Hazelden Betty Ford launches employer solutions to tackle the addiction and mental health crisis

Center City, Minn. (July 11, 2023) – Nearly half of U.S. adults have dealt in their family with substance use disorder (SUD)—a chronic health condition that disrupts relationships and contributes to absenteeism, lost productivity, turnover and healthcare expenditures of around $442 billion annually—which is why more employers are reaching out to addiction experts at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation for help. In response, the renowned nonprofit has introduced a new portfolio of trustworthy, comprehensive, and proven solutions to help employers enhance the overall health and well-being of their workforce and families—the latest in Hazelden Betty Ford's growing digital health strategy. 

Contrary to stereotypes, the vast majority of people with SUD (7 in 10) are employed. Roughly 1 in 10 employees nationally have SUD and an additional 35% to 45% are impacted by a co-worker's or family member's addiction, often making it difficult to focus on work and their own well-being. 

With its new Workplace Solutions, Hazelden Betty Ford offers a portfolio of evidence-based and research-informed resources aimed at helping employers meet the needs of their workforce, reduce costs and risk, enhance company culture, and improve performance.  

• Solution 1: The Wellbeing Portal is a confidential, easy-to-access and easy-to-use digital hub where employees exploring help for themselves or a loved one can learn about substance use disorder, take an assessment to determine if they are at risk, receive personalized recommendations, and connect to resources and services from Hazelden Betty Ford and elsewhere. Employers who implement the Wellbeing Portal will empower individual employees, families, and the entire work community with much-needed information about SUD, mental health, and options for professional care whenever needed.
• Solution 2: Breaking Free is a self-paced, substance-use education and risk-reduction tool designed to help people reduce their substance use from at-risk levels, break patterns of escalation, and avoid more serious problems later. This early intervention and prevention resource can be accessed via any mobile device. 
• Solution 3: Workplace Solutions multimedia content—either licensed or customized—is also available to use on company intranet sites, add to the existing resources in the Wellbeing Portal, or offer to employees in other ways. Hazelden Betty Ford's library of educational content includes evidence-based and holistic resources covering the continuum of care—from early intervention to recovery support—and is designed to resonate with people of various learning preferences. 
• Solution 4: Unique Centers of Excellence contracting models allow employers to bundle care, special services and resources, and value-based pricing in a customized way that best meets the unique needs of their employees and their dependents, with a dedicated Hazelden Betty Ford team to support them.  

Hazelden Betty Ford is also offering a Recovery-Ready Workplace Toolkit to help supervisors, managers and executives maximize the impact of its resources by launching and championing a healthy, inclusive, and stigma-free environment for seeking information and/or help.

"Behind every technical metric or financial outcome is the core of our work: connecting people and their families to hope, health and healing," said Bob Poznanovich, chief business growth officer for Hazelden Betty Ford, the nation's largest nonprofit system of substance use disorder treatment, mental health care, recovery resources and related prevention and education services. "The Workplace Solutions portfolio is powered by a team of clinicians, strategists, people with lived experience, and developers who all share an authentic desire to see people and families affected by addiction served and supported as they navigate their own unique journey. Hazelden Betty Ford teams have been working on this set of solutions for two years, getting robust input from employers and payers and testing it with them. We're excited to now offer Hazelden Betty Ford's Workplace Solutions nationally as we pursue our vision of empowering recovery and well-being for all."

The launch of the Workplace Solutions portfolio is the latest example of Hazelden Betty Ford's growing digital health presence, which includes collaborations with TELUS Health (formerly Lifeworks), Contigo Health and the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), which chose Hazelden Publishing as the publisher for the forthcoming 4th edition of the ASAM Criteria to include just-in-time learning modules and multimedia content to support education and training. By continuing to expand into new digital content and products, Hazelden Betty Ford aims to provide healing and hope to individuals and families wherever and whenever they need support.

For more information about Workplace Solutions, email JGrindahl@HazeldenBettyFord.org or visit HazeldenBettyFord.org/workplacesolutions.