With foodservice employees accounting for 10% of the Delaware residents who died from drug overdoses in 2017, the state is embarking on a training blitz to teach restaurant employees how to keep a co-worker from succumbing.
The Restaurant Accolade Program also aims to teach the workers how to help a fellow employee who’s contending with an opioid addiction. The state is using the term “substance use disorder” (SUD) as part of its complementary effort to de-stigmatize addiction.
“It’s heartbreaking to know that among the 447 Delawareans who died of a drug overdose in 2020, that individuals within [the] foodservice industry were among those more heavily impacted,” Karyl Rattay, director of Delaware’s Department of Health, said in a statement. “The Restaurant Accolade Program is a great way for businesses to take care of their employees and provide a method for employers to remain informed on the opioid crisis.”
In addition to training a restaurant’s staff, the initiative aims to help establishments draft the policies and workplaces rules that will help employees and guests contending with an SUD.
The program has three progressive levels of training. At the completion of each one, a participating restaurant receives a window cling that can alert the outside world that the staff inside has been trained to revive overdose victims.
Mark Black of Brick Works Brewing & Eats in Smyrna, Del., said in the statement from the health department that his establishment is participating “because this is a problem we can no longer ignore.”
“Anecdotally, restaurant employees and hospitality group managers have noted that there is an increased risk of opioid use among restaurant workers industry-wide,” Black said.
The department says it will make a push to enroll restaurants in the program this spring.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.