Take Care Health Systems, University of Notre Dame open on-campus wellness center
CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. — Take Care Health Systems, which is a division of Walgreens, and the University of Notre Dame announced on Thursday the opening of an on-site wellness center on the Notre Dame campus.
The center serves full-time university faculty and staff, their spouses and dependents, and the spouses and children of graduate students.
Notre Dame’s on-campus wellness center reflects the direction many organizations are taking by offering more comprehensive healthcare services for employees and their dependents. Notre Dame currently operates and will continue to operate its health center for students.
“We are excited to work with such a prestigious institution as the University of Notre Dame, which continues to demonstrate a commitment to its communities by moving beyond basic programs to offer a more comprehensive array of health services for faculty, staff and dependents,” stated Peter Hotz, group VP for Walgreens' health and wellness division. “We are increasingly seeing educational institutions recognizing what many innovative companies have found — namely that by investing in broad worksite health programs, they can expect to see improved patient outcomes, overall savings and happier and more productive employees.”
The Notre Dame Wellness Center serves nearly 12,000 people. The center is more than 7,000 sq. ft. and provides full primary care, urgent care, pharmacy services — including infusion therapy, specialty pharmacy and a drive-through window — lab testing, allergy and flu shots, travel medicine, vaccinations and physical therapy. In addition, the center’s staff works to identify chronic health conditions and provide education on nutrition and exercise to help reduce risk factors. The wellness center’s staff includes a full-time physician, nurse practitioners, a physical therapist, registered nurses, phlebotomists, certified medical assistants and wellness coaches.
Employers are increasingly looking to offer on-site health-and-wellness services, according to a 2011 report from Towers Watson and the National Business Group on Health. Results published in the report were generated from a survey of 588 employers conducted between November 2010 and January 2011 and showed that 23% of companies currently offer on-site health services and that an additional 12% of companies plan to begin to offer services in 2012.
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