County to provide employees free counseling

By Neal A. Johnson, UD Editor
Posted 1/4/23

OSAGE COUNTY   — Osage County Health Department Administrator Kim Sallin has secured grant funding through the Missouri Department of Health & Human Services (DHSS) to provide all …

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County to provide employees free counseling

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OSAGE COUNTY  — Osage County Health Department Administrator Kim Sallin has secured grant funding through the Missouri Department of Health & Human Services (DHSS) to provide all county employees with up to six free counseling sessions this year.

“This came about when I was talking to Andi (Rice) at the Sheriff’s Office about counseling services offered to inmates,” said Sallin. “It turns out the deputies and inmates can talk to chaplains, but that may not be the same as talking to a therapist.”

Sallin began researching and found the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) through Capital Region Medical Center (CRMC) to be a perfect solution.

Deputies and 911 dispatchers can utilize after-incident debriefings if needed, individually or as a group.

“The nice thing is that Cap Region will send someone to Osage County to do the debriefing,” said Sallin. “They will be here no more than three days after an incident, which is very helpful.”

She added that deputies may continue to use the chaplain service as well. “For those who may not be religious or feel comfortable talking to a chaplain, the EAP is a good alternative,” Sallin noted. “However, they could use both.”

All county employees can seek counseling up to six times a year at no cost to them. Sallin said the grant would pay the fee of $27 per employee, with funds originating with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and funneled through DHSS to the OCHD.

Debriefings are not part of the six free sessions, and the EAP provides two group meetings per year.

“If there’s something I feel we need to talk about, or if department heads have concerns that involve a large portion of employees, we can have a group meeting about it,” said Sallin.

Department heads can also mandate that employees attend counseling in the event of poor job performance, tardiness, or in-fighting, among other things. However, Capital Region will protect privacy.

“They won’t tell anyone anything about the sessions, even if they’re mandated,” said Sallin. “All they will tell us is that the employee is in compliance.”

As part of the grant, the EAP must be related to the after-effects of COVID-19.

“In my case, I was thrown into a supervisor’s role during the pandemic without really being prepared for it,” said Sallin. “Other offices have dealt with similar issues. In some cases, employees quit, and the ones left behind were under a lot of pressure.”

Other examples include interacting with customers since lockdowns meant there was no face-to-face experience for some time.

“We also have situations with people who worked remotely and then had anxiety when they returned to the office,” said Sallin.

Employees will also be able to transfer sessions to family members, which Sallin said would benefit students who missed a lot of in-person instruction due to the pandemic.

Supervisor training will be offered twice a year so department heads can explain the program to employees.

“This is a great program that will help everyone,” said Sallin. 

At the end of the year, Capital Region will send a report noting the number of employees who use the program.

“That will help us determine whether to continue,” said Sallin. “We could maybe get another grant, or the county could pay for it. We’ll see how this first year goes.”