September 15, 2025
Construction workers face substance use disorder at nearly twice the rate of the general workforce, and For Construction Pros went straight to Dr. Nzinga Harrison, Eleanor Health’s Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer, to unpack why. Her answer starts with the job itself: high injury rates plus opioid prescriptions plus a culture that prizes toughness is a combination that makes dependency more likely, not less.
Q: “What gives you hope about changing the culture around addiction and recovery?”
A: “I see more leaders openly acknowledging addiction and pushing for solutions.”
— Dr. Nzinga Harrison, Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer, Eleanor Health
Harrison spent most of the interview on what actually helps. Supervisors should watch for changes in attendance or reliability rather than waiting for a crisis, and the programs that work combine real confidentiality with a genuine promise that asking for help won’t cost someone their job. She was direct about the stigma too: addiction gets treated as a character flaw when it’s a medical condition, and three out of four people who’ve experienced it go on to recover.
Her closing point doubled as a challenge to the industry: construction has an unusual chance to lead on this, not just manage around it.
Read the full article at For Construction Pros →
About Eleanor Health
Media Contact: marketing@eleanorhealth.com
Eleanor Health delivers comprehensive, evidence-based care for individuals affected by substance use disorder, alcohol use disorder, and mental health conditions. With a whole-person, trauma-informed approach, Eleanor Health is committed to improving the lives of its members, their families, and their communities.
