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AAC F A M I L Y & F R I E N D S


the voting process and county government. One session had a panel of county officials who talked about what they do and answered the students’ questions. A student asked Pulaski County Coroner Gerone Hobbs how he and those in his department are able to handle what they are required to do. Hobbs talked about how important the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that Pulaski County uses is to him and his employees. He told those young people that our society, in some ways, looks down on the need to talk to a professional, but we all need someone to talk to. He impressed upon the group how important it is to find someone to talk to when you are in need. I have written quite a few articles about physical wellness. However, wellness is not only about our physical body. Wellness extends to many other areas of our lives, including our mental and emotional wellness. EAPs can provide a much-needed service to help our county employees deal with all of life’s ups and downs — which we know are unavoidable — so they will be a more productive employee. I am thrilled to announce that the AAC has partnered with Southwest EAP to provide a discounted rate to counties that choose to participate. The service is provided at an incredibly affordable group discount rate. This is the very same EAP that Coroner Hobbs spoke of and that Pulaski County has used for many years. In 2014, Southwest EAP participated in a study to determine


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the impact of EAP intervention 90 days post intake. They demonstrated a statistically significant improvement for the client companies in all areas. Individual results were as follows:


• Absenteeism — reduced by 80 percent


» » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » A focus on emotional wellness


he Association of Arkansas Counties recently hosted a job shadow event for Junior Achievement of Arkansas. We had about 65 ninth through 12th graders come to our building to learn about





Presenteeism (loss of focus/ productivity while at work) — reduced by 28 percent


• Work Engagement — increased by 18 percent





Life Satisfaction — increased by 44 percent


• Workplace Distress — decreased by 32 percent


on-one


Southwest EAP provides one- counseling/coaching


services with a counselor for the employee and his family. Their services include assessment, crisis intervention, counseling, individual life skills training, life and career coaching, work performance intervention, referral services, coordination with medical plans and case management and return to work conferences. Southwest EAP understands that employee productivity is directly tied to knowledge, skills and motivation. They offer training in many areas, such as marital and family abuse, substance abuse, stress, interpersonal relationships, healthy habits, harassment prevention, financial issues, work/life balance, diversity, effective communication and workplace violence. It’s a sad fact that all of our counties have been touched


Becky Comet AAC Member Benefits Manager


by various tragedies — tornados, floods, fires, death of a coworker and many other situations. Southwest EAP will come to your county to provide that “someone to talk to” when crisis strikes. As Coroner Hobbs pointed out, “We all need someone to talk to.” You will be hearing more from me about our partnership with Southwest EAP in the coming months. Feel free to call me at the AAC for more information on how your county can secure this much-needed service for your hardworking employees.


Savings times 2


Wallet & waistline


75 Counties - One Voice 22 COUNTY LINES, WINTER 2016


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