Nearly 30% of companies with more than 5,000 workers now have onsite or near-site clinics offering primary care - up from 24% in 2013.
This growth is, in part, because HR Leaders are quickly realizing how wellness programs can drive strategic change for their companies by enabling these initiatives:
1. Aligning HR with the overall business strategy
Medium to large U.S. employers have opened onsite health clinics and introduced wellness programs in an effort to control the rising costs of their health benefit programs.
This is a key solution to their common initiative of saving money where they can in order to become more competitive. Using wellness programs, HR VPs are able to reduce the costs associated with time away from work (absenteeism) and cut healthcare costs.
Regarding onsite clinics specifically, there is a reduced chance of employees taking off half days for a doctor’s appointment. Because of this, the average employer saw $358 of healthcare cost savings per employee at an average of $144 of investment per employee.
Not only is the clinic nearby, but the necessity to go to the clinic is also reduced as a result of prevention and risk reduction measures taken by the clinic.
Rather than waiting for small issues to become full-blown medical incidents, proactive primary care can make a big difference, reducing the most expensive downstream healthcare costs — surgeries, scans, emergency department and specialist visits — by 40-80 percent.
2. Spurring employee acquisition
Of Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For,” a whopping 40% of the list have onsite clinics at their headquarters and nine of them offer clinics at multiple locations. This exemplifies the importance of adding onsite clinic and wellness program benefits to your employee package in order to make your company more attractive to new talent.
Keep in mind that someone who is looking for a job may be more likely to take a position with a company that makes employee health a priority. Candidates applying for positions find the idea of a worksite clinic very appealing, especially if the area doesn’t have accessible healthcare providers. And services at the clinic are typically provided at little or no cost.
In addition to serving employees, some clinics also treat employees' families. Employers have the option of offering clinic services to spouses, dependents, and retirees if they so choose.
3. Cultivating employee retention
Much like the attraction wellness programs have to new hires, HR VPs are also finding that creating a health-driven environment keeps their great talent – another initiative geared to make a company more competitive.
Employees who already hold a position at a company that has an onsite clinic are more likely to stay as it shows employees that they will always be in good care. Current employees believe their employers should be more invested in their personal health – both physically and mentally.
Employers can improve relations with employees, and consequently their employee retention rate by improving employee access to healthcare, promoting screening and preventive care, and creating a general culture of wellness that encompasses both physical and mental health and wellness.
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