The doctor’s office is at City Hall.

“We were strapped for cash, but we’ve got to provide insurance,” said Mayor Michael Johnson of the new wellness program that is open two days a week on the second floor of City Hall.

The city opted for a self-insurance program set up through an insurance broker after it faced major increases in insurance costs last year. Johnson said the program enabled Fairfield to continue to provide health insurance and to minimize cost increases passed on to employees.

“We were looking at a $170,000-a-year increase that we would have had to pass on to the employees. At the same time, we were trying to give them a 5 percent pay raise. The raise would have been reduced to very little,” he said.

Through the broker, Fairfield officials were able to provide coverage and still provide raises to employees.

This year, that plan has been expanded by the addition of the clinic.

“The big thing was to try to get them (employees) involved in a fitness and wellness program that will keep them healthy and keep them at work,” said Johnson. “The clinic idea came along, and we could subsidize it without major expenditures.”

Unused space on the second floor was remodeled to create space for the clinic run by CareHere!, a Brentwood, Tenn., company.

“There was available space. We looked at it, saw we could convert it with little or no effort and cost. We took one large room, split it in half for two treatment rooms. We already had a hallway and bathroom facilities we could use for the waiting area,” he said.

There is no co-pay for using the clinic. Johnson said employees save about $25 out of pocket up front, something they might not have done for an ailment, such as a common cold. Now, employees can get treatment and medications.

CareHere! President Ernest Clevenger said the clinic provides employees and their dependents more personal patient-doctor time.

“We can double the amount of time the doctor spends with the patient. The national average is between six and eight minutes. And you’ve got to factor in the time you spend in the waiting room. We find our patients are spending an average of 16 minutes with the doctor,” he said.

The clinic is open on Wednesdays from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and on Fridays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.. Appointments are scheduled every 20 minutes. The staff of Dr. Anthony Drake operate the clinic.

A clinic visit should take no more than 30 minutes, with at least half of that time available for a patient-doctor relationship, Clevenger said.

“You have a reduction in time away from work. The employee can schedule the appointment and take control of the visit. Many of our clients allow them to do that on the clock because they return to work so quickly,” he said.

Prescriptions can be dispensed if available at the time of the visit or prescribed by the doctor.

Doctors and city leaders said the program will encourage employees and family members who have not paid attention to their health care to return to the doctor.

Police Chief Pat Mardis counts himself among those in that category. He said he had not been to the doctor in more than a year because his former physician, coincidentally Dr. Drake, had moved to another location.

“I hadn’t been to the doctor, and that’s knowing I’ve got blood pressure problems. When they opened up that clinic, it made it (health care) a lot more accessible to employees,” he said.

Mardis said he is also impressed with the thoroughness of the visits.

“I’m 48 years old, and out of all of the times I’ve been to doctors, I’ve never seen a lab report. They gave me a booklet with a comprehensive report where you rate your condition and what can happen to you,” he said.

CareHere!, founded in January 2004, operates 40 clinics in eight states, serving more than 75,000 patients. Clevenger said clients include the cities of Galveston, Texas, and Chattanooga and where both city and county employees share a clinic. In addition to other government agencies, the company has private clients.

“Actually, we have more commercial or private companies as clients,” he said.

For the program to work, Clevenger said 60 percent of the city’s employees need to participate in the first few months. Fairfield has surpassed that. He credits Johnson and administrative assistant Lorene Allen for the initial success.

“The employees embraced it so quickly. Maybe because Mayor Johnson is a promoter and cheerleader. Also, Mrs. Allen is a wonderful spirit for the city. I credit them,” he said.

Johnson said the city is monitoring the clinic with the idea of expanding service hours if there appears to be a need.

Source: AL.com
Original Publication Date: October 29, 2007