Amazon will set up neighborhood clinics for its warehouse workers across five cities in the U.S.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the creation of some remarkable, unique employee health benefits. From employee safety screening appsOpens a new window to work from home insuranceOpens a new window to COVID test kitsOpens a new window being sent to employees’ homes, organizations are pulling all stops to ensure the health and safety of their employees.
AmazonOpens a new window has now announced that it will set up neighborhood clinics for its warehouse workers and their families. To support its employees with their health needs, Amazon is piloting this program with 20 health centers across five cities in the U.S. The first one will be in the Dallas–Fort Worth region.
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Amazon is collaborating with the medical group Crossover Health to set up these clinics and will have them close to Amazon fulfillment centers. The range of services in these clinics will include primary and preventative care, physical therapy, behavioral health services, vaccinations, and prescriptions. This approach is in line with Amazon’s earlier efforts in transforming healthcare for its employees through Amazon Care. It had launched a virtual healthcare service for Seattle-area employees and their dependents, where they can connect with a nurse virtually through a mobile app. This proprietary technology platform from Crossover Health allