EDMOND —
Friday morning, Gus Rivera came to IMWell Health’s new Midtown clinic at 136 N.W. 10th St., Suite 110, for a wellness check.
Rivera said the clinic is convenient and the staff members are friendly, making it a good place to come for health care. They’re also flexible when it comes to scheduling, he said.
“They’re very straight with you. They’re very personable,” he said.
He said he’s thankful to be receiving proper treatment, noting that many others don’t get that type of care.
Rivera is not the only one enthused about the new clinic. County officials are excited about a partnership they say will help improve workers’ lives and save taxpayer dollars.
Friday morning members of county government and IMWell Health celebrated the grand opening of the company’s third clinic in Oklahoma.
IMWell Health CEO Dan Parker said the company is pleased to open its first Oklahoma City clinic with three great organizations. Its multi-employer clinic model will exclusively serve employees and family members enrolled in the health plans of Oklahoma County, MTM Recognition and Mutual Assurance Administrators. Two IMWell Health Oklahoma multi-employer clinics in Tulsa serve five local employers there.
The Oklahoma City medical team is led by Parker’s partner, Dr. Catherine Womack, chief medical officer and company founder. Family medicine physician Dr. Amanda Thomas will be the primary physician at the Midtown clinic.
IMWell Health offers a full line of family medical services. Thomas said patients can undergo wellness exams, like Gus Rivera’s preventive health check, immunizations, routine lab work, acute illness care including sore throats, puncture wounds, lacerations, suture and skin biopsies.
“I’m excited to work with a large group of patients, some of whom may have not been going to doctors or receiving routine health care so that we can get their illnesses addressed and get their health back on track,” Thomas said.
COUNTY SEES SAVINGS
Oklahoma County pays for 100 percent of the medical services its employees receive at the IMWell Health Clinic. The benefit is available to all members, including dependents, enrolled in the medical plan.
District 3 County Commissioner Ray Vaughn, of Edmond, said the grand opening was the culmination of two years of research and effort by the county. The county will save on costs over other medical plans it had in place, Vaughn said. On Thursday, it was announced that Oklahoma County saw a $965,000 drop in its medical expenses for Fiscal Year 2012, Vaughn said. Previously, they had been rising.
“This is kind of an innovative approach to lowering medical costs while improving medical care for our employees,” Vaughn said.
Lower costs allow officials to use limited funds elsewhere, he said.
District 2 County Commissioner Brian Maughan said people talk about smaller and conservative government and this is it.
“We’re actually reducing the cost of government and our footprint for our overhead so I think this is a step in the right direction,” Maughan said.
Regarding lowering costs, Maughan said the clinic is only the beginning. He said he thinks having employees in better health, utilizing preventative medicine is the way to go. Healthier employees require fewer days off from work and less surgery, Maughan said.
District 1 County Commissioner Willa Johnson said she is ecstatic for the day’s significance and what it means for the county as a whole.
“I think we have a responsibility to help our people, to ensure health wellness and this is the first step in that direction,” Johnson said. “I’m really happy about it.”
Johnson encouraged others to come and see the clinic and to spread the word about it. Once folks come and see the services and the environment in which they receive care they will be at ease, she said.
Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel said a major goal of officials working on the county budget in recent years has been to drive down health care costs.
“We’re very concerned about the national health care law and how it will impact local systems,” Whetsel said. “What we’ve seen over the last several years has been an increase every year in the cost of health care and an increase in premiums to our employees.”
The clinic will enable the county to either contain health care costs or lower costs to its employees in premiums and out-of-pocket costs, Whetsel said. There’s no premium at the clinic for county employees; it doesn’t cost them a dime, he said.
IMWell Health serves a total of 35 clients across Oklahoma and Arkansas and the reception the Oklahoma City clinic received from new clients, employees and families is nothing new, Parker said.
For more information, visit the IMWell Health website at www.imwhealth.com.
Local News
Related Photos
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MARK SCHLACHTENHAUFEN | THE EDMOND SUN Oklahoma County commissioners Brian Maughan, left, Ray Vaughn and Willa Johnson pose during the grand opening of IMWell Health's new Oklahoma City clinic. MARK SCHLACHTENHAUFEN | THE EDMOND SUN
Discussion
County sees drop in health care costs
Officials enthusiastically welcome new clinic
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