pointed out that more workdays are lost to mental health illness than any other chronic illness and shared that employers can help by establishing an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and having insurance coverage that covers treatment for mental and substance abuse illness.

Tom Cain, President of Main Line Health’s Mirmont Treatment Center, also focused on the need for workplace Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs).  He noted that these programs offer several advantages including increased productivity, decreased absenteeism, reductions in health care costs and disability claims, promotion of health and wellness in the workplace and improvements in employee engagement.  Employees benefit by having access to counseling services, work/life services, legal services, financial services, and health care advocacy.

Claire Mooney, President and CEO of Tower Health’s Jennersville Hospital, served as facilitator for the day’s event. Toward the end of the program she introduced Shawn Rohr, Managing Member of Rare Heating and Air Conditioning, LLC, who provided his personal story and perspective of substance abuse and mental health issues in the workplace.  He noted that one of the key steps to addressing the issue is removing any associated stigma.  The event wrapped up with Mooney facilitating a panel discussion with the speakers before opening the forum for questions.

Would you like to know more about CCEDC’s Health Care Connect, as well as drug addiction and mental health in the workplace? Reach out to Mary Kay Owen at mowen@ccedcpa.com or 610-321-8237.

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