Tobyhanna Army Depot, PA –
The Tobyhanna Army Depot (TYAD) Employee Services Center has been renamed the TYAD Employee Wellness Center (EWC).
TYAD is committed to investing in our people. A big component of that investment is facilitating employee wellness. To showcase that commitment, TYAD offers employees and their immediate family members an invaluable resource in the EWC.
The EWC is led by Ricardo Horn, a licensed social worker who has a Master’s Degree from the Marywood University School of Social Work. As the EWC Chief, he oversees key programming efforts such as the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Army Substance Abuse Program (ASAP), and the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) Program. EWC services are confidential in accordance with legal guidelines.
Beginning last year, Horn and his team began thinking about a potential new name that would best represent the services their office provides to the workforce.
Horn said this new name offers a more complete description of the services and mission of the EWC.
“After some time of me being here and confidently understanding all the lines of effort that the office was responsible for, the idea of wellness kept surfacing in conversations about our mission and the vision of what we wanted to do and how we wanted to contribute to our workforce. I think wellness is just simply a better and more congruent word to describe what we do,” said Horn.
Horn said although the EWC has changed names, its mission of helping TYAD employees be healthy and well remains the same. Horn encouraged employees to be proactive in reaching out for the resources available to them.
“Sustaining the workforce and wellness is about being proactive and taking action to stay healthy and to be healthy. Reflecting wellness in the name of our office also makes it about being proactive and looking ahead towards the future of what our organization will be,” said Horn.
The EWC will continue to provide and/or manage an array of services and programs including the EAP for those seeking assistance with their mental health; ASAP for those experiencing issues with substance use or abuse; SHARP to prevent and address instances of sexual assault and harassment; and mindfulness sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Horn explained that the EWC provides brief, solution-focused counseling to help individuals maintain their capacity to work and live. Within the framework of brief counseling, the EWC will offer employees solution-focused therapy. Clients with issues that require long-term treatment are referred out to therapists and/or services in the community tailored to meet employee needs.
Although the mission of the EWC and the services it provides remain the same, Horn said he and his team are always looking to improve.
Part of that improvement is an investment in the most important asset of the EWC – its people.
The EWC recently added two new members - EAP Coordinators (EAPCs) Deborah Taylor-Harrison and Jose Collado.
While the entire EWC team is on standby to assist Team Tobyhanna, Taylor-Harrison and Collado will lean on their expertise to provide the best support to those who need it. Collado’s primary focus will be on providing brief counseling to employees under the auspices of EAP, relying on his extensive experience with both in-and-outpatient mental health treatment.
Taylor-Harrison comes to Tobyhanna from the Department of Veterans Affairs, where she worked as a case manager for veterans experiencing homelessness and substance use/abuse issues. A licensed social worker, she will coordinate ASAP and connect depot employees with treatment options as well as community resources for a holistic approach to recovery.
Horn, Taylor-Harrison, and Collado will work alongside Jaime Shields, who recently took over community support functions in the EWC. Shields liaises with local organizations such as the Women’s Resource Center and beyond to ensure the EWC is connected with appropriate resources in our area.
According to the National Institute on Mental Illness, one in five Americans experience mental illness, and depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide.
The services of the EWC are available to all Department of Defense employees and their immediate family members. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call the EWC office at (570) 615-8873. If you or a loved one are in crisis, dial 988, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or the EWC 24/7 Hotline at (570) 615-5591.
Employee wellness programs align with Tobyhanna’s long-range strategic plan, TOBY2035. The plan, which has four focus areas: C5ISR Readiness, Shape the Future, Invest In Our People and Strategic Communications, aims to posture the organization for the year 2035.
TYAD is a recognized leader in providing world-class logistics support for command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C5ISR) systems across the Department of Defense. Tobyhanna’s Corporate Philosophy, dedicated work force and electronics expertise ensure the depot is the Joint C5ISR provider of choice for all branches of the Armed Forces and industry partners.
Tobyhanna’s unparalleled capabilities include full-spectrum logistics support for sustainment, overhaul and repair, fabrication and manufacturing, engineering design and development, systems integration, postproduction software support, technology insertion, modification, foreign military sales and global field support to our joint warfighters.
About 3,200 personnel are employed at Tobyhanna, which is located in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. Tobyhanna Army Depot is part of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command. Headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, the command’s mission is to empower the Soldier with winning C5ISR capabilities.