ASAP goes to the Annual SAPAA Conference– Bringing Awareness to the Alarming Rise in Substance Use and Tackling Self-Referrals

American Substance Abuse Professionals (ASAP) is proud to announce an upcoming learning opportunity for drug and alcohol industry professionals, including three of our very own who will be attending the Annual Substance Abuse Program Administrators Association (SAPAA) Conference in Orlando, FL.

SAPAA is a non-profit organization with members representing a variety of alcohol and drug testing industry professions, including third-party administrators (TPAs), in-house administrators, Medical Review Officers (MROs), HHS Certified Laboratories, Substance Abuse Professionals (SAPs), manufacturers of testing devices, collection sites, and their collectors, along with you – the employers. Attending this year’s conference, ASAP’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Nicole Hanratty, accompanied by Chief Development Officer (CDO), Sandra Serrano and Tara Sauers, Senior Business Development Manager.

Presenting at this year’s SAPAA conference is Nicole Hanratty, ASAP’s COO and Chesapeake Chapter President of the Employee Assistance Professional Association (EAPA). Nicole has served as the EAPA chapter President for three years, and served as an officer since 2016. She’s a Certified Employee Assistance Professional (CEAP), DOT-qualified Substance Abuse Professional, NRC-qualified Substance Abuse Expert, and Certified Designated Employee Representative Trainer (C-DERT). With over 20 years of employment with ASAP, Nicole started as the Clinical Manager of Provider Relations, now leading all ASAP Clinical and Operational Staff. She specializes in risk mitigation and DOT regulations, working in the industry to support employers and SAPs on compliance and regulatory guidance. Nicole will be conducting a presentation at this year’s SAPAA conference, emphasizing new and alarming substance use industry trends in the workplace.

As self-referrals for substance use are on the rise, this year’s SAPAA presentation will focus on engaging in effective communication between employers, SAPs, and the Return to Duty process. It’s imperative that as the industry evolves, we help reshape a new way for organizations to provide employees another opportunity when drug and alcohol matters occur in the workplace. This year’s presentation will touch on the importance of second chance programs for employees, and how a high magnitude reinforcer and long-term support program motivates employees to stay on track after successfully completing the process and re-entering the workforce. Take a journey through 2022 statistics, and how the lingering effects of COVID-19 increased self-referrals. See how a shift has occurred in inspiring employees to take a positive step in their mental health and asking for help in comparison prior to the pandemic.

The Annual SAPAA Conference takes place October 15-18, 2023, in Orlando, FL.  ASAP looks forward to partnering with SAPAA for another year filled with learning, growing, and protecting public safety. For more information on the SAPAA conference, visit https://www.sapaa.com/page/2023conference.