Avera Employee Assistance Program Celebrates Three Decades of Growth

Bosses and workers alike know the truth: life is complicated.

“Challenges at work and in life happen.” Our goal is to help those struggling with those challenges,” said Jeremy Ballew, CEAP, MEd, Avera EAP Manager, Avera Behavioral Health.

EAPs exist because of the reality that distractions and life stressors can and do have a negative impact on the job.

Organizations elect to provide this benefit for employees to help them remain focused and productive. Avera recognized this in 1993, when it began a pilot Employee Assistance Program (EAP). After 30 years, EAP keeps evolving, helping workers, employers and now – university students.

EAP is a small-but-powerful team with a lot going on:

• The team includes seven staff directly serving 153 organizations
• It serves another 900 organizations that access EAP via Avera Health Plans
• The total served population is more than 120,000 people across the United States
• Each year, Avera EAP authorizes about 2,000 sessions for those who need support through counseling
• Avera EAP continues to utilize a robust virtual counseling platform that adds convenience in connecting employees or their family members wherever they are located across the United States

How Employee Assistance Programs Work

Ballew said Avera EAP serves companies large and small, ranging from thousands of employees like Avera, to businesses with just a handful of employees. “Our goal is to be there for the customer – the business who employs EAP services – and for their workers and dependent family members,” he said.

“When a business contracts with us, we make it a priority to explain the rationale of EAP, and the fact the employee can use it without concern of their issue being shared; it won’t “get back to the boss” he added.

Ballew said the EAP team continues to receive feedback about the positive impact of helping employees remain focused and productive at work,” he said. “We have amazing counselors, and when they help someone find their way back to joy, we all win.”

“We’ve had lots of businesses say an employee was struggling, but then they talked to EAP, and they have a new attitude,” Ballew said. “They’re nearly a new person. We feel we can do this for anyone who needs help.”

Expansion and Evolution of EAP Services and Clients

Virtual EAP sessions thrived during the social-distancing era. “It was a blessing in disguise, as it led more people to use technology to connect with counselors to address their issues,” Ballew said.

Mental health services are among the most in-demand forms of health care. “We don’t want anyone to wait,” he said. For anyone reaching out to Avera EAP for counseling, they strive to offer timely appointments.

EAP’s goal for callers to get help in one or two days. Callers outside of the Sioux Falls region can cut wait times with virtual counseling.

In 2022, when the University of Sioux Falls saw the demand for counseling services growing, it turned to Avera EAP.

“We realized they were a good fit,” said Michelle DeHoogh-Kliewer, MA, Professional Counselor, University of Sioux Falls (USF). “They reflect the faith-based values of our university and they helped many students.”

In just five months, the Avera Student Assistance Program (ASAP) at USF has seen more than 4% of the university’s 1,500 students use it. Ballew said EAP hopes to see about 3% utilization for any business, so the new Avera-USF partnership is a win-win.

“When more students get help, it’s a godsend,” said Andrew Porteous, Director of Student Life and Housing at University of Sioux Falls. “Students feel pressure, anxiety, homesickness – and ASAP helps.” He said since ASAP requires no health insurance, it helps all students.

“When Avera EAP helps our students with mental health challenges, it lets our trainers, coaches and instructors focus more on their work, knowing students are getting professional support for issues they might face,” Porteous said.

“Avera EAP really showed us how seamless their services would be, and how it’d benefit not just USF students, but our faculty, administrators and everyone, really,” DeHoogh-Kliewer said. “The value of what they offered became apparent quickly – it really has been a win-win partnership.”