By Susan Elise Campbell<\/p>\n
The Employee Assistance Program of Warren, Washington, and Saratoga Counties (Adirondack EAP) will turn the corner on 40 years with a new executive director at its helm.<\/p>\n
Richard J. Demers is soon to retire as executive director after 36 years.<\/p>\n
Over the decades Demers and his staff established Adirondack EAP as a valuable community resource providing free and confidential assessment, counseling, and referrals for employees of member organizations and their families, according to Tracey Riley, president of the board of directors and vice president of human resources at Finch Paper.<\/p>\n
Adirondack EAP is a local, rather than a national EAP, with its\u00a0 <\/span>main office at 559 Glen St. and affiliated offices in Plattsburg, Saratoga Springs, Albany, Clifton Falls, and other locations.<\/p>\n Today there are 60 member companies and 25,000 employees and their families have been served, Riley said.<\/p>\n EAP counselors work in a consultative role with managers and supervisors of member companies, providing them mindfulness training or other assistance, such as helping with transitions if there has been a tragedy in the workplace, McManus said.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/span>\u201cRick has exemplified what an EAP should be, providing wonderful services for employees to work through whatever issues may be affecting their work,\u201d said Tracey Riley, president of the board of directors and vice president of human resources at Finch Paper.<\/p>\n Riley announced that the directorship will be assumed by Susan K. McManus, who joined the staff as program director in April. McManus is a licensed clinical social worker who is completing her EAP credentials as Demers transitions to retirement.<\/p>\n Her history with the community, particularly her experience with substance abuse and recovery, will help inform her role and her goals with EAP, as drug and alcohol abuse has been increasing in the area, according to McManus.<\/p>\n \u201cThe opiate crisis in the U.S. was leveling off in 2018 because of community awareness,\u201d she said. \u201cBut the problem has been growing again since COVID because isolation is a fearful thing for people struggling with substance abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n The mission of an EAP is to address a broad and complex body of issues affecting mental and emotional balance. This can include stress, grief, family problems, and psychological disorders, and can extend to situations in the workplace such as accidents, violence, or other traumas.<\/p>\n \u201cWe look for patterns to areas where people in the community are struggling and address how to manage them,\u201d said McManus.<\/p>\n One struggle is the growing number of employees who are caregivers to family members with dementia or Alzheimer\u2019s disease, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey work full-time and have another 40-hour, full-time job caring for their loved ones,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n There were four major enterprises who in 1982 founded Adirondack EAP after determining \u201cthey needed to respond to employees and the issues they were facing in life,\u201d said McManus.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst we help employers help employees, and then help with a breadth of services that employees can connect to,\u201d said McManus.<\/p>\n \u201cThe employer does not know when an employee has reached out to EAP,\u201d Riley said. EAP provides \u201ca private and safe resource through personally challenging times.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur goal is to keep our name fresh in the minds of employees,\u201d said McManus. \u201cWe give human resources a supply of our business cards and provide a monthly newsletter to employees. Word-of-mouth is very powerful. If an employee has a good experience they will tell their peers about it and suggest contacting EAP.\u201d<\/p>\n The efforts of EAP can help an entire community \u201cunderstand mental wellness and become more healthy in every area of life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Susan Elise Campbell The Employee Assistance Program of Warren, Washington, and Saratoga Counties (Adirondack EAP) will turn the corner on 40 years with a new executive director at its helm. Richard J. Demers is soon to retire as executive director after 36 years. Over the decades Demers and his staff established Adirondack EAP as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-insurance-employee-benefits"],"yoast_head":"\r\n