Employer Coalitions Award Grants to Address Impact of Depression in the Workplace through Right Direction Initiative

CANTON, Ohio, Nov. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Partnership for Workplace Mental Health, a program of the American Psychiatric Foundation, and Employers Health, a national employer coalition based in Ohio, today awarded four grants to select National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH) organizations across the country. The grants were provided in order to raise awareness about depression in the workplace through Right Direction - a free, first-of-its-kind initiative designed to promote early recognition of symptoms of depression and reduce the stigma in the workplace surrounding mental illness. 

Major depressive disorder (MDD), or clinical depression, affects nearly 14 million Americans, and 68 million additional days of work are missed by U.S. workers who are diagnosed with the condition. Right Direction maximizes existing programs such as employee assistance programs (EAPs) to offer employers a multitude of turn-key resources that can be customized to communicate with employees about depression, the symptoms, its effects on personal and work life, available resources to help employees and more.

"While many employers offer EAPs, there continues to be an unmet need for focused education and resources to decrease stigma and encourage mental health in the workplace," said Marcas Miles, senior director of marketing and communications with Employers Health Coalition. "Addressing depression in the workplace should remain top-of-mind for employers in order to provide a more productive workplace and supportive company culture."

Business coalitions applying for the grant were required to submit an application for the opportunity and were encouraged to be creative and include how they will promote, facilitate and measure their efforts with members. Each of the following NBCH employers were awarded $8,000 to support Right Direction initiatives in their local markets:

• St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition (BHC): Since 1982, St. Louis' leading employers joined forces to create the BHC to provide them with a collective voice on health care issues. The BHC has more than 40 employer members and focuses its work around three objectives: improving health, achieving transparency, and aligning recognition and rewards.
• Mid-America Coalition on Health Care: The Mid-America Coalition on Health Care leverages the expertise, experience and resources of its multi-disciplinary membership to promote the health and well-being of current and future employees and their families in the greater Kansas City area.
• South Carolina Business Coalition on Health (SCBCH): The purpose of SCBCH is to serve as a partnership for businesses, organizations and individuals in South Carolina and inside the health care field to act collaboratively in creating sustainable initiatives to improve health care quality and efficiency, promoting greater consumer responsibility in healthcare decisions, improving the overall health of South Carolinians and thereby improving our economic competitiveness and quality of life.
• Northeast Business Group on Health: Northeast Business Group on Health is a network of employers, providers, insurers and other organizations working together to improve the quality and reduce the cost of health care in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

"The grant winners offered an impressive array of partnerships, promotional ideas, and most importantly, included activities that will keep the Right Direction initiative alive well after the grant funds have been allocated," said Clare Miller, director at the Partnership for Workplace Mental Health. "We are so pleased to support these coalitions and are eager to see what they can accomplish."

For more information on the Right Direction initiative, visit www.RightDirectionForMe.com. Right Direction is an effort from the Partnership for Workplace Mental Health, a program of the American Psychiatric Foundation, and Employers Health Coalition, Inc., and is supported by Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A, Inc. (TPUSA) and Lundbeck U.S.

About the Partnership for Workplace Mental Health
The Partnership for Workplace Mental Health is a program of the American Psychiatric Foundation, a subsidiary of the American Psychiatric Association. The Partnership works with businesses to ensure employees and their families living with mental illness, including substance use disorders, receive effective care. The Partnership for Workplace Mental Health collaborates with employers to advance effective approaches to mental health and promotes the business case for quality mental health care, including early recognition, access to care and effective treatment. The Partnership also identifies and highlights the successful approaches employers are taking to address mental health.

About Employers Health
Founded in 1983, Employers Health Coalition (EHC) is a not-for-profit, 501(C)(3) organization passionately committed to providing resources, tools and advice that help employers and other plan sponsors provide access to high-quality health care benefits at a sustainable cost. In 1999, Employers Health Purchasing Corporation was incorporated as a subsidiary of EHC to establish group purchasing contracts for a variety of health benefit services, such as pharmacy benefit management (PBM) services, employee assistance programs (EAP), dental benefits, vision benefits and private exchange services. Today, these two organizations, collectively known as Employers Health, represent more than 200 member organizations headquartered in 30 different states.  

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SOURCE Employers Health; Partnership for Workplace Mental Health

Related Links

http://www.employershealthco.com