BHS Considers Wellness Center for District Employees
Superintendent Rob Glass went off the agenda Thursday to address concerns he'd heard.
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The Bloomfield Hills Schools Board of Education took bids Wednesday for the creation of a wellness center for employees that could reduce long-term health care costs.
The board issued a request for bids in early February and set a Feb. 29 deadline for responses. Superintendent Rob Glass did not go into specifics during Thursday's board meeting, but indicated there were interested parties.
The wellness center was not on Thursday’s agenda, but Glass said he felt it was important to address some concerns from residents that he learned about via e-mail. Most related to cost and misconceptions that the district was building an on-site health spa for employees.
“The last thing we need are false rumors about that,” Glass said shortly after the meeting started. “We can put that to bed, I think.”
Since the district is self-insured, administration is exploring whether an on-site wellness center will help reduce health-care costs.
“Are we making some kind of luxurious spa for the employees? Absolutely not,” Glass said. “This is an effort for us to be innovative and find ways to control health care costs.”
The plan calls for a three-year pact that could provide services beginning on July 1. The deal can be renewed for two one-year periods. The district seeks a primary care clinic where health-risk assessments, immunizations, physicals, screenings, and even prescription medication can be dispensed. The chosen provider would also create a wellness program that provides education, intervention and incentives for employees that participate. The board will explore options of including such a facility in a current district building, or having it in a full-service clinic provided by the company.
There was no discussion of the costs, anticipated savings or other details Thursday, however Glass said that would be coming and that the idea is in its early stages.
"We're going through the process of seeing what the numbers are. What we learned from the bids that were opened yesterday, we’ll take those and work with the board and community partnership committees before any decisions are made," he said.
District documents state the board will evaluate the proposals and decide at the April 19 meeting.
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Bloomfield Hills School District Central Administration Office
7273 Wing Lake Rd, Bloomfield Hills, MI
Linda P
7:45 am on Friday, March 2, 2012
I'd like to know when this board is going to implement the health care cost sharing for school employees that Snyder recently enacted. They should be paying 20% of the premium costs and they are NOT today. Now the board wants to add even more benefits. Sure.
R Gibson
9:21 am on Friday, March 2, 2012
Really!!!!!!!!!!!! Are you kidding me!!!!!!!!!!! Why are we even talking about this? We are days away from a vote that will determine the fate of this district for decades to come. We know how some people feel about these "nice to haves" and you just walk out to the pitcher’s mound and throw one right down the middle of the plate. While I appreciate the idea and the goal, the district has survived for decades without a wellness center, certainly waiting a little while to let the wounds heal from this extremely painful and divisive high school debacle won't hurt. And frankly, I don’t know why I need to point it out, we have 2 high schools and 3 middle schools that all, to a certain degree, have fully equipped athletic facilities. Why not use them instead of creating another whole new facility. Has anyone suggested a faculty basketball league. Faculty Swim times at the 2 fully equipped pools we own. We already have weight rooms, pools, and locker room facilities,etc. It would be a lot more economical to add any additional equipment to those sites that would accommodate others who wish to use treadmills, and other stationary equipment. Stop the madness.
rob dehko
12:53 pm on Thursday, March 8, 2012
you are uneducated in what you are saying, they are self insured which by the way is a brilliant idea, the best way to save money is having people be proactive in their health care, not reactive. You are being silly suggest a basketball game? They should get it, and no other proffesion gets less for the job that they do, a wellness center should be adopted in every distrcit
Art Aisner
2:03 pm on Friday, March 2, 2012
This story has been updated to clarify that the services could begin on July 1.
J Arch
4:12 pm on Friday, March 2, 2012
R Gibson, please re-read the article. It specifically states "The district seeks a primary care clinic where health-risk assessments, immunizations, physicals, screenings, and even prescription medication can be dispensed." It does not describe building new exercise facilities for the exclusive use of anybody. This is all preventative care kind of stuff. The wellness component refers to the adminstration of programs to encourage healthy lifestyles. This would be education and support in things like smoke cessation, healthy eating, exercise, etc. All kinds of private sector employers out there offer these programs, often thru a third party, to increase the health of their employees and thereby reduce the cost of their health insurance premiums. They do it because the up front cost of the programs is offset by greater savings in overall benefit costs.
I agree that any initiative like this needs to be objectively cost-justified and the numbers need to be there. But I see it as a legitimate attempt to attack the most pervasive cost escalator in a business where 80% of the cost structure is in employee salaries and benefits i.e. health care costs.
