The Taj Mahal of Health and Wellness Centers

by Phil Davidson, Marathon Health

January 19, 2012

The above picture is an artist’s rendering of a brand new health and wellness center for employees at the City of Chattanooga, one of our clients. Is that a thing of beauty or what?

The 25,000-square-foot facility, which is set to open next fall, will include 12 exam rooms, a full pharmacy with a drive-through, and a fitness center. It will replace the existing health and wellness center near Chattanooga City Hall that currently serves 7,000 city employess, dependents and retirees.  

The Chattanooga Times Free Press this week published a story about the new center. Here’s an excerpt:

Donna Kelley, administrator of personnel for Chattanooga, said the health clinics, the pharmacy and the fitness center all have seen heavy use, and the city has seen savings of more than $10 million over the last five years in health care costs.

Kelley said the savings should continue because the expanded center will offer more health and wellness programming and disease management.

The new center is sleek, but it also capitalizes on a market trend we’ve seen emerge recently: the full-service health and wellness center. By combining a primary care and health coaching clinic with a fitness center and pharmacy, the City is creating a one-stop shop for all of its employees health needs. We’ve found that these types of centers have a significant impact on driving up employee usage and engagement.

Of course, there’s a significant amount of capital needed to build such a large facility, but as Donna Kelley points out above, it provides a great return on investment.

Click here to read the rest of the story.