Quality Makes the Difference:
Accessibility and Service Quality are Keys to Onsite Care

Health cost trends continue to skyrocket at a national rate due to chronic disease.  Failure to conduct health screenings and delaying to seek help for minor health issues can escalate to serious conditions resulting in expensive health claims.  When quality care is easily accessible, however, health costs can rapidly decrease.

Early detection, prompt treatment, and consistent follow-ups are key components of the onsite healthcare model.  By supplying onsite or nearby medical care for employees, employers are mitigating risks and cutting costs, all while increasing employee benefits.  In addition to a healthier bottom line, this translates to improved productivity and fewer sick days with less time away for physician appointments.

The Crowne Consulting Group and its partner, CareHere LLC, have created a cost-saving model for self-funded employers, extending benefits of free office visits, screenings, and increased physician face-time.  When considering onsite care, it’s important to ask the right questions to ensure your operators are able to meet and exceed your needs for lowering health costs while enhancing care.

1)     Will the employees have easy access to the health center?
In addition to building the center at the worksite or a nearby location, availability is essential.  The CareHere-Crowne model allows employees to simply call a toll-free number or go on-line to schedule an appointment.  Patients are typically in front of a doctor before the end of the workday.

2)     Will the employees be able to fill prescriptions via the health center?
Through CareHere, employers pay wholesale costs for prescription drugs, which have helped employers save millions of dollars.  Importantly, patients appreciate that they can conveniently walk away from the appointment with a free or low-priced prescription in about an hour.

3)     Will the range of services meet the employee’s medical needs?
Without having to leave the worksite, employees may seek treatment for acute conditions such as a cold or infection, in addition to chronic conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes.  The full list of services typically includes primary and family care, occupational services, workers’ compensation matters, x-rays, pharmacy, disease management, and wellness services.

4)     Will there be incentives for employees to utilize the center?
Visits to the health centers are voluntary, but incentives for employees to use them include zero co-pays and no deductibles.  CareHere and Crowne Consulting Group also take a client-centric approach to boost success.  Among the list of perks are a grand opening to announce and promote awareness for the new center, reward-based programs with prizes to increase utilization, and employee incentives tied to wellness programs and health risk assessments for identifying risks early and controlling costs.

When considering the launch of any healthcare service, experience is most important.  Crowne Consulting Group’s team has expertise in serving public sector employers such as school boards, city and county government, as well as private organizations.  Crowne’s team strategically collaborates with CareHere LLC to help employers hire medical staff and operate health centers.  CareHere operates more than 100 health centers nationwide, specializing in providing onsite healthcare through employers by making healthcare easier, better and more affordable.

Press Release
For additional information, contact:
rtomlinson@crowneinc.com

 

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Shots for Tots Combines Toy Drive with Free Flu Shots

Crowne Consulting Group, CareHere, and Pasco Schools partner to collect toy donations while providing protection against the flu.

 

Dec. 19, 2012 (Ocoee, Fla.) – Crowne Consulting Group, Inc. and CareHere LLC announces that they teamed up with the District School Board of Pasco County last week for “Shots for Tots,” a program to offer free flu shots to all adults and children ten-years old and older who donated an unwrapped children’s toy.

As part of the program, CareHere nurses visited several school campuses offering the free vaccine to eligible individuals in an attempt to vaccinate as many people as possible during what is considered by the CDC as a more severe flu season.

In addition to inoculating community members and increasing protection against the flu, the program also collected toys for children in the Pasco County area to aid in the District’s yearly efforts to provide presents for children whose families cannot afford to purchase gifts this year. Guidance counselors from the District School Board of Pasco County joined the drive, picking up the donations and distributing them among needy families whose children attend Pasco County schools.

Toys donated at flu shot clinics outside school campuses were donated to Metropolitan Ministries to assist in boosting their annual toy drive, which had been experiencing a decrease in the number of donations this year.

Crowne Consulting Group collaborates with Tennessee-based CareHere, LLC to operate more than 25 on-site health centers throughout Florida.  Since 2011, Pasco Schools have had three onsite health and wellness centers for their employees.  A news segment highlighting how Pasco Schools saved $2 million in the first year of opening its CareHere health and wellness centers is available at https://crowneinc.com/news/.

 

About Crowne Consulting Group, Inc:

Crowne Consulting Group, Inc., founded in 1986, consults and provides administrative oversight services for onsite health and wellness centers to employers and is a related company with The Crowne Group, an employee benefits consulting firm, specializing in employer solutions and personal lines of insurance.  Crowne’s experts have a cumulative 100 years of experience in serving public sector employers such as school boards, city and county government, as well as private organizations.  The firm’s mission is to bring innovative solutions that meet the fiscal responsibility of employers and maximizes investments.  Solutions for consumer-driven plans include health reimbursement arrangements, self-funded plans, onsite health and wellness centers, as well as risk management and human resources consulting.

