Archive for category: Worker Wellness News

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of April 30, 2023

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from how one city is taking a different approach to addressing their area’s mental health crisis to how essential oils may impact your mood to the rise of fake nursing degrees. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of the Workers Memorial Day. Over 50 years ago, this nation passed a law to protect (most) workers on the job known as the Occupational Health & Safety Act of 1970. PLEASE take the time to review any or all of the first 4 articles in this week’s blog. There is something for every worker from those in the trenches to those in middle and upper management positions. We all have a duty to not only protect ourselves but our sister and brother workers as well. Nearly 20 years ago, fellow researchers from Washington University’s School of Medicine approached me to form an ongoing partnership to study safety issues on STL construction job sites. Their goal was to help improve conditions that would result in bringing our workers safely home to their families and communities…on a daily basis. In so doing, with the cooperation of BOTH labor & management, WE have done just that! In closing, I remain grateful that this partnership still exists to meet the ever-changing needs of work & society.

Source: https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/oshact/completeoshact

Construction Falls resource

May 10^th is Safety Professionals Day 

Workers Memorial Day

Deaths on the job

Community MH resources

Seattle / Tax / MH

Social media / Teens / MH

Suicides & Guns

Rural gun-related deaths

Trigger-happy America?

Walmart & Opioids

More on Sacklers

Lean into negative emotions

Body-shaming & Meditation

Allergies for Everyone

Hemorrhoids & Treatment

AI fitness coach

Mood & Essential Oils

Benefits of art therapy

Brazil / Poverty / Land Revolt

Garment factory tragedy: 1 decade later

Cheating the H-1B

America’s price for low wages? 

Rising cost of college  

Fake nursing degrees?

On being Voluntold

Women / Trades / Discrimination

Your digital life after death?

India’s population boom

Nearshoring 

NHL’s Alum / Social Worker / CTE

Upcoming webinars, etc.:

Impact of opioids on rural workforce

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of April 16, 2023

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from how Mental Health and Suicide have impacted the construction industry to the benefits of exercising outdoors to why the nursing profession needs more men. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of childhood trauma. Several years ago, a study came forth explaining the concept of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). And, how people who experience 4 or more of these types of trauma often have difficulty with related matters in adulthood. For people under the age of 18, issues like child abuse (i.e., sexual, physical, emotional), a family member going to prison or being killed, divorce, poverty, etc. can negatively impact kids for life. In general, some experts suggest that if a parent abuses a child, then it is likely that this child will abuse his/her children, and so on. Furthermore, since there is a correlation between trauma and addiction, by identifying ACEs early on healthcare professionals may be able to assist victims and communities mitigate their long-term effects.

Source: https://www.ncjfcj.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/Finding-Your-Ace-Score.pdf

White House on Tranq (1)

White House on Tranq (2)

White House on Tranq (3)

Judge on Tranq

Philly’s harm reduction & Tranq

Marijuana & Addiction

Suicides in the Navy

MH & Suicide in the Construction Industry

ACE Scores / Kids / Trauma

MH @ Work

MH & AI

VR Therapy

White House & AI

Belonging Barometer

Finding Joy

Family Boundaries

Benefits of exercising outdoors

PTSD Treatment Guide

Guns & Kids

Gun Violence & Mental Illness

Louisville Bank Shooter & CTE?

EIU Faculty Strike

Medical residents unionize

Unions warn of Social Security collapse

Construction industry needs more workers

Cancer coverage for firefighters

Nursing needs more men

Upcoming webinars, etc.:

Impact of opioids on the workplace

Chair yoga

NOTE: The links provided above are for informational purposes only. None of these serve as a substitute for medical advice one should obtain from his/her own primary care physician and/or mental health professional. Please contact johngaal@moaflcio.org with related questions or comments.

Wellness & Well-being Highlights for the Week of April 2, 2023                                                    

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from the how some communities are addressing homelessness and Mental Health issues to the impact of the Adderall shortage to how pets may reduce allergies in children. Today, I wish to shed some light on how Narcan (The Lazarus Drug) will soon become an over-the-counter (OTC) drug. Because of the seriousness of the opioids crisis across the USA, several states, including Missouri, have had a standing order for anyone who can assist a person in opioids overdose to obtain “naloxone” at their local pharmacy without a prescription. As of this summer, this will be the case in all 50 states. Make no mistake, this is not a cure-all for the opioids epidemic! However, from a harm-reduction standpoint, knowing how to administer this life-saving drug is vitally important. Too often, when I ask people in the construction industry these 3 questions, I get concerned:

1. How many have a First Aid kit in their workplace?
2. How many have an AED in their workplace?
3. How many have Narcan in their workplace?

The responses typically go like this: 100%, 80%, 10%, respectively. To those 90% in #3 above, I respectfully say: “It takes less than 30 minutes to get the proper training.” PLEASE reach out to your local providers for guidance and supplies. If you think drugs are NOT in your workplace, you are sadly mistaken. Regarding this issue, because of the private atmosphere, “restrooms” are often utilized to partake in related illegal activities and should be monitored on a regular basis. This reminds me of a motto from my time as a Boy Scout some +50 years ago: BE PREPARED!

Sources: https://www.npr.org/2023/03/30/1166969942/fda-approves-the-overdose-reversing-drug-narcan-for-over-the-counter-sales

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7klB8Vza9ac

We need to TALK about SUICIDE

Care of the mentally ill in the USA

MH & Fingerprinting your brain

Exercise & Depression

Homelessness / MH / Compassion

Tranq wounds

FDA & Narcan (1)

FDA & Narcan (2)

Narcan soon to be OTC

Telemedicine & OUD

Fentanyl & Mexico’s border

Fentanyl / Michigan / DEA

Adderall shortage / Kids / School

Adderall shortage & DEA

Mass shootings / Trauma / Coping

Preventive care / ACA / New ruling

Needing to renew Medicaid?

Alcohol & Health risks

AIDS / Foreign policy / Saving lives

How vaccines SAVE lives

Pets / Kids / Allergies

Treating back pain @ home?

Tragedy to Triumph

Finland is THE Happy Place

More on child labor

Dysfunctional labor laws

Black Americans / Slavery / Census

STREIK

Losing faith in the college degree?

Prisons / Rehab / Education

Female athletes / Concussions / Lack of research

Ex-Pat’s star last moments

Upcoming webinar/seminars:

Black Maternal Health

Mental Health First Aid

NOTE: The links provided above are for informational purposes only. None of these serve as a substitute for medical advice one should obtain from his/her own primary care physician and/or mental health professional. Please contact johngaal@moaflcio.org with related questions or comments.

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of March 19, 2023

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from the mental health of workers and students to Moms seeking work-life balance to how to grieve in a healthy manner. Today, I wish to shed some light on how apprenticeships are now being viewed by high school students as legitimate alternatives to the “college-for-all” mantra the US has hitched its wagon to for the past 30+ years. Having served on the US Secretary of Labor’s Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship (ACA) from 2003-2010, I can attest that the seeds we planted 20 years ago are finally bearing fruit. If one reviews the details of the student debt issue, you will soon find that a good portion of this debt is from community college students…most of which never earned an Associate’s degree. While college may not be for all at the age of 18, I for one, do believe that most workers “eventually” gain much needed leadership skills by attending college once they hone in on their career choice. This is why I have advocated for emulating the European model of apprenticeships since 2004 (Google: Bayless Floor Layers Middle Apprenticeship Program). Wherein, the focus is on apprenticeships at the secondary level of education. Thus, graduating high school students with job-ready skill sets! In closing, I suspect with the rise of STEM at the secondary and post-secondary levels, it has become less bitter (and less costly) for many parents to accept the importance of hands-on education which, in turn, helps temper the age-old stigma of vocational education.

Sources: https://www.wsj.com/articles/more-students-are-turning-away-from-college-and-toward-apprenticeships-15f3a05d

https://www.wsj.com/articles/student-loan-bills-are-set-to-come-due-adding-pressure-on-younger-americans-1738b6e0

US-DOL seeks input on workers’ MH

Young women & MH

Students & MH

Trials of being young

MH guide for college students & families

Period products in MO schools

US maternal mortality rate

Toxic workplace culture: Men v Women

Canadian moms & Work-Life balance

Millennials & Unkept promises

COVID & What worked?

Meth forces new protocols for CO libraries

New CDC opioids guidelines / Too little, too late?

On solving our opioids crisis

Testing for fentanyl?

Opioids in the construction industry (14:38 min mark)

Finns / Death / Drug abuse

Marriage & Technology

Marriage / Long term health / Happiness

Women / Sex / Cancer

How to meditate?

On meditating before sleep

Embracing the “dark side”

A good death?

Healthy grieving

Feeling alive…again

On chiros & neck manipulation

Never getting together?

Meetings: In-person v Tech

Student debt & Added pressure

Apprenticeship v College

Promoting Canada’s skilled trades education

Local community colleges expand mfg curriculum

Fixing child care: A work-around

The anti-Girl Scout cookie

Build housing = Attract workers?

What’s your next career?

Why trust science?

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of March 5, 2023

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from addressing if AI (artificial intelligence) can help treat Mental Illness to the benefits of sleep to how one should continue to exercise regardless of age. Today, I wish to shed some light on how one school district is now requiring ALL teachers to be trained in administering NARCAN. Since the beginning of the blog, nearly 2 years ago, I have included numerous articles pertaining to the opioids crisis in the USA. In fact, you may recall seeing an article a couple of months ago where I was part of a team of first responders on a SWA flight to Las Vegas that revived an opioids overdose victim…while 35,000 feet off the ground. Had my spouse NOT been carrying NARCAN in her purse on October 22, 2022, I fear, for him and his family, that young man would no longer be with us today. To this end, people from ALL walks of life—social standing be damned—are dying on a daily basis from opioid overdoses. As such, I have 2 “immediate” asks of you:

1. Demand that your workplace stock NARCAN on site; and
2. PLEASE check your local resources and get trained sooner rather than later!

Sources: https://www.cbsnews.com/video/teachers-trained-to-administer-narcan-amid-opioid-crisis/#x

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/columns/tony-messenger/messenger-st-louis-man-who-saved-overdose-victim-pushes-airline-to-carry-narcan/article_54ced5c1-9d10-5867-9101-979b08e9bc3e.html

Training teachers to use NARCAN in schools

GA opioids trial

MH & Obstacles to Accessing Benefits

Improving Worker Well-being

Supporting MH Builds Resiliency

Update: Suicide Data

Insulin pricing?

AI / Doctors / Patients

AI & Treating Mental Illness

Are you a “fixer”?

Caregivers & Burnout

Kids & Screen Time

Sleep Benefits

Sleep Discipline

Loneliness / Workers / Costs

Grief & Ignoring Advice

Beating Brain Fog & MH

The 11-minute Walk = Longer Life

Aging & Exercise

The Ongoing Alzheimers’ Debate

Missing your work spouse?

Biden’s nomination for Walsh’s replacement

Supreme Court weighs in on Student Debt Relief

UMWA strike ends

STL nursing home closes

Firms losing worker w/o layoffs

5 Generations in the Workplace

Women & Title IX (1)

Women & Title IX (2)

Another NFLer passes: Stage 4 CTE

Upcoming Trainings:

QPR & MHFA (FREE – Onsite)

Past webinars:

Tale of 2 Surgeries

Opioid Risk Reduction & Minimizing Claims

Holistic Approach to Campus Mental Health

NOTE: The links provided above are for informational purposes only. None of these serve as a substitute for medical advice one should obtain from his/her own primary care physician and/or mental health professional. Please contact johngaal@moaflcio.org with related questions or comments.