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Do you know what to do when an employee discloses a substance abuse issue? What if you suspect that an employee is using? Do you know what to look for? These are not always easy conversations to have, So Business First gathered four experts to discuss ways employers can be prepared to have the right resources at their fingertips. Our paid sponsors for the discussion were: Tiffany Cardwell, principal advisor with MCM HR Advisory Services; Karyn Hascal, president of The Healing Place; Priscilla Hardin McIntosh, CEO of The Morton Center; and Sarah Davasher-Wisdom, president and CEO of Greater Louisville Inc. 

Click here to read the complete article from Louisville Business First.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – At The Healing Place in Louisville, a residential center for people with alcohol and drug addiction, handrails, doorknobs and faucets usually are cleaned three times a day.

“Now we’re doing every hour,” said Karyn Hascal, president of the Healing Place, which houses 450 clients at the men’s center and 250 at the women’s center.

The spread of the coronavirus — with limits on public gatherings — has led to sweeping changes in almost every aspect of local drug and alcohol services, ranging from residential programs to outpatient treatment to group meetings highly valued by members of Alcoholics Anonymous and others dedicated to sobriety.

Much activity has shifted online, including meetings and counseling sessions. And facilities have stepped up cleaning efforts and social distancing in cases where people continue to gather.

 Officials with local recovery organizations say in times of stress, such as the current coronavirus pandemic — which includes job loss and economic hardship — it’s even more important to ensure people have access to therapy, meetings and other services.

Already, they say, they are hearing from anxious clients affected by the pandemic.

Click here to read the complete article from Louisville Courier-Journal.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Worried about the coronavirus and with two young children out of school, Betty Nunn wondered if she should cancel a routine doctor’s appointment on Monday.

Then Norton Healthcare offered an alternative — an “e-visit’ with her primary care physician, Dr. Monalisa Tailor.

Instead of driving to the doctor’s office with her kids in tow, Nunn logged onto a Norton app on her phone for an electronic face-to-face visit with Tailor.

“I was really happy with it,” Nunn said. “I would do it again.”

Telehealth already was on the horizon for many health providers in Kentucky, following a state law providing a framework for it that took effect last year.

But the coronavirus pandemic has transformed overnight the practices of doctors, psychologists, therapists, addiction counselors and others who have accelerated efforts to see patients online.

Doctors who began using telehealth over the past two weeks said it’s a glimpse of the future of health care.

“Within a couple of years …

Click here to read the complete article from Louisville Courier-Journal.