PONTOTOC • Staffed with three registered nurses and a nurse practitioner, a newly opened health and wellness clinic has been built exclusively for Southern Furniture Industries' employees and their families and is meant to help curb rising health care costs.
SFI comprises Southern Motion and Fusion Furniture, which combine for some 2,200 employees at nine facilities totaling 2.2 million square feet.
"We offer any services provided through our health plan, and while we don't have X-rays, it does provide primary and acute care," said Joe Vance, human resources director for the company. "The primary benefit is to get our employees participating and utilizing the clinic, as well as those who need some wellness coaching because of some markers in their history can get some attention and lifestyle coaching and changes to improve their quality of health and quality of life."
According to a 2018 employer survey conducted by business consulting firm Mercer and the National Association of Worksite Health Centers, a third of companies with more than 5,000 employees now offer general medical clinics at their work sites. That represents a nearly 10% increase from the 24% of large companies counted in 2012. Among companies with between 500 and 4,900 employees, 16% provide a general medical clinic for their workers.
SFI's health and well clinic has been one of Vance's long sought-after goals. The clinic is currently open weekdays, but Vance said its hours could be adjusted based on demand.
"We'll do what we can to maximize the benefit," he said.
Employees make appointments with the clinic, located near the Southern Motion campus off Highway 15 near Walmart. While employees must clock out to visit the clinic, they will be paid during that time. Employees also have no co-pays or deductibles, and the plan also provides an array of drugs with zero co-pay at pharmacies within the network.
Southern Furniture President and CEO Mark Weber, who joined the company as CFO in 2018, said the effort to get the clinic built began in earnest about a year ago. The company partnered with Everside Health, which will run the clinic.
Weber said health care costs represent a significant financial burden for employees, and SFI has been exploring a number of ways to help alleviate some of that burden while also helping their employees become healthier and more successful.
"We didn't want it just for our employees, but also wanted something accessible to their dependents, spouses and kids," Weber said.
But rather than build an on-site clinic, they opted to build one nearby.
"Not everybody wants to walk though a plant to get to a clinic," he said. "So we came up with a near-site plan, and we have a state-of-the-art facility. It's very welcoming; it's a great site with a great crew, and as word gets out, I think we'll change some lives."
The building also serves as a centralized hiring center for the combined companies.
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October 26, 2021 at 04:00PM
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Southern Furniture opens health and wellness clinic | Business | djournal.com - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal
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