Why Engagement Proves Key to Health Center Performance

Offering employees access to an onsite or nearsite health center shows a commitment to workforce wellness and is a great strategy for lowering health care costs. But even the best benefits won’t make a difference if they go unused. Read on to learn more about the value of employee engagement as well as some impactful engagement strategies to deploy.

Why Engagement Matters

Marathon Health data shows engaged members cost 20% less in claims than non-engaged members. On average, employers save $1,800 a year per employee that uses Marathon Health. To achieve this return on investment, you need a certain level of utilization. 

“As you’re building up momentum, you don’t need to have 100% engagement among your workforce to justify a dedicated health center,” says Shannon Isom, Regional Operations Manager at Marathon Health. “Twenty percent of claimants drive health care costs for an organization, so getting 60% of that 20% makes a difference. Once people can wrap their mind around that kind of math, it starts to unlock an understanding of how offering a dedicated health center plays out in an accretive way for the business.”

While excellent providers and value-based care keeps members coming back to their health center, sometimes employees need a little push to get them in the door for the first time. 

“If we can get employees through the door to experience that high-quality care, then they can start to be committed to their health,” Isom says.

Health Center Engagement Strategies

Need tips and tricks for growing health center engagement? Try some of the following strategies. 

Omnichannel Approach

First, communicate your benefits using an omnichannel approach to meet members where they are. Email, Slack messages, and intranet postings might work well for desk workers. But for field workers, consider text message campaigns, home mailers or a presentation at their regular meetings. 

Convenience and Access

Allowing employees to visit their health center on the clock is a best practice. It both increases engagement and keeps the employee from having to request a half- or full-day to drive to a clinic and wait for their appointment. 

In addition, many employers choose to waive all costs associated with visiting the health center. This removes any financial barriers employees face. 

Incentives

While rapidly growing, employee health centers are still a novel benefit for many workers, so employers often encourage engagement with incentives. For example, machinery manufacturing company Urschel allows employees to earn a day off for engaging with their health center. 

“When I explain what Marathon Health is as a new benefit for employees coming on, they're like, ‘Wow, I've never heard of such a thing,’ says Tracie Lopez, HR Manager at Urschel. “Employees earn points for different participation activities. A biometric screening is 20 points, a dental cleaning is another 20 points and so on. Once they hit 100 points, they get a day off.” 

Money talks, too. The City of Sarasota, which has an 85% engagement rate at their onsite health center, offers financial incentives. Depending on their plan, employees can earn up to $700 in their HSA or HRA after completing a wellness visit. 

“This is just for meeting with the provider and going over blood pressure, cholesterol and other vitals,” says Dominique Anderson, City of Sarasota Human Resources General Manager. “It’s about a half-hour visit and lets them know where they stand.”

Wellness programming

Some employees may feel intimidated to visit their health center. Bring the benefits to them in a non-intimidating way. For example, health center staff could offer smoothies in the breakroom for Wellness Wednesday, which gives them a chance to meet and talk to employees. Or, start a company step challenge to create a culture of wellness and get people talking. 

Mixing incentives and wellness programming, City of Sarasota employees can earn extra PTO for participating in the company’s biannual run, walk, swim events, which require a health center visit and doctor sign-off. 

“While they’re doing these appointments, clinic staff have an opportunity to talk to these employees about their health and areas they should work on,” says Kayla Nelson, Benefits Coordinator for the City of Sarasota. “It lets the employees dip their toes into meeting with a doctor when they otherwise might not make time to do so.”

Advanced primary care keeps members coming back

Once members experience the difference in an advanced primary care model, they’re likely to keep engaging. Marathon Health boasts a 95% patient satisfaction rate, and 67% of patients make improvements on their biometrics. 

So, what’s the difference? In the traditional healthcare market, providers are incentivized by patient and services volume. But APC operates on a value-based model, meaning providers are paid for outcomes instead. This allows providers to spend more time with their patients and focus on collaborative treatment plans.

“Our clinic calls employees they haven’t seen in a while,” Lopez says. “That doesn’t really happen with traditional doctors’ offices.”