Caring for the Caregivers

Vivian Marinelli, senior director of crisis management services for FEI Behavioral Health, recently contributed her expertise to an article about managing disruptive behavior in a retail environment. The story was published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 

Financial issues have become a primary concern for many Americans. Financial counseling is an important aspect of FEI Behavioral Health's employee assistance program (EAP) services. The counseling services we provide to the employees of Prudential were recently featured in an article on Fox Business.

Dan Potterton, Chief Operating Officer of FEI Behavioral Health, recently presented during the Employee Assistance Professionals Association Annual World EAP Conference in Tampa, Fla., Oct. 6-9, 2010. Attendees will have the opportunity to better understand how their younger and older co-workers think and work, as well as how to capitalize on those unique characteristics. 

FEI Behavioral Health has released an introductory video in support of its new wellness product, Wellness Connections.

A company's workforce is its most valuable asset, and employee morale, engagement, and productivity often form the glue that holds the business together.  According to a recent white paper by Towers Watson, 44 percent of health care employees are capable, caring and ready to be engaged, but they don't feel motivated by company executives. 

How Social Media Can Aid During A Crisis

All it takes is a quick read of the headlines to recognize the added stress on educators and students as they deal with the potential for violence. Today’s news contains a rising number of stories about disruption at our schools—from altercations between staff or students to disastrous events like shootings. It’s important for school leaders to understand basic crisis management principles—and how social media might play a role in the event of a crisis, for better or worse. Here are some tips to keep in mind.

Today we mourn the loss of a profound leader in the non-profit community.

On Friday August 12th, Peter Goldberg, President and CEO of Families International died unexpectedly while on vacation in Maine.  Families International is the non-profit parent company of FEI Behavioral Health. Our hearts go out to his family and our colleagues/friends at our sister companies the Alliance for Children and Families, United Neighborhood Centers of America and Ways to Work. Peter's expertise, passion and devotion for his work will have a lasting impact for years to come.  

A small Milwaukee company played a big role in the crisis communications following the 9/11 terrorist attacks 10 years ago.

FEI Behavioral Health, 11700 W. Lake Park Drive in Milwaukee, was founded in 1979 to handle crisis communications and employee assistance programs for other companies. Most of FEI’s 35 employees have at least a master’s level degree in a behavioral health field, said Vivian Marinelli, senior director of crisis management services.

“They’re all mental health professionals, so they already know how to work with people in crisis,” Marinelli said.

FEI Behavioral Health to Feature Two Workshops at 2011 ASIS Seminar Conference

MILWAUKEE – Sept. 19, 2011 – FEI Behavioral Health, a leading Milwaukee-based crisis management, EAP, and work-life services company, will present two workshops as part of 2011 ASIS Seminar in Orlando, FL, running Sept. 19-22.

• Reaching Forward, Reaching Back: Mentoring Women in Security
  

Wednesday, Sept. 21, 11 a.m. EST

Terri Howard, director of crisis management for FEI Behavioral Health, recently contributed her expertise to an article about the importance of having a preparation plan in the event of a natural or man-made disaster. In the article Howard discusses the importance of leveraging the resources available through an employee assistance program (EAP) in the wake of a disaster. The article, “Hoping for the Best, Preparing for the Worst,” was published in the International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IPMA- HR) HR News magazine.

An employee with personal financial problems spends an average of 20 work hours per month dealing with them, according to Personal Finance Employee Education Foundation, a financial literacy nonprofit organization. And according to the Center for Responsible Lending, more than 50 percent of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck, with no savings set aside for emergencies.

How Public Safety Leaders Can Use Social Media to Effectively Manage Campus Crises

Today's news contains a rising number of stories about disruption at our schools - from altercations between staff or students to disastrous events like shootings. This creates added stress on educators and students as they deal with the potential for violence. It's important for public safety leaders to understand basic crisis management principles - and how social media might play a role in the event of a crisis, for better or worse. Here are some tips to keep in mind.

FEI is dedicated to supporting our country’s Veterans by providing these workers with the assistance that is needed to make a smooth transition from military to civilian life. In an effort to enhance our current programs, FEI is interested in researching how our customers and partners have also made this commitment to Veterans. We have developed a brief survey to gather information about current trends in Veteran assistance programs across the country. This survey should take no more than 3 minutes to complete, but will produce some highly valuable information that will provide even more support to our country’s Veterans and their families.

The Alliance for Children and Families and United Neighborhood Centers of America are seeking a talented individual to represent the interests of the Alliance and UNCA to the legislative, executive and judicial branches of the federal government and engage and mobilize our membership and their constituents to impact policy that promotes the wellbeing of children, families, adults and communities. For more information about the Alliance and UNCA, please visit www.alliance1.org and www.unca.org.

FEI is pleased to announce the debut of the Crisis Management Blog page. We envision this blog as a virtual forum where clients and those within the crisis management community can exchange ideas with their peers, as well as share their views, experiences, and resources on any relevant subject. The Crisis Management Blog will allow leaders in the field to tap into FEI’s expertise, through a professional, respectful and confidential exchange.

Lending a Hand and a Personal Touch to Employees

Employee assistance programs—referred to as EAPs—can be a valuable support system for associations and their employees. EAPs can advise association employees about child care and elder care services and connect them to resources for substance abuse issues or grief counseling. A good EAP will also help people get back on their feet and refocused on their job. Whether an association consists of a handful of employees or hundreds, there’s an EAP that can help your group foster a better work environment.

Susan Dreyfus, CEO of FEI Behavioral Health’s parent company, Families International Inc., speaks to her role in the nonprofit human services sector and highlights the work of FEI:

FEI Behavioral Health achieves the collective vision by protecting the most valuable asset an organization possesses — its workforce. “FEI has taken the traditional employee assistance program model and partners with organizations of all sizes to protect and enhance their workforce effectiveness and organizational resiliency,” said Dreyfus.

“FEI also provides for the ‘people side’ of crisis preparedness and response,” she continued. “It utilizes the strength of the Alliance for Children and Families network in both of these program areas. FEI has contracts within the government, nonprofit, and for-profit sectors — including crisis management contracts with the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Transportation Safety Board, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the U.S. Senate.