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Council hears annual review of Waukesha employee health clinic showing high use and satisfaction
Summary
City staff and consultants reviewed 2024 utilization and patient-satisfaction data for the Waukesha Employee Health and Wellness Clinic, reporting high employee uptake and near-universal positive ratings; staff said more financial analysis tied to engaged versus non-engaged members will be available after 2025.
Erin Eason, national director of clinical consulting at CBIZ, presented the Waukesha Employee Health and Wellness Clinic’s 2024 annual review to the Waukesha City Council on May 20.
Eason said the review covers city-specific data collected since the clinic opened in November 2014 and noted 2024 reflected the clinic’s 10th anniversary of operations. “For the city, there were 713 unique patients seen for personal health only,” Eason said, adding that total patients including occupational health visits numbered 969. She reported 84 percent of eligible employees used the clinic for personal health services in 2024, and that spouses and children who were eligible used the clinic at 53 percent and 33 percent rates, respectively.
Why it matters: Council members who asked about finances said they want to see more detailed cost comparisons that show whether employees who use the clinic incur lower aggregate health costs than those who do not. Eason described changes to program staffing and services: a health-coaching position was eliminated but health-coaching services remain available through other providers, and a physical-therapy position was added in late 2024 and filled in January 2025.
Eason gave utilization and service-quality figures. She said primary care accounted for just under 2,000 visits in 2024, physical therapy visits exceeded 1,000, occupational-health visits were up (about 669), and total completed visits were 3,861. She said appointment access goals were largely being met, with roughly one-third of visits offered same-day or next-day and 95.5 percent seen within 10 minutes of arrival. Post-visit surveys showed 99 percent of respondents rated services “excellent” or “good,” and 99.9 percent reported their privacy and confidentiality were maintained.
Alderman Piper asked how the city measures return on investment. Eason said the city measured ROI for the first eight years using a baseline-and-delta approach but that the advisory committee recommended shifting to trend measurement. “Return on investment is...really a cost avoidance, not a cost savings,” she said, noting avoided costs are often consumed by other high-cost claims or rising community care costs. Eason added that because Marathon Health (the clinic’s vendor) now hosts the city’s electronic health record, the vendor will provide aggregate, de-identified comparisons of engaged versus not-engaged populations; staff expected those reports after 2025 and discussed returning to the council or finance committee with results.
The presentation drew praise from council members who said employees value quick access to care. No formal council action was taken on the presentation; staff said a financial report on engaged vs. non-engaged members would be provided after Marathon Health’s analysis is complete.