J. Wagner
R Gibson
9:21 am on Monday, March 5, 2012
Mr Arch/Wagner, I have read the article. My experience, with my employers, who have wellness programs/centers is, it comes with a Gym. Furthmore, the article says "the district seeks a primary care clinic where health-risk assessments, immunizations, physicals, screenings, and even prescription medication can be dispensed", This is the role of someone's primary care physicain. This is not the role of the school district. You mention " education and support in things like smoke cessation, healthy eating, exercise, etc" I would like to point you to the BCBS Messa Website. There you can find, "24/7 NurseLine: An important MESSA member service that provides members with 24-hour access to trained health care professionals." Also, "For Your Good Health Guide Learn about lowering your risks for cardiovascular disease and cancer as well as other stay healthy-get healthy tips. And "Quit Smoking Information and resources to help you quit smoking." Many of the services you reference are already available to Messa members, now if BHSD doesn't have Messa then maybe they should consider it.
rob dehko
1:04 pm on Thursday, March 8, 2012
Finally someone that understands, you are 1000% correct in everything you have said
Linda P
6:24 pm on Friday, March 2, 2012
Oh gee thanks, now I understands the district doesn't want a workout area they want a personalized doctors office so they don't have to do what most people do which is VISIT the doctors office with those generous benefits they get that we all pay for. Thank you BHSD for the perfect sound bite to defeat all of your ridiculous proposals.
rob dehko
12:56 pm on Thursday, March 8, 2012
Mr. Gibson, BHS is smart enough not to have Messa, they are self insured, why do you think they want the center. Especially to do all these things, we as american people are so conditioned to the way insurance does business that we are blind,preventice medicine is what saves peoples lives!! Your precious messa does not and will not pay for preventive care no insurance company does. I hope they never get messa, and I hope the wellness center goes through and every district follows.
rob dehko
1:04 pm on Thursday, March 8, 2012
What an ubsurd remark, I cant even leave a remark to that, I am surprised you know how to spell ridiculous. You think the poeple that wake up every morning, stay late, deal with you parents, have famiies at home are to lazy to go to the doctors office? You should be ashamed of yourself, you really should. I really hope you are not my neighbor
Shira Good
3:02 pm on Monday, March 5, 2012
On behalf of Bloomfield Hills Schools, the following are some clarifying points regarding the Wellness Center. As is the case with private businesses, school districts must find ways of becoming leaner on staffing costs, without disrupting the student learning experience. The Wellness Center concept is being explored as a method of reducing employee costs without direct cuts to staff, students, or programs.
1. The Wellness Center is still a concept, not a proposal. At this point in time, we are still investigating this option and have not presented the Board of Education with a formal proposal of any kind.
2. Bloomfield Hills is currently completing a contract with staff that was put into place prior to the new 80/20 health care legislation. A new contract is currently in negotiations. The Wellness Center concept is not a new benefit to staff, but rather a cost-saving initiative for the district.
3. The Wellness Center concept does not include a fitness center or athletic facility.
4. Bloomfield Hills Schools does not participate in MESSA and is self-insured.
5. The Wellness Center does not aim to replace a staff member’s primary doctor, but rather provide a medical option for staff members that is at a lower cost to the district.
R Gibson
9:03 am on Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Shira, thank you very much for you explanations above, I really appreciate it. I do stand by my first point, the timing is pretty poor. We are days away from deciding the future of the district, which I wholeheartedly support, t . This could have waited 6 months or a year. That said, I do have one question, in #5, "that the wellness center will not replace a staff member's primary doctor". But in Dr. Glasses description "health-risk assessments, immunizations, physicals, screenings, and even prescription medication can be dispensed". This suggests that if someone doesn’t have a primary doctor that they could use the districts. It also implies at some level that there will be a doctor available, a nurse, maybe a PAs, there will have to be staff to support the doc, a lab for tests for physicals and a possible pharmacist to dispense drugs. This is a fairly large organization to put in place to support, maybe 1,500 to 2,000 employees. I understand you want to have this contracted out to an organization to provide the service. But will this be a standalone center exclusively for BHSD employees? And what about those employees that have been contracted like bus drivers and custodial staff. Are they now excluded? Furthermore, since the district is now providing this service, what is the liability to the district in the event of a serious health complication occurs?
rob dehko
1:00 pm on Thursday, March 8, 2012
Shira,
these poeple are very uneducated on the way heath insurance and peoples lives work. BHS should be an example for all districts throughout the country. Peolple should praise you for promoting and doing preventive care, or should we just wait until something hurts to go to the doctor? Preventive care is the way we should treat ourselves but insurance companies can care less about you, on average you are a client of theirs for 3 1/2 years so they dont want to prevent anything, the only thing they want to prevent is you making a claim