TO: All University and Hospital Employees
FROM: Artis G. Hampshire-Cowan, Esq., Vice President for Human Resources
DATE: January 31, 2001
SUBJECT: HU-HELPS EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
A New Work/Life Benefits Information and Referral Service for
University and Hospital Employees
I am pleased to announce to our employee community the commencement of an exciting new employee benefit: the HU-HELPS Employee Assistance Program (HU-HELPS EAP). This benefit will become available to you on February 1, 2001, and is free to you and your dependent family and household members. The program will be administered by Magellan Behavioral Health, the largest provider of employee assistance programs in the world.
This program provides benefits and assistance well beyond the array of counseling and referral services commonly found in most other employee assistance programs, and is considered "best in class" among major educational and corporate entities.
You and your dependent family and household members can receive confidential help for virtually any work/life issue you are experiencing, including, but not limited to: stress; anxiety; depression; alcohol/substance abuse; marital problems; grief; financial stress; etc. Licensed counselors are available 24 hours a day/7 days a week (on an unlimited basis) to take your calls, discuss your issues, identify options and alternatives, and develop a plan of action to address your needs, utilizing either short-term counseling through Magellan's licensed, professional provider network, or through referral to a community resource. You and your family members are eligible to receive up to five (5) free in-person counseling sessions, per individual/per occurrence/per year. If outside professional medical services are required, Magellan counselors will coordinate the referral consistent with your health benefit plan in order to avoid or minimize any additional cost to you.
However, the HU-HELPS EAP plan does not end there. The program emphasizes and includes additional unlimited and free assistance, educational materials, and research to deal with real "life" issues, such as prenatal preparation, adoption services, child care/school selection, parenting skills, college/vocational school planning, senior and adult dependent care issues, sick and back-up care resources, etc. Additionally, the program offers a "Law Line" providing free, unlimited telephone consultation on a variety of legal matters employees are commonly confronted with in their everyday lives, as well as reduced rates for subsequent legal representation.
You will be eligible to receive research services, video/audio tapes, counseling, books/brochures, etc. on an unlimited basis to address these very critical work/life issues that routinely impact our daily lives. All of these listed services, as well as the traditional array of EAP services, are available through a confidential, single point of contact via toll free telephone access. Beginning February 1, 2001, please call 1-800-888-CARE (1-800-888-2273) to access any of these services.
Finally, please note that you and your family can also access the HU-HELPS EAP program on-line for free, professional, confidential support at: http://www.magellanassist.com/.
MagellanAssist.com has a wealth of resources to help individuals make informed decisions. Current features include:
- Ability to find and be referred to an EAP counselor on-line.
- Self-assessment quizzes on stress, depression and other related topics.
- Tips on preparing for EAP sessions, including what to expect.
- A glossary list of terms and definitions used in behavioral health.
- Health and wellness tips on topics including anger management, elder care, smoking cessation, money management and substance abuse warning signs.
- Helpful links to community resources.
To access on-line HU-HELPS EAP services, follow the steps below:
- Go to www.MagellanAssist.com
- Click on "Employees and Dependents".
- Enter Howard University and Hospital's EAP telephone #: 800-888-2273.
- Enter your company name: Howard University or HU, or Howard University Hospital or HUH, or HUP.
- Click on your subject of choice (choose from the list on the left-hand side of the page, or from one of the blue topic headings).
Access to the web site is absolutely free, unlimited, and confidential. No one at Howard University or Hospital will know that you've accessed the site, and you will not be contacted by anyone from the HU-HELPS EAP.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please call Magellan directly at 1-800-888-2273. You can also call the University's Department of Human Resources on 202-806-6972, or the Hospital's Department of Human Resources on 202-865-6650.
In today's world of personal and work life pressures, all of us face situations where we require advice and assistance. As such, the HU-HELPS EAP will provide state-of-the-art professional, confidential, and readily available avenues of assistance to address the needs of the University's and Hospital's most valuable resource--our employee community. I look forward to your use of and success with this important new benefit.
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