Karin Millard, Benefits Manager, at Potawatomi Casino and Hotel in Milwaukee shares how they use our services to enhance the wellbeing of their team.
Q. What type of employee wellness programs and activities do you offer? / How have you partnered with Workforce Health to support employee well-being?
A. We really pride ourselves on keeping things active year-round. We don’t just do a one-off wellness program; we try to keep the momentum going. A great example is our “Holiday Maintain, Don’t Gain” challenge. It’s a fun way to stay mindful during a season of indulgence, but we add a clinical layer.
Through our partnership with Workforce Health, we utilize our on-site clinic to do blood pressure checks for participants. If a team member gets their blood pressure checked, they get an extra entry for the challenge grand prize. It’s a low-pressure way to get people through the clinic doors and talking about things like hypertension and risk factors they might otherwise ignore.
Q. What benefits do you see to the organization and employees as a result of these efforts?
A. You can’t run a successful business without a healthy team. The biggest win we see is accessibility. We have many team members who don’t have a regular primary care physician. Having that clinic right here means they can get their physicals, vaccines and routine blood work done without the stress of a long commute or a confusing insurance directory. If they need more specialized care, the clinic staff helps bridge that gap by finding them a primary care physician, advanced nurse practitioner or a specialist. It’s about meeting people where they are.
Q. What advice do you have for a business just starting employee wellness initiatives?
A. We really started by looking at the business side and whether it made sense. How many urgent care, emergency room and FastCare® visits did we have that really belonged in a basic office setting? We knew it made sense, and the ROI was there. But it quickly turned into much more! It’s simple: invest in your people in a workforce that is happy and wants to stay with you; you must show them you care about their well-being.
Health care is a major cost for employers. The more we can go directly to the consumer while delivering the highest quality of care at the lowest cost, the better it is. With our basic screening visits and team members walking in with only basic concerns, we have identified some major health issues that are completely treatable with much less intensive treatment because they are caught early.
This is a win for the team members, their family and loved ones, and our health plan spending. When you treat it as an investment rather than an expense, the ROI shows up in your retention rates and your team’s overall energy.
