Advanced Primary Care: Increasing School System Employee Satisfaction

Across the nation, school systems struggle to hire and retain staff. According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 86% of U.S. K-12 public schools reported challenges hiring teachers for the 2023-2024 school year. An additional 83% reported trouble hiring for staff positions, such as classroom aides and transportation. 

An Economic Policy Institute report names two main contributing factors to the teacher shortage:

• Poor compensation
• Stressful work environment 

As a result, many school corporations seek to provide attractive teacher health benefits that can help recruit and retain employees. Offering value-based advanced primary care onsite or nearsite helps improve employee wellness, save money and reduce stress.

Improving Employee Wellbeing

Through Marathon Health, school districts gain the ability to offer free or low-cost care to employees, alleviating financial burdens.

At Keller ISD, an Independent School District in Tarrant County, Texas, employees have access to an onsite health center and behavioral care services. 

“For employees on two of our PPO plans, everything at the wellness center is free,” says Sheri Rich, Director of Human Resources for Keller ISD. “If they're on the high-deductible plan, they incur a $10 copay for acute care visits, but everything else is free. If they saw a primary care physician outside of Marathon Health, it would run them $150 to $200.”

In addition, members benefit from longer appointment times, shorter waits, and providers motivated to ensure positive outcomes. Marathon Health boasts a 95% member satisfaction rate, with 67% of patients making improvements on biometric measures.

For example, Keller ISD Health Center Director and Nurse Practitioner Leah Robinson helped one of her regular patients implement lifestyle changes to reduce medications and lose weight. With health coaching, the patient lowered their BMI, cholesterol and triglycerides. In addition, they no longer require cholesterol and high blood pressure medication. 

“Leah calls to follow up on employees. For example, if someone changes prescriptions, she calls a few days later to find out how the medication is working out,” Rich says. “You don’t get that from traditional primary care.”

Healthier employees tend to be happier, more engaged employees, leading to increased teacher satisfaction.

With access to onsite, nearsite or virtual care, employees don’t have to take off work to drive across town and sit in a waiting room for an hour before being seen. 

“Being able to pop on during your conference period, your lunch, before school, after school, and being able to have a virtual visit with your nurse practitioner, it's just easy,” Rich says. “Or, employees can visit the wellness center and get right back to work. It’s a win-win, because they don’t have to take time off, and we know there’s more learning happening when teachers are in the classroom.” 

Resulting in Significant Cost Savings

In addition to offering better healthcare to employees, school districts realize significant cost savings when they implement advanced primary care for teachers. Employers utilizing Marathon Health save, on average, $1,800 per engaged member per year.

These savings can go straight toward teacher salaries or enable districts to offer even more benefits to employees. But beyond savings, offering advanced primary care is about creating a workplace where educators and staff feel valued and supported. 

In an environment where schools struggle with recruitment and retention, providing accessible, high-quality healthcare demonstrates a commitment to employee wellbeing that can make all the difference. When teachers and staff know they can access care easily, manage their health effectively and receive support for their physical and mental wellbeing, they're better positioned to focus on what matters most — serving their students.