Small Town News

Mountaire opens Health and Wellness Center for workers

---

Employees at Mountaire Farms now have access to healthcare at the company's new Health and Wellness Center.

Millsboro's poultry facility opened the wellness center April 1. Employees and their immediate families can use the center for no cost, if they are eligible for benefits under Mountaire's healthcare plan. Concentra operates the new center.

The new facility features two exam rooms, a laboratory, consultation room, nurse's station and a conference room.

Nurse practitioners or primary-care physicians can administer physical exams, treat chronic illness, and provide preventative and ongoing disease management.

The staff can also view x-ray images and administer antibiotics, creams, trial medications, and 10-day supplies of nonnarcotic drugs.

The center is computer-based with no paper records. All employee records are stored electronically for fast access within the center. However, the information is in external databases, not in the computers, to protect privacy in the event of a break-in.

Mountaire's owners in Little Rock, Ark, initiated the idea for onsite professional healthcare for employees and families, said Michad Tirrell, vice president of human resources and business services.

"Corporate America has recognized the need for onsite facility," said Tirrel.

The plan was in development for about one year. The company

broke ground in January, and the facility opened in March.

Tirrel said to his knowledge, not many poultry facilities have similar health centers.

"We're not trying to make it fee-based," Tirrel said, so only eligible employees with a Mountaire healthcare plan have access to the center.

The center is a "unique way to provide healthcare to people who couldn't get it," said Stasie Broughton of Concentra. "To me, what Mountaire has done has worth. It's just so important."

For a regular doctor visit, an employee might wait several weeks just to get an appointment. Then he would have to take time off from work. Now employees can simply cross the street during working hours for an appointment.

The Health and Wellness Center is located adjacent to the Route 24 Mountaire employee parking lot. The hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday, to accommodate all work shifts.

"All the employees are excited," said Benefits Supervisor Sandra Hernandez. "This is convenient for them. They can just walk over."





© 2011 Cape Gazette Lewes, Delaware. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

More from Cape Gazette