Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader Photo by Tim Ryan Facilitator Kathleen Franklin interacts with area employers during an alcohol and drug abuse workshop Thursday at Boarders Inn and Suites in Belle Plaine.
Leader Photo by Tim Ryan Wellness educator Stephanie Bellin discusses identifying drug and alcohol abuse in the workplace Thursday at a workshop at Boarders Inn and Suites in Belle Plaine
Shawano area employers learned some disturbing lessons about the variety and prevalence of drugs and alcohol in their workplaces Thursday.
A presentation from Brad Dunlap, special agent with the Lake Winnebago drug unit, highlighted the vast number of new designer drugs making headway into the communities, as well as the higher potency of modern marijuana.
Prescription drug abuse is among the biggest problems, he told the nearly four dozen employers and human resource managers in attendance.
“I guarantee you’ve got employees that are addicted to or are abusing their prescription medications,” he said.
Dunlap said over-prescription by doctors is part of the reason for that.
The U.S. has 5 percent of the world’s population and is consuming 80 percent of the world’s prescription drugs, he said.
Thursday’s drug and alcohol abuse workshop was the second of four geared to employers as part of a joint effort between ThedaCare’s Community Health Action Team and Shawano County Economic Progress Inc.
The workshops are funded by grants from ThedaCare and Shawano Country Vision 2017.
“We were hearing from employers that they were having issues with attendance and workforce production type activities, and they started to question drug and alcohol use in the workplace,” said Dennis Heling, SCEPI chief economic development officer. “We put together a work group which helped us understand what (human resources) managers were facing, and look at how do we identify (drug and alcohol abuse), what steps do we take and how do we change that activity in our workplaces.”
The workshop, held at Boarders Inn and Suites in Belle Plaine, was facilitated by Kathy Franklin.
Franklin is retired from ThedaCare but has remained active in community efforts such as CHAT.
“When we looked at the impact of drugs and alcohol in our workplaces, there were economic concerns, productivity, safety concerns, social concerns, policy concerns,” Franklin said. “You can look at multiple facets and see the impact this has.”
Reactions from the audience to Dunlap’s presentation were a mix of shock and amazement at how small and easy to conceal some of the new drugs are and their sheer variety.
Mark Stahl, a counselor, and Stephanie Bellin, a wellness educator/specialist, both with ThedaCare, identified some of the telltale signs that an employee might be abusing drugs and alcohol, and how to address the problem.
Addressing the problem once it’s identified will be a more in-depth topic at the next workshop, scheduled for Oct. 8, when the development of workplace policies and procedures is discussed.
Franklin said there are some employers in Shawano County that have a zero tolerance for drugs and alcohol, and some that don’t bother checking.
While no one policy will fit all employers, she said, the workshops hope to come up with a “best practices” option that employers can use.