HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/20/2017 Work Session 4
City of Springfield
Work Session Meeting
MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF
THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD
MONDAY MARCH 20,2017
The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room,225 Fifth
Street, Springfield,Oregon, on Monday March 20,2017 at 6:15 p.m.,with Mayor Lundberg presiding.
ATTENDANCE
Present were Mayor Lundberg and Councilors VanGordon, Stoehr,Woodrow and Pishioneri.Also
present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi,City Attorney Mary Bridget Smith, City Recorder Amy
Sowa and members of the staff.
Councilors Wylie and Moore were absent(excused).
1. City of Springfield Wellness Center Contract.
Tom Mugleston,Risk Manager,presented the staff report on this item. He introduced Travis Brook,
Director of Occupational Medicine from Cascade Health. Construction of the new Wellness Center
here in City Hall was completed in January and it is now up and running.
Human Resources is requesting approval of a contract with Cascade Health Solutions to provide
medical staffing and medical services for the City Wellness Center.
The City of Springfield has sponsored an employee wellness center staffed by a Registered Nurse
(RN)since 2009 and a Family Nurse Practitioner(FNP) since 2014. Services include primary and
preventative care medical services for employees,retirees and their dependents enrolled on our
medical health plan.
Wellness center patient load has increased from 9 patients per week in January 2015 compared to 47
per week in January 2017. Extrapolated to a full year,this represents an estimated$351,000 worth of
medical expenses at$142 per visit that would have been spent in an urgent care or other community
clinic. We anticipate a return of$58,000 in savings for our$292,000 investment assuming no change
in future patient load.
Our FNP has done an admirable job in meeting patient demand,but has reached capacity for a
reasonable patient load. This contract adds the assistance of a medical assistant who will relieve the
administrative load so that our FNP can see additional patients in the newly remodeled Wellness
Center.
Mr.Mugleston noted that the contract figures in the original AIS were incorrect. The updated figures
($292,000)were in the final contract for the City Manager to sign.
Mr.Grimaldi said Council may choose to remove the contract from the Consent Calendar during the
regular meeting to vote on separately.
Councilor VanGordon asked how much utilization has grown since we first opened. He asked how
they knew they were deferring costs.
Mr.Mugleston said the FNP keeps tabs on that and asks the individuals. Other than that,we don't
have complete knowledge of whether or not they are actually deferring costs.
City of Springfield
Council Work Session Minutes
March 20,2017
Page 2
Mr. Grimaldi said they are making the assumption that everyone who goes to the Wellness Center
would have gone to another doctor.
Councilor VanGordon said many probably do,but they can't make the assumption for all of them. He
noted the savings per visit.
Mr.Mugleston said the FNP has worked out in private practice for many years and she has a good
sense of which patients would have been deferred and which are new visits. Staff is tracking all new
patients. Staff will be working with Cascade Health to get more firm numbers.
Councilor VanGordon said it is a savings per visit,but it is hard to know if the person would have
gone to another doctor instead. They know utilization is going to grow,but need to look out into the
future tracking the cost benefit to make sure it is a sustainable model.
Councilor Stoehr asked about those that can visit the Wellness Center.
Mr.Mugleston said only City employees,dependents,and retired City employees.
Human Resources Director Chaim Hertz said another benefit is that those that visit the clinic have
increased access,resulting in a better outcome for the employees and lower cost in terms of insurance.
Councilor VanGordon said with the rising cost,they need more reliable data to show it is cost
effective.
Mr. Grimaldi said when bringing in partners such as the School District,costs will decrease.
Councilor Pishioneri said he agrees with the discussion about looking for data. Convenience of the
clinic likely increases the number of visits.According to Blue Cross/Blue Shield,Oregon has one of
the highest per office visit in the nation at$188/per visit. We need to look at what the City has
historically paid over a set period of time for a set number of employees(pool),to see if that same
pool of employees plus the cost of the Clinic,costs less than it would if they went to the doctor
instead.From that data,they should be able to get a curve on whether or not it is actually saving the
City.
Councilor Stoehr said many of the calls are preventative care. He will be interested in the cost
summary.
Mayor Lundberg agreed.The cost of the Wellness Center did start at a lower amount. Counting the
number of visits isn't what she wants to know. She wants to know how we are impacting the health
and wellness of the employees in a positive way. She is looking at preventative testing,education,and
the types of things that encourage people to be more proactive with their own health. She noted that
adding another partner would also add more patients. The purpose is to have a healthier work force
and they need a way to measure.
Councilor Pishioneri said asked if there had been an increase in productivity,and less use of sick time.
Mr.Mugleston said there was a significant reduction in sick leave use since the time the clinic started
to date.
Councilor Pishioneri said that is defmitely an outcome.
City of Springfield
Council Work Session Minutes
March 20,2017
Page 3
Mayor Lundberg said productivity is also a good outcome because the clinic is so close.
Mr. Grimaldi said they could also provide categories of the types of visits.
Councilor Woodrow asked if patients are referred to other medical professionals. She would like those
figures as well.
Councilor VanGordon said they are looking for a story of how this is working, and would like to hear
more information about what is happening and why.
Mr. Grimaldi asked the Council if coming back in one year with the information was acceptable.
Mayor Lundberg said as long as it was before the next budget.
Councilor Pishioneri asked if they could get information about whether or not people would have gone
to the doctor or if they only went to the clinic because it is convenient.
Mr. Grimaldi said some medications require lab work and it makes sense to go to the clinic rather than
a doctor's office.
Councilor VanGordon said bringing the information back in one year is fine,unless the School District
comes on board. If that is the case, he would like that information ahead of time and more information
about a game plan.
Mayor Lundberg said there is currently a lot of discussion about health care. This is a public service,
so we need to justify that this saves taxpayer dollars and creates better work on behalf of the public.
The Council took a tour of the new Wellness Center.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:42 p.m.
Minutes Recorder—Amy Sowa
.
Christine L. Lundberg ,
Mayor
Attest:
Amy Sowa
City Recorder