Staff pilots school wellness program and plans RFP for employee health center

Staff member: The staff outlined a pilot wellness program run with Sulphur High’s health lead and the school CTE program; the pilot included step-count challenges and site events tied to rebate discounts. Staff said participation rose to about 25 percent at pilot sites from a historical completion rate of about 6 percent.

Staff member: On primary-care and onsite care options, staff said they explored partnering with a police-group clinic but that partner declined because it was at capacity (about 38–40 visits per day for roughly 1,500 employees). ‘‘They were at capacity and had no appetite to increase that capacity,’’ the Staff member said. As an alternative, staff reported evaluating Lake Charles Urgent Care for urgent-care services and proposed issuing a public RFP to solicit proposals for an employee health center and urgent-care partnership.

Committee member: Committee members supported broader employee education and recommended coordinating First Financial representatives and short videos or in‑service sessions to improve enrollment and HSA uptake.

Nut graf: The wellness pilot demonstrated higher engagement at selected schools and staff will now broaden the wellness offering if pilot results hold; separately, staff recommended an RFP to find a vendor to provide an employee-centered health service that could reduce unnecessary ER use and improve access for employees.

What happens next: Staff will prepare RFP criteria and return with vendor options; they will also expand the wellness pilot outreach to more sites if logistics permit.