Is an Onsite Health Clinic Right for Your Company?
Lin Grensing-Pophal
When the COVID-19 pandemic was escalating in 2020, several large employers closed their onsite health clinics because in-person contact was discouraged in hopes of limiting the spread of the illness. More recently, however, worksite clinics have regained popularity, with 53 percent of large employers offering them in 2023, according to the Business Group on Health.
There’s good reason for the interest: Both employees and employers can benefit from onsite clinics.
O.C. Tanner, an employee recognition company based in Salt Lake City, opened its employee health clinic in August 2019 and kept it open through the pandemic. The clinic provided big benefits to staff, said Dana Rogers, vice president of people and great work.
In 2020 and 2021, Rogers said, “Health center staff made a conscious effort to reach out to our employees virtually and via telephone to check in with them. This was a source of great support for our people.”
Today, 60 percent of the headquarters’ staff work a hybrid schedule, so virtual and telephone appointments continue to be used.
But employers with a high percentage of remote workers should think carefully about whether an onsite clinic is right for them, noted Erin Lau, director of service operations with Insperity, an HR solutions firm based in Kingwood, Texas.
“On the one hand, easy access to preventive care can be a major draw for employees to come into the office,” she said. “On the other, if much of your workforce is committed to working from home or does not live near your office, then an onsite health clinic may not be worth the time and costs.”
Still, many employers are finding that convenience for employees and potential cost savings for them can make onsite clinics an attractive benefits option.
Convenience and Cost Reduction
O.C. Tanner’s decision to offer an onsite clinic, Rogers said, was driven by a desire to increase convenience for employees seeking physical and mental health care—and to ensure that they were prioritizing regular care. Employees and their families incur a very low cost, if any, to use the health center, depending on their choice of health care plan. Preventive care is always 100 percent covered.
“During our implementation phase, we quickly realized that not only did we need to provide easy access for our people, but we also needed to enable them to use it,” Rogers said. To do this, the company established a paid-time-off bank for nonexempt employees called “Health Center Time.”
“The cost of this bank of hours is easily offset by the work time the employee saves by not having to take several hours off for an appointment,” Rogers said.
O.C. Tanner partnered with Marathon Health to staff the health center. “While we do incur costs for this partnership, they are offset by savings to our self-insured health plan,” Rogers said.
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Helping Companies Protect Their Employees, So Their Team Can Focus on Business, Retain Employees and Increase Employee Morale | Assistant Vice President | Heffins.com
3moCongratulations on this well-deserved recognition, Rose Villa Senior Living! This is a huge win for your organization and I'm sure it will continue to attract top talent. 🎉