New benefit: Free health clinic for KC QuikTrip employees

Clinic in BeltonBuilding on a small employee benefits trend among large employers, QuikTrip Corp. has opened a health clinic for its workers in the Kansas City area.

The facility, administered by Care ATC, a national provider of on-site medical clinics, provides free services to about 790 area QuikTrip employees and their dependents.

According to a Watson Wyatt/National Business Group on Health survey, 29 percent of large U.S. companies this year provide or plan to provide on-site health services for their employees.

The QuikTrip clinic in Belton is the second one established nationally by the convenience store chain. The first was opened two years ago at the company’s headquarters in Tulsa, Okla.

The 1,400-square-foot Belton clinic is open half days, Mondays through Fridays, to provide the same services as a primary care physician’s office. It is staffed by a board-certified physician and others who are employees of Care ATC.

A QuikTrip spokeswoman said that arrangement is an important consideration to assure QuikTrip employees that their health information is handled confidentially and separately from their employment information.

That doesn’t mean that QuikTrip officials lack interest in their employees’ health.

“The clinics allow us to approach our employees’ health proactively to improve it while controlling costs,” said Walter Smith, benefits and casualty claims manager for QuikTrip Corp. “The clinics are a win-win for us and for our employees.”

On-site health clinics represent one way that employers are trying to cut health care expenses through wellness initiatives.
“Because the focus is on preventive care, health care costs decrease as employees and their families experience fewer catastrophic health claims,” said Paul Keeling, Care ATC’s director of sales.