WILMINGTON — It’s one more sign that Wilmington-based ATSG Inc. (Air Transport Services Group) is enjoying “healthier” times as it continues its comeback from DHL’s departure from the air park: The company started the new year Thursday by contracting to open an on-site health clinic for employees.
Jeff Walling, the Human Resources director for the ATSG subsidiary ABX Air, said Thursday there was a prior on-site health care center at the Wilmington Air Park that opened in November 2004, for which then-Governor Robert A. Taft III cut the ribbon. It stayed open until the DHL closure, before sitting empty 10 years.
“We reached the point [late 2018, early 2019] where we started talking about how we could make this work on a smaller scale [than in the mid-2000s],” said Walling.
After the earlier health clinic opened in 2004, Walling said in a way it became “kind of the jewel of the [employee] benefits program,” with up to 100 patients a day when there were 8,000 workers.
Also coming in 2020 at an air park near you is a fitness center in the first quarter, and a wellness program that will be rolled out by mid-year they hope, said ABX Air Benefits and Wellness Manager Tawnia Cedardo. She came to the company a little over a year ago.
“Wellness is a real passion of mine,” she said at the OurHealth clinic ribbon-cutting event.
The newly opened health clinic occupies 6,000-plus square feet. The clinic will be staffed by OurHealth nurse practitioner Lindsay George, as well as a registered nurse, a licensed practical nurse, and a part-time health coach.
Walling said ATSG employees frequently say they can’t access health-care providers as quickly as they would like, and the on-site health clinic should help with that.
OurHealth is an independent provider of primary care clinics offering services such as primary care, illness and injury care, labs, medication dispensing, and wellness services.
The Wilmington clinic services are available Mondays through Fridays to employees, spouses, and dependents ages 3 and older enrolled in any ATSG medical plan.
Primary care services provided by a nurse practitioner and support staff are offered, including pharmacy service for 150-plus common medications dispensed on-site or delivered to the home, laboratory services including on-site general blood and urine lab options, EKG and PFT testing, biometric screening, referral services and more.
There is no cost to obtain a physical.
An employee can interact with the health coach face-to-face or by telephone on their ride home.
The clinic includes a multi-purpose room, where it’s anticipated there will be training or meetings on health-related matters like smoking cessation.
The exam rooms have geriatric-size chairs for comfort.
Cedardo expects that other employers in the community will be approached in the near future to see whether they’re interested in access to the new health clinic.
ATSG Marketing Manager Kym Parks said the new health clinic — and planned fitness center and wellness program — are things that set the company apart in a labor market where competition for employees is extremely competitive right now.
ATSG Chief Executive Officer Joe Hete said, “This provides our employees increased access to health care in a convenient location to their daily lives.”
OurHealth was founded in 2009. It provides employer-sponsored healthcare to organizations of all sizes through its on-site and near-site primary care clinics.
OurHealth operates clinics in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
Reach Gary Huffenberger at 937-556-5768.
