St. Johns County School District Gives Health Center High Grades

For members at St. Johns County School District (SJCSD) in St. Augustine, Fla., visiting their Marathon Health centers isn’t just about checking off boxes. It’s truly transformational. The district boasts an 84% employee engagement rate, with 68% of at-risk employees making progress on biometric risk factors.

For more qualitative data, take one member, who said in a survey, “[My provider] literally saved my life when I lost my husband three years ago. I have so much faith in him. He always has time no matter what you need.” Or another member surveyed, who said, “I wish I could do all my doctors’ appointments with Marathon. Saves me so much time, money and stress!”

Overall, 97% of SJCSD members report being satisfied or very satisfied with their care, and the District realizes those benefits in cost savings, reduced absenteeism and presenteeism, and a happier, healthier workforce.

School District Continues to Invest in Healthcare for Staff

After working with a previous provider, SJCSD began its partnership with Marathon Health in 2016, with onsite health centers at two district high schools and one K-8 school.

“When the contract with the original provider came up for bid, the focus shifted from just providing a regular primary care physician to wanting to focus on the whole person and prevention, as well as maintenance,” says Becky Cromwell, Senior Account Manager with the Bailey Group and Benefits Consultant to the school district. “So the thought behind Marathon and their whole philosophy for taking care of a person aligned with what the district was looking for.”

Employees, spouses, dependents age 12+ and retirees on the district’s healthcare plan access Marathon Health services free of charge. Those not on the plan receive one complimentary health risk assessment or wellness visit per year.

In year seven (June 2022 to May 2023), the district’s annual wellness center appointment volume nearly hit 16,000, with 5,859 unique members utilizing the health centers.

“We’re still a growing district, and as the word gets out and people feel more comfortable with Marathon, we’re going to see more growth,” says J Wynn, Director for Benefits and Salaries for SJCSD.

Behavioral Health Visits Increase Among Teachers and Staff

The district added behavioral health services in 2019. “We were seeing more of a need, and the ability in our area to access behavioral health services had been diminishing,” Cromwell says. “It seemed like a natural progression for the district to be able to offer that benefit to the employees.”

Mental health visits are on track to hit 1,300 by the end of 2023. “With the increase in behavioral and mental issues with children and young adults, it has become increasingly hard to manage a classroom,” says Kristen Orlando, LMHC, Behavioral Health Specialist for the school district. “School staff are feeling immense levels of stress and many deal with depression and anxiety. [Through behavioral healthcare] patients are able to learn tools to better balance their life and workload and acquire strategies to manage moments of heightened symptoms. With this, they feel more able to do their job and do it well.”

Occupational Health Services Convenient for Everyone

Growing tired of being at the mercy of expensive urgent care and emergency room visits, the district added Marathon Health’s occupational health services in 2020.

“Our risk management team wanted to have better care and more access to records whenever it came to employees getting injured on the job,” Wynn says. “Sitting in a waiting room for hours is not a good use of time. It was also such a tug and pull to try to get information back to the employer in a timely manner for workers’ compensation claims.”

Occupational health visits reached 2,319 for year seven.

Value-Based Care Delivers Outcomes and Savings for School District

By offering free care to SJCSD employees, the district realizes cost savings for a win-win scenario. Engaged members and spouses cost 20% ($1,303) less in claims per year than non-engaged members, for an estimated $3.2M in savings.

The district benefited from a 3:1 ROI with Marathon Health last year. That ROI extends to engaged members, as they continue to make strides on reducing biometric risk factors as well as risk related to anxiety and depression.

For example, a 37-year-old male with Type 2 diabetes and hypertension experienced a hypertension-related emergency room visit in May 2023. At the time, his blood pressure was 200/140. After engaging with Marathon Health, he embarked on a lifestyle change that included eliminating fast food and adding walking to his routine, as well as some medication changes.

After just five months, he lowered his blood pressure to 146/98. In addition, he lowered his weight, A1c, and BMI. That member is just one of 1,495 who made progress on reducing a biometric risk factor from October 2021 to September 2023.

In addition to health improvements, members gain back time, whether through being able to schedule wellness visits at preferred times and wait less than 5 minutes in the waiting room, squeezing in a therapy visit during a prep period or avoiding the emergency room if injured on the job.

“Time is such a valuable commodity,” Cromwell says. “If I don’t have to take a half-day away from my kids in the classroom to go to my behavioral health appointment and wellness exam, that’s a giant benefit to the district and to the employees.”