Business support has been a missing element in Minnesota's fight against the opioid epidemic, but leaders believe that a new partnership will provide drug addicts with greater support in the workplace so that they can keep their jobs.

The Minnesota Business Partnership on Tuesday introduced a toolkit that will encourage employers to create "workplaces that support recovery" and reduce the stigma of employee dependency.

Businesses need to help stem the surge in Opioid overdose deaths in Minnesota, which have increased seven-fold since 2000, but also protect and retain workers in an increasingly difficult job market, said Charlie Weaver, executive director of the partnership. .

"Employers are desperate for workers," he said, "and we want to take care of these workers and help them when they need help."

The toolkit will be distributed to the 120 members of the partnership, including Target, Medtronic and 3M, which employ nearly a quarter of the state workforce. Its strategies include reducing stigma, so that workers feel comfortable seeking treatment and do not fear that it automatically costs them their job.

Allina and HealthPartners doctors joined Tuesday's announcement, noting the importance of supportive employers who invite workers back to work after treatment.

"At one point, it was easy to imagine that they were homeless or marginalized," said Dr. Paul Goering, Vice President of Mental Health and Addiction Services at Allina. "But this is not true."

Preliminary figures for 2017 show 694 deaths in Minnesota due to overdoses, including 401 involving opioids. The total number of overdoses exceeds deaths caused by car wrecks, said Jan Malcolm, Minnesota Commissioner of Health, who joined the business group at Tuesday's announcement.

"Deaths in despair and lack of connectivity" are on the rise, she said, referring to people who died of overdoses or suicides. "This is an unprecedented public health crisis."

Non-drug alternatives

The increase in opioid overdoses coincided two decades ago with the excessive prescription of narcotics by doctors, such as oxycodone, to treat pain. In recent years, doctors have become more cautious about prescribing opioids, but the number of deaths has continued to increase, as prescription pills consumers opted for more powerful synthetic products such as the fentanyl or illicit forms such as heroin.

"It's up to us to solve this problem," said Dr. Art Wineman, Regional Medical Director of HealthPartners, "but we can not do it alone."

Weaver said employers will need to keep their employees confidential while creating more tolerant and open workplaces for people with addiction issues.

One of the criticisms has been that workplace health plans generously cover prescription drugs, but not alternatives such as physiotherapy and pain psychology that can prevent workers from starting to take opioids on order.

While the toolkit did not specifically address the issue of benefits, Weaver said "it's absolutely on the table" as employers tackle the epidemic.