Being an employer gives you a wide array of things to focus on, but while work productivity and profit seem to be the main aspects to prioritize, it’s important to also give close attention to the main thing that keeps your company running—your workforce.
Since your employees are responsible for company operations, it is important that you value them not just through well-deserved salaries but also through promising medical benefits. According to statistics by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, companies that promote safe and healthy practices in the workplace are more likely to gain more productivity, minimize health-care costs, and attract and retain a well-performing workforce.
There are a lot of ways that employers can promote health and safety in the workplace. Aside from providing health insurance and implementing wellness programs, giving access to on-site medical services can also greatly benefit employees’ health and the entire organization.
Advantages of an On-Site Clinic
Usually included in most employee health benefits among companies, an on-site clinic offers one or more medical services to eligible employees or the entire workforce of an organization. Today, they are widely known as health and wellness centers since their services have extended from occupational health and first aid to primary care, specialty condition management, and other ancillary services.
Your company can benefit from installing an onsite clinic in more ways than one. Making medical services more accessible and convenient for employees will help get rid of lost productivity, which happens when an employee has to leave work to see a health-care provider. It also helps reduce the cost incurred in hospital emergency rooms for just nonemergency conditions. More importantly, investing in an on-site services provider will serve as additional employee benefit that can help attract and retain potential employees.
24-Hour First Aid Response
Most on-site clinics offer basic first aid services for companies, which come especially helpful in more mobile workforces such as in the construction and logistics industries. First aid is essential when it comes to workplace injuries, as it helps “preserve life, alleviate suffering, prevent further illness or injury, and promote recovery.”
With the help of onsite first aid services, your workers will be taken care of promptly in cases of lacerations and bruises, eye irritation, extremity pains, minor burns, chemical exposure, insect bites, and many more. For more urgent cases such as breathing problems, patients may have to visit the emergency room so they can receive proper treatment through breathing gas technology with the help of medical oxygen sensors.
Wellness Screening
Wellness screenings, also known as biometric screenings, are medical services that can significantly benefit a company in reducing health-care costs and boosting employee productivity. It is also known as the “know your numbers” program since workers will be tested to obtain their basic measurements and key health markers.
The components of a wellness screening include a complete lipid profile, blood pressure screening, glucose screening, body mass index calculation, height and weight measurement, and many others. With heart disease being the leading cause of death in America, it is important to guide your employees to be on top of their health at all costs, and this can be done through regular health checkups and screening tests.
Drug Testing
Drug abuse and addiction in the workplace cost American companies up to $81 billion each year. Not only that, substance abuse apparently leads to lowered productivity as well as to physical injuries and employee fatalities. Safety-critical positions such as operating heavy machinery and driving vehicles require concentration, and showing up to work high or drunk compromises everyone’s safety.
This is where an on-site clinic is useful. With accessible drug-testing services, employers will be able to spot problematic employees even before the entire workforce is affected. Employee drug tests may be done as a preemployment requirement or as part of the company’s annual drug-testing program. However, an on-site drug-testing service can also be availed postaccident or for a reasonable cause.
New-Hire Orientation
Many on-site clinics provide preventive services for organizations, such as a new hire orientation. This service is tailored to the company’s needs and specifications, which may include site-specific training, fall protection, equipment safety procedures, and many more. During these programs, on-site technicians are often present to share their knowledge on particular fields.
There are a lot of challenges that face employers every day, but it pays to spare utmost attention to their employees’ health. With the skyrocketing costs of health care in the country, company health benefits are a prized luxury that anyone will want to have. When you look at the big picture, these additional medical services will also greatly benefit the company just as much.
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