The challenge

Employee assistance programs (EAPs) are among the most common well-being resources offered by health care providers and are a core component of most employee benefit plans. Yet, health care workers are often reluctant to use the EAP for a variety of reasons, including the stigma associated with EAP usage, confidentiality concerns, the view of an EAP as a resource of last resort, and a lack of awareness of EAP service offerings.

The organization

Centura Health is a 17-hospital system with over 27,000 employees. Centura’s EAP is an internal program called Profile EAP. This program is an employersponsored, full-service EAP headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and serves the entire Centura Health system throughout Colorado and Western Kansas. It not only serves Centura Health, but also provides EAP service to 78 other companies throughout Colorado.

The approach

Centura’s EAP worked with key stakeholders at Centura Health to change the culture around EAP usage, transforming it from a resource of last-resort to a go-to tool for well-being. They focused on getting leaders at Centura to shift the ways which they traditionally viewed and interacted with the EAP to support staff well-being. The EAP team also significantly boosted the program’s visibility among Centura Health’s staff.

The result

Centura’s EAP significantly altered the way Centura Health employees interact with the program. Staff now use the EAP for a variety of purposes aside from crisis counseling, with utilization rates increasing steadily from 2015 to 2021. Eighty-three percent of EAP users are shown to be self-referred, with most learning about the EAP from fellow co-workers.