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Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Services for Adverse Events

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Who Should Receive Support?

• Physicians• Nurses• Nursing Assistants• Pharmacists• Technicians

• Residents/Medical Students

• Managers/Supervisors• Support Staff

Any NMH employee, physician or medical student involved in an adverse event

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Who Contacts the EAP

Human Resources Consultant and the Manager of the involved employee or unit or a Designated Representative will initiate a call to the EAP Account Manager for either individual or group issues. If the Account Manager is not available, it will be handled by the Director of the Access Center.

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What the EAP Needs to Know During the Initial Phone Call

Specifics regarding the incident:• What happened• When did the event occur• Prior history of adverse events• Years employed with NMH• Nature of HR involvement• Any disciplinary action

regarding this event

Impact/Concerns/Issues regarding the team or unit (group issues):

• Emotional impact on staff or team members

• Medical/legal issues• How many people involved• Whether group intervention is

necessary (CISD)• What has been done to date

(operational debriefing)

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EAP Intervention or Not?EAP support should be offered to all NMH employees, physicians and medical students involved in an adverse event. EAP involvement can provide:

– Assessment (initial session is face-to face)– Support for individuals as well as the work group– “Safe” place for staff to verbalize thoughts, feelings

and reactions – Referrals for services not provided by the EAP

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EAP Assessment

Focused only on the adverse event Impact on the individual

PhysicallyEmotionallyPsychologically

Support system Coping skills What support is needed

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Aspects of EAP Support

• Type of intervention

• Timing of the intervention

• Who will provide the services

• What will be expected of the individual

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Types of EAP Support

• Management/Human Resources Consultation• Services for effected individuals• Services for the team or unit involved (Critical

Incident Stress Debriefing - CISD)• Follow-up/Monitoring

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Interventions Provided

Individual Interventions:• Brief counseling• Homework assignments• Referral, if not

appropriate for brief counseling

• Referrals to appropriate support groups

Group Interventions:• On-going management

consultation• Critical Incident Stress

Debriefing (CISD)• Counselors on site

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Specific Interventions (individual) Brief Counseling:• In person/can be phone after

initial session

• 3-5 sessions on average

• Cognitive behavior and/or solution focused

• Clear, agreed upon goals

Homework Assignments:• Tools for self-assessment

• Checklist for cognitive distortions

• Five steps for feeling good

• Daily mood log/weekly mood log

• Coping after a stressful incident • Perspectives online:

Skill builders Self assessments Articles

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Specific Interventions (group)CISD• 24-48 hours after the event• Structured intervention:

support/educational group (1 hour)

Counselors on site

• Provides support for group members as needed

Management Consultations

• Provides support

• Assists with crisis intervention/crisis management briefing

• Helps to determine ongoing needs of the group

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Evaluation of Support Services

• EAP Satisfaction Surveys completed by all individuals receiving support services

• Outcome data from individual EAP case files when case is closed

• Tracking all cases referred for support for follow-thru with referral to the EAP

• Reassessing process in six months