Expats can be serviced by International EAPs. (Health Care Services: Advertising Supplement).

International business is an important component of commerce. Firms are merging at a rapid pace, more than at any other time in economic history. Firms that may have begun as a Midwest based company can find themselves, sometimes overnight, to be an International employer. Employees are required to move to an area of the world that they never would have imagined as a place to live and raise their families, it happens every day. Families and employers are immediately challenged with meeting their healthcare needs. This has created a challenge and often a costly situation for employers.

The typical foreign assignment costs an employer on average $1,500,000. Statistically, foreign assignments are only 40-45% successful. International employers are looking for cost benefit programs. One solution, with a proven track record, is to have an EAP organization develop International EAP services managed by senior clinicians that will directly impact difficult situations positively before they escalate to a crisis for the employer, the employee and their family.

Seven years ago, a major global company with a vision about support for expatriates and their families contacted EAP organization, Worldwide EAP to develop an IEAP program tailored to the challenge. To meet this challenge, founders John Stenzel and Sandy Weimer, M.D., began the process of searching the world, visiting sites on five continents, gathering information on the situations faced by the employees and human resources. In each location, they surveyed the local clinical community to find professionals who could help with any emergency with world standard care in English. Worldwide EAP was not satisfied to simply translate the model of EAP available in North America to other countries; it also needed to meet the needs within the host country. Many of the expatriates served are in remote or extraordinary places in developing countries, where standards are difficult to measure. Using proprietary resources, the company has put together a network of senior clinicians, the majority being psychiatrists, (M.D.' s), who can deliver a full spectrum of services as well as delegate care where appropriate. This is a network that is experienced, cosmopolitan, and creative under the leadership of American clinicians, which has been filling the individualized needs of visionary companies operating globally.

A good EAP organization will provide an effective and timely response to each call. Fast response times enable trained clinicians to work with the caller to resolve a critical situation in an expeditious manner. The result is a controlled situation, a resolved problem, a more contented employee and a cost-effective solution for the employer.

According to John C. Stenzel, founding partner of Worldwide EAR, "Employers are realizing the need to provide mental health services to their employees and their families in extremely remote parts of the world. The challenges that these employees and their families face can be overwhelming. We had to develop technology to address their needs while at the same time continuing with a high quality level of mental health service."

This artical was provided by Worldwide EAP. For more information, call [phone].