Flagler Schools reports strong early use of new wellness center; staff to adjust hours, survey access

Flagler County School Board members heard a detailed update Oct. 28 on the district—s new on-site wellness center and its first-month metrics, with staff describing robust early use and a plan to survey employees in December to measure access problems.

The district reported that 1,437 lives were eligible to use the wellness center as of September, of which 88.8% were employees, 4% spouses and 7.2% dependents. Marathon Health completed 334 appointments in September and the district reported a 30.5% overall engagement rate. "Marathon has shared with us that across all of their book of business for new wellness centers that have opened, we are at the highest engagement that they've seen upon opening," District staff member Daniel Ouellette told the board.

Why it matters: the center is intended to shift care from higher-cost settings to on-site preventive and chronic-care management. Presenters said the appointment mix early on skewed toward preventive visits (annual physicals and labs) because the district offered an incentive at launch, while same-day/next-day visits made up 13.2% of visits compared with Marathon—s 42.9% book-of-business rate for urgent access.

Board members asked whether surveys and metrics account for employees who tried but could not get appointments. "When you look at the net promoter score, that's surveys that are issued by Marathon after the completion of an appointment," Ouellette said. He and Marathon staff said the district is drafting a December pulse survey to capture unmet demand and will advise employees to call the wellness center directly for same-day openings; staff also said Marathon blocks morning appointment slots for sick visits and that on-the-ground staff sometimes contact employees about cancellations.

Operational details and challenges: staff highlighted several operational points the board flagged for near-term adjustment: - Hours and lab access: the wellness center operates 40 hours a week; early-morning appointments (for fasting blood work) are heavily used. Presenters noted many employees need morning slots and the district will consider reallocation of hours or staffing changes in January. - Delivery method: 78.6% of visits were in person and 19.9% were virtual; Marathon may use telehealth for lab follow-ups to reduce repeat site visits. - Medications: most prescriptions are sent externally to preferred pharmacies; an on-site supply is used only for short-term acute needs. - Repeat use: nearly half of users returned for additional visits during the tracking period, a sign staff described as encouraging for continuity of care.

Patient satisfaction: Rolling 12-month promoter scores showed high satisfaction among respondents; presenters said Marathon personally follows up with detractors to correct problems and the district will send its own pulse survey to capture the perception of employees who did not obtain appointments.

What the board directed: trustees urged clear on-line scheduling instructions that show call-in or telehealth alternatives, better communication when same-day slots open and an early look at whether staffing or hours should be adjusted to preserve access for fasting labs. Staff said they will return with survey results and recommended operational changes in subsequent months.

Context/next steps: staff emphasized that the center is in its early months and that outcome measures (claims impacts and year-over-year clinical improvements) will require 10–12 months of claims data to evaluate. The board asked staff to present updated metrics, survey results and proposed hour or staffing adjustments at a future meeting.