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Weaver and the Ministry of Health announced a partnership on Tuesday, September 18, to create an employer toolkit to help workers with addiction issues.
"It's not just if the employee is addicted," Weaver said. "It's their mother, father or wife or child." Imagine the mental stress and distraction of an employee. "How do you focus on your work if you're wondering if your child is going to be in." security or survive? "
Minnesota lost 401 people as a result of an opioid-related overdose in 2017. Drugs were responsible for the majority of 694 drug overdose deaths in the state.
Opioid-related deaths have increased exponentially since 2000, and drug overdoses now kill more Minnesotans than car wrecks.
"It's quite stunning when you think about it," Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said of the death toll. Teaming up with the business world is an "essential" part of the state's ongoing response to the epidemic of opioids.
"It's a public health crisis," Malcolm said.
Create a toolbox to help
Weaver and Malcolm hope that employers will use the new toolkit to reduce the stigma of addiction, encourage the safe disposal of unused drugs, will be better prepared if a worker does an overdose and improve the drug. employee access to treatment.
Weaver acknowledged that workers are reluctant to talk to their employer about addiction issues. He hopes that the willingness of trade partnership members to tackle the problem will help erase some of this stigma.
"We can not afford not to tackle this problem in Minnesota," Weaver said, noting the human cost of the drug crisis.
The economic impact of abuse
The state is facing a shortage of increasing manpower for certain types of skills. Weaver adds that in addition to being a public health crisis, opioid addiction could have a lasting impact on the state's economy.
In 2017, the Council of Economic Advisers of the White House estimated that the opioid crisis cost more than $ 500 billion, or 2.8% of the country's gross domestic product in 2015.
"Frankly, from an employer's point of view, nothing is more important than the health and well-being of our employees," Weaver said. "In the end, companies benefit from employees who can work, show up and do the work."
Other efforts to stem the epidemic
The partnership with business leaders is only the last step of the state's work to combat the epidemic of opioids.
Public health officials have developed stricter prescribing guidelines for pain medications and are striving to make addiction treatment more accessible. The Attorney General and state prosecutors have filed lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, claiming that doctors and patients were misled about the safety of painkillers.
The pharmaceutical companies have challenged these allegations.
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