{"id":14710,"date":"2014-02-12T15:28:17","date_gmt":"2014-02-12T20:28:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2014\/02\/regional-employee-assistance-program.html"},"modified":"2014-02-12T15:28:17","modified_gmt":"2014-02-12T20:28:17","slug":"regional-employee-assistance-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2014\/02\/regional-employee-assistance-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Regional Employee Assistance Program Counsels Both Employers And Workers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\"employ\n<\/div>\n
Richard Demers, executive director of the Employee Assistance Program of Warren, Washington and Saratoga Counties, says about 11,000 employees are covered by the service.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

By Jill Nagy<\/p>\n

The Employee Assistance Program of Warren, Washington and Saratoga Counties provides free confidential counseling and referrals to the employees of some 50 area businesses.<\/p>\n

The program helps employees deal with a range of issues including parent and family problems, substance abuse, and dealing with emotional stress, according to Executive Director Richard Demers.
\nIt has been in existence for more than 30 years.<\/p>\n

The organization contracts with area companies to provide services to the employees. Those member companies fund the private, nonprofit agency’s annual budget of $300,000, through a flat fee based upon the number of employees in the company. A total of 11,000 employees are covered by the service, said Demers.<\/p>\n

The Employee Assistance Program is headquartered at 559 Glen St. in Glens Falls, with satellite offices in the three counties it serves. The staff is minimal: four people, three of whom, including Demers, are counselors.<\/p>\n

“We stay busy,” Demers said. “What we do is time-limited,” generally fewer than 10 visits for each person. The visits and consultations help companies “get started and directed.” For more extensive assistance, clients are referred to other resources.<\/p>\n

Employees seeking assistance contact the program directly. There is no disclosure to employers of the identity of employees using the service, Demers emphasized. Contact information is included in a newsletter sent to all eligible employees.<\/p>\n

“The primary reason for an employee assistance program, from a business’s perspective, is to help them help their employees. They don’t want to lose valuable employees due to personal problems,” Demers said.<\/p>\n

The most common problems are family and parenting issues and stress, he estimated. “We are seeing more people as a result of financial strain,” he observed, noting that often the financial strain leads to and results from other issues.<\/p>\n

Employees of Saratoga and Glens Falls hospitals are the largest groups of clients using the service, he said.<\/p>\n

Typically, 60 percent of the clients are women. Demers said he is not sure why that is the case, but guessed that it is the result, at least in part, of the fact that the largest users of the program are companies that lean heavy on female employees, like the hospitals.<\/p>\n

Clients are almost all adults, although there are a few teenagers in the mix. With children, the program prefers to immediately refer them to someone who can follow through with a treatment program, Demers said.<\/p>\n

In addition to his position as executive director, Demers does some counseling. He is a licensed mental health counselor, a certified employee assistance professional, and a credentialed alcohol and substance abuse counselor. The other counselors are Carol Carlson, who has a masters degree in counseling, and Kathleen Flanagan, a licensed clinical social worker.<\/p>\n

A website for the program is still a work in progress, Demers said. However, they can be reached by telephone at 793-9768.<\/p>\n

Photo Courtesy Of Employee Assistance Program<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Richard Demers, executive director of the Employee Assistance Program of Warren, Washington and Saratoga Counties, says about 11,000 employees are covered by the service.By Jill Nagy The Employee Assistance Program of Warren, Washington and Saratoga Counties provides free confidential counseling…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,40],"tags":[66,91,126,135,137],"yoast_head":"\r\nRegional Employee Assistance Program Counsels Both Employers And Workers - Glens Falls Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2014\/02\/regional-employee-assistance-program\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Regional Employee Assistance Program Counsels Both Employers And Workers - 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