Wellness & Well-being Highlights February 12

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of February 12, 2024

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics concerning when one should drive after smoking weed vs ingesting it to the dangers of the proliferation of sports gambling regarding young adults (research indicates that “…the development of the prefrontal cortex occurs mainly during adolescence and is NOT fully accomplished until around the age of 25 years.”) to whether or not the NLRB will rule that college athletes are to be considered employees (Please refer my blog from last week and note the potential implications going forward!). Today, I wish to shed some light on a topic I have covered in the past but, in spite of our harm reduction efforts, it continues to pose risks and challenges in the construction industry: OUD/SUD overdoses. As noted in the article linked below, construction workers already die at a higher rate than workers in any other industrial sector: US-DOL data suggests at a rate of 10 per 100,000 (2020). However, when it comes to deaths by overdose, construction workers die at a rate of 162 per 100,000. Sadly, but simply put, when it comes to construction workers, they are 16x more likely to die from overdoses than work-related injuries (i.e., falls, electrocution, etc.). So, in a nod to L. Elridge Cleaver: How do “we” become part of the solution vs remain part of the problem? In the short term, consider: a) Securing Narcan for ALL of your office, shop, and job site First Aid Kits [1] and train your respective key employees to recognize someone in danger and properly administer Narcan [2]; b) In the mid-term, offer mental health and resilience trainings to your employees to reduce stress via a top-down integration strategy [3]; and c) In the long term, develop a sustainable organization-wide programmatic approach to address ongoing related issues (i.e., LEAN-STL, MATES: WashU’s School of Medicine and Tarlton have recently teamed up to run a pilot).

In closing, 5 of my longtime friends have lost sons (24-36 yo) since 2016 to Opioids. I, for one, refuse to stand idly by and watch 5 more lose loved ones. No matter what industry sector you work in, PLEASE join me in helping save our youth and, in turn, ensuring a better physically & mentally fit America for tomorrow. Thank you!

Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/08/business/construction-drug-overdose-deaths.html?unlocked_article_code=1.UE0.6EGE.fB76JdVXHtM3&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

[1] Free Narcan @ https://www.nomodeaths.org/where-to-get-naloxone

[2] Narcan Training @ https://moworksinitiative.org/worker-wellness-program/

[3] MH & Resilience Trainings @ https://moworksinitiative.org/worker-wellness-program/

[4] LEAN-STL @ https://www.stllaborers.com/lean-stl; MATES model @ https://mates.org.au/

Construction Industry’s TOP Killer: OVERDOSES

The fate of “110” in OR

Native Americans / Opioids / Mobile HC

Native Americans / Liver Transplants / Death Sentence

Marijuana & Safe Driving?

US / Sports / Gambling Addiction

OSHA Mental Health fact sheet (English / Spanish)