How to Build an Effective Onsite Health Center

Haley Bass

While larger companies have improved productivity and reduced health care costs by adding onsite health centers, smaller and mid-size businesses have been hesitant to do the same. Traditionally, onsite health clinics have been marketed toward larger enterprises, showcasing all the services an onsite can offer, which can come with a significant price tag. That large investment is worthwhile for companies with 2,000 or more employees, but it may be cost-prohibitive for a company of only a couple hundred employees.

Onsite health centers shouldn’t come in one-size-fits-all packaging. Between the diversity in size, work functions, and health care needs, each company is unique – their health care should be as well. Onsite health centers are customizable and flexible. There’s a large variety of service and staffing options, allowing you to pick and choose what’s best for your workforce.

Onsite Service Options

When employers establish medical care in the workplace, it’s often to provide routine injury care for common cuts, scrapes, burns, and minor issues. Employers can choose the services you need, whether your focus is on work-related injury care, injury prevention, wellness, or all the above.

If you have a smaller business, you may only need an occupational health or urgent care program. However, a larger business may benefit from a wider variety of services, including wellness programs and physical therapists. The result is a solution that is customized to the needs of your workforce.

Here are some potential onsite service offerings based on the size of your business:

  • Under 500 employees: injury triage, clinical testing, case management, and injury prevention education
  • Under 2,000 employees: work-related injury treatment, occupational health, urgent, and primary care, concierge pharmacy, and health counseling
  • 2,000+ employees: all the above, plus expanded wellness services, and physical therapy

Onsite Staffing Options

Like onsite services, onsite staffing can be customizable as well. Staffing can range from a single registered nurse (RN) or athletic trainer to a team that includes physicians, nurse practitioners, physical therapists, nurses, health coaches, X-ray technicians, and support staff.

Full-time and part-time staffing status can also be flexible. You might decide to staff an RN full time, and a physical therapist just two days a week. Your staffing model should match your service offerings to deliver the highest quality care in the most cost-effective way.

Here are some potential onsite staffing options based on the size of your business:

  • Under 500 employees: physician oversight, registered nurse, and/or certified athletic trainer
  • Under 2,000 employees: physician oversight, nurse practitioner, medical assistant, and registered nurse
  • 2,000+ employees: physician, registered nurse, medical assistant, physical therapist, and health coach

Your Partner in Onsite Health Services

Don’t let the number of choices overwhelm you. With a partner who has experience in implementing and managing onsite health centers, you won’t have to make any decision alone.

Concentra has nearly 40 years of experience in occupational health, and more than 25 years of experience in managing onsites for businesses in a variety of industries. We take a consultative approach to health, partnering with you to identify the needs of your workforce and creating a unique onsite just for you. Using two proprietary tools, Concentra onsite health centers are designed to meet your current needs as well as your long-term health and wellness goals.

Before getting started, a Concentra onsite expert will perform an organization evaluation by conducting interviews, observing the workforce and location, and reviewing objective data. They will use this information to determine your company’s cultural readiness for an onsite clinic, and recommend what services will initially benefit your workplace.

While in some cases we might recommend that you start small, Concentra will also develop a framework that considers the long-term growth of your onsite center. This onsite tool uses a multi-year plan to match onsite services with an employer’s needs over time. It starts with the recommendations from the organizational Evaluation, then provides a logical succession plan to improve overall workforce health.

Concentra does all the heavy lifting for you, from evaluating your unique culture and workforce to making recommendations, Concentra works as your strategic partner to help implement and manage the most effective onsite for your business.

If you’re ready to start an onsite health center for your business, or you just want to learn more, you can enjoy a complimentary consultation with one of our onsite health experts