he thing that makes Lab Safety’s wellness offerings revolutionary is its
on-site health-care clinic, says Tim Markus, HR manager. Two days a week, the
clinic is staffed by a doctor and an assistant who can take care of any medical
need, short of surgery. "Because it is so convenient, many employees go to the
clinic for conditions they wouldn’t normally go to their own doctors for,"
Markus says. That means employees are detecting health risks, such as high blood
pressure or heart conditions, sooner and managing them before serious problems
occur. "Having a clinic at work removes all the excuses for not taking care of
themselves." Markus estimates that 70 percent of the cases treated in the
clinic would have required more extensive treatment if they had been left
undiagnosed.
The clinic’s success is reflected in its rate of use. The average employee
takes advantage of its services three times a year, and many use it more often.
Along with basic health-care issues, the clinic offers prenatal care and
checkups for family members—critical issues for the company’s predominantly
female population. The customer-satisfaction rating also reflects its
popularity. In the two years since the clinic was established, it’s never
gotten below a 4.9 average score on a five-point scale, Markus says.
When it launched the clinic in 2000, Lab Safety already had a robust wellness
program going that includes a variety of health and exercise classes held in the
company’s 8,000-square-foot fitness center. And every time employees take
advantage of a wellness offering, they receive points that can be exchanged for
fitness merchandise such as water bottles or windbreakers. The clinic was the
next step in helping employees improve their health and controlling Lab Safety’s
health-care costs, he says.
Staffing an on-site clinic may sound expensive, especially for a small
company, but Markus calls the service "extremely cost effective." The
average off-site doctor’s visit costs Lab Safety $150 in hard expenses. And
that doesn’t include the costs associated with time off the job, he says.
Clinic visits—which are 100 percent covered by the company--cost $25, and
there is rarely more than a 15-minute wait, which means employees are back on
the job in less than an hour. The clinic can also fill prescriptions for the top
100 medications used by employees.
When they came up with the idea, Markus estimated that the clinic would pay
for itself in two years. Six months later it was paid off, and it now generates
a profit, he says. "We save $400,000 a year in health-care costs thanks to the
clinic." And that doesn’t factor in lost productivity, which he estimates
increases the savings by threefold.
But for Lab Safety, it’s not just about the money. "Anything we do has to
be beneficial to employees and the company. We did this because it fits our
culture," he says. "We care about the health of our people."
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