Olathe Public Schools staff recommended the board approve a partnership with Marathon Health to open an on-site clinic for employees, citing staff survey results, claims data and the potential for improved access to preventive and behavioral care.

Why it matters: District leaders said staff mental-health and musculoskeletal conditions, higher-than-average chronic-condition prevalence and increased ER/urgent-care utilization drove the effort. The district framed the clinic as a recruitment and retention tool that could reduce health-care costs and absenteeism while increasing employee satisfaction.

Details and rationale: Dr. Seidt (district staff leading the proposal) told the board that the district’s 2023 EPIC staff survey and subsequent district dialogues identified mental-health and wellbeing as top concerns. Claims data reviewed with the district’s benefits broker (Locked In) showed higher-than-average prevalence of members with three or more chronic conditions (17.4% vs. an education benchmark of 12.8%), a high share of musculoskeletal diagnoses (about 43.2% of members), underuse of behavioral-health visits and a rise in ER and urgent-care utilization.

Dr. Seidt said the district issued a request for proposals, narrowed candidate vendors and visited school-clinic sites run by finalists. Based on visits and suitability to district needs, staff recommended Marathon Health. Staff said Marathon already serves multiple Kansas education clients, has local presence (13 Kansas health centers and 58,000 patients regionally) and offers a flexible staffing model; initial staffing would include a full-time physician, a full-time nurse practitioner and behavioral-health therapy.

Projected benefits and example ROI: The district shared Marathon’s reported metrics from other education clients: a 99% satisfaction rate, a 19% reduction in ER visits among engaged members, and examples where clients saw multi-year returns on investment (e.g., $6.10 returned per $1 invested in one cited client after five years). District staff emphasized that engaged members show biometric improvements and cited decreased absenteeism as an operational benefit.

Operations and cost to employees: Staff said they have identified space in the new Olathe Public Schools Innovation Campus and plan to begin construction and hiring if the board approves the partnership. An opening target of June 2026 was presented as achievable but subject to scheduling and contracting. Staff said clinic visit fees will comply with federal guidelines for employees in high-deductible plans and will be “nominal” and lower than typical community-clinic fees.

Board discussion: Board members asked about hours, weekend service and whether the clinic would increase costs for the district’s benefits plan. Dr. Seidt said clinic hours will be tailored to staff needs using a scalable model, weekend hours historically did not attract many visits in peer clinics, and Marathon’s model can adapt staffing if demand changes. Board members praised the initiative as a recruitment and retention tool and as a way to increase preventive care access for staff.

Ending: The board was presented the recommendation and staff said they would move to contract and construction steps pending board approval. The board did not take a vote at the presentation; staff said they would return with contract documents for action.