Background
The Escambia County School District (ECSD) is made up of more than 50 schools covering 876 square miles in and around Pensacola, Florida. In 2013, ECSD decided to get ahead of the upward trending healthcare cost curve and open an onsite health center providing primary care and health coaching to its 7,578 employees plus their families. In 2017, health center services expanded to offer DOT physicals to employees. One sticking point was figuring out how to engage such a large population, spread out over a broad swath of land. Considering the geographical hurdles, engagement was expected to be challenging.
Enter Marathon Health
Recognizing the school district’s varying geography and demographics, Marathon Health and ECSD partnered to set up a communications and incentives program to drive engagement at the health center.
Emails to millennials and mailed welcome packets to baby boomers kept the employee population informed and engaged. Participation rates grew thanks to adjusted incentives and health center information displays on bulletin boards and in breakrooms.
“I was so thankful that I was able to leave today with my prescriptions filled. In my initial visit for wellness several months ago, I was overwhelmed with the helpfulness, kindness, and knowledge of my provider.”
ECSD Employee Satisfaction Survey
$35M
Net Savings to Date
with a cumulative ROI of 6.5:1
61%
Progress to Normal
for ECSD employees with high health risks
99%
Employee Satisfaction
with their Marathon Health experience
A Winning Partnership
Using the communications strategy Marathon Health devised, Escambia County Public Schools has been able to engage more than 60% of its target population. The Marathon Health Population Health 2.0 model has produced tangible results in other areas as well.
Kevin Windham, Risk Management Director at ECSD, said the school district believes it has the best vendor partner it could have in Marathon Health.
“Our healthcare spend trending rate is down 12 percent since opening the health center, which is unbelievable. I am attributing a good part of that to what we’re doing with engagement.”
Kevin Windham
Risk Management Director, ECSD
