The behavioral health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in increased drug use and subsequent overdoses, with overdose deaths in New Jersey increasing by 8% from January to August of this year. A tally of 309 in May was the highest ever in the state, according to, New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Debra Wentz.

Wentz

Wentz shared this, sourced from a Trenton Times report, and more during NJBIZs virtual Behavioral Health Panel discussion on Tuesday afternoon.

She was joined by panelists Dawn Belamarich, CEO of Recovery Centers of America at Lighthouse; Donald Parker, president of behavioral health care transformation services and integrative health and medicine at Hackensack Meridian Health Carrier Clinic; and Dr. Frank Ghinassi, senior vice president of behavioral health and addictions service line at RWJBarnabas Health.

So with triple-digit increases in legal and illegal substance use and alcohol use as well and an 86% increase in gun sales, according to Parker, the largest increase in U.S. history what signs should employers look for when employees are struggling, and how can they provide effective interventions?

Employers should look for changes in behavior, Belamarich said, including isolation, increased fear or anxiety on the job, or an inability to complete tasks that were historically easy to complete. To keep a watchful eye over employees throughout the trials of 2020, Recovery Centers of America at Lighthousefocused on communication and early intervention including hosting regular town halls.

During the Oct. 27 panel discussion, Dr. Frank Ghinassi, senior vice president of behavioral health and addictions service line at RWJBarnabas Health, highlighted the importance of accessible behavioral health care, noting mobile crisis teams and also hotline numbers. Some of those resources are provided here:

The open dialogue since we launched into this in March has been helpful because behavioral health care workers are really at the forefront of helping [people in distress] Belamarich said.

But getting employees to seek help isnt always easy, Ghinassi explained.

Stigma still runs deep in the veins of the typical rugged individualism that seems to define America, he said.

For health care workers, the need to seek that care is as important as those in other fields. During the pandemic, its been especially important.

You think about a health care worker who usually is very compassionate people [sic] and wants to help people do the right thing during very tough events, including patients dying not being able to help them, in many cases managing from outside the room as patients were taking their last breaths, is really antithetical [to our work], Parker said.

Frontline health care workers at HMH have been given the opportunity to decompress and unpack what they experienced at the end of their shifts during the pandemic, rather than bringing the stress home, according to Parker.

Belamarich noted that innovation and flexibility have been important for companies like hers to be good employers during this time. For example, children are in remote and hybrid schooling scenarios, which is new for not only the students but their parents.

Flexibility on the part of the employer could help reduce the stress level employees have over such changes.

We all walk around with a beaker thats got a level of water in it. And under stress that water level gets higher and higher and for many people, that water level is right at the top, so just about anything creates a spill, Ghinassi said. For individuals who already were struggling, maybe living paycheck to paycheckthis has taken an already difficult situation and made it an almost impossible one.

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Behavioral health panel explores effective interventions for employees - NJBIZ