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ABC – WFTV, Channel 9 Eyewitness News

Kissimmee wants to be next city with CareHere clinic

October 15, 2012, KISSIMMEE, Fla. — A new healthcare model seems to be sweeping through central Florida and it has nothing to with the Affordable Care Act.

Cities, counties and school districts are opening their own health clinics, offering free health care to employees, retirees, and their families.

Kissimmee is set to vote on Tuesday to contract with CareHere, a company that already operates more than a dozen clinics in central Florida.

“The numbers of heart failures have come down, asthmas are down, diabetes is down, all those chronic, big-dollar, big-ticket items,” said Brian Branham, of CareHere clinics.

Branham said health is up and costs are down at the facilities, saving taxpayers money.  And in exam rooms, patients not only consult with physicians, they get their blood drawn and pick up prescriptions.

Patients get more time than in a traditional medicine model, where a doctor gets a few minutes with a patient.

Doctors with CareHere are allotted at least 20 minutes of consultation time with each patient.

“The physicians get time to actually sit with the patients, talk with them, figuring out what’s going on with them,” said Branham.

Sanford opened a clinic last month. Lake Mary will open one in December and Kissimmee wants to be the next city with healthier employees.

There is already a long list of taxpayer-owned clinics around central Florida, including Flagler County, Lake County Schools and local cities: Leesburg, Deland, Mt. Dora, Sanford, Apopka, and more.

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Changing Florida’s Healthcare Landscape
for Employers and Employees


Crowne Consulting Group’s worksite health and wellness centers grow in popularity.

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Sept. 12, 2012 (Ocoee, Fla.) – Crowne Consulting Group, Inc. is helping a growing number of organizations lower healthcare costs by enhancing employee benefits and offering onsite health and wellness centers for their employees.

The Crowne Consulting Group collaborates with Tennessee-based CareHere, LLC to operate 24 on-site health centers throughout Florida.  To name a few, the City of Leesburg, City of Ocala, City of Ocoee, Lake Schools, St. Johns Schools, and Charlotte County are offering onsite medical care for employees.  Add to that the City of Sanford opening earlier this week, and Lake Mary and Longwood projected for fall.

Motivators behind this trend include:

  • Employees pay no co-pay, which keeps utilization high.  Also, generic drugs, primary care, x-rays, screenings, disease management, and wellness services are all free.
  • Worksite-based care makes visiting the doctor more convenient for employees who typically neglect
    basic care or delay treatment.
  • Some employers have seen insurance claims drop 15 percent in gross costs within one year of launching on-site care, while other employers have sustained nearly a 4 percent decrease in claims costs during a four-year span.

“It’s a win-win for employers and employees because easier access to preventive care ensures that risks can be uncovered before becoming high-dollar medical claims,” said Ray Tomlinson, president of Crowne Consulting Group, which was recently profiled in Orlando Business Journal and Governing Magazine.

A news segment highlighting how Pasco Schools saved $2 million in the first year of opening its CareHere center is available at https://crowneinc.com/news/.

About Crowne Consulting Group, Inc: Crowne Consulting Group, Inc., founded in 1986, consults and provides administrative oversight services for onsite health and wellness centers to employers and is a related company with The Crowne Group, an employee benefits consulting firm, specializing in employer solutions and personal lines of insurance. Crowne’s experts have a cumulative 100 years of experience in serving public sector employers such as school boards, city and county government, as well as private organizations.  The firm’s mission is to bring innovative solutions that meet the fiscal responsibility of employers and maximizes investments.  Solutions for consumer-driven plans include health reimbursement arrangements, self-funded plans, onsite health and wellness centers, as well as risk management and human resources consulting.

 

Improving Conditions:
Crowne Consulting Group Inc.
boosts revenue with clinic operations

Orlando Business Journal, Aug. 10, 2012
Bill Orben, Associate Managing Editor

Crowne Consulting Group Inc. is helping the city of Ocoee beat the odds on health care costs.

The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates health insurance premiums increased by 114 percent nationally in 2010, but the city is spending the same $3.4 million on health insurance it spent five years ago.

That’s because the city has been able to hold the line on what it spends on health insurance and how much comes out of the pockets of its employees by operating a clinic instead of paying the fees private doctors and other health care providers charge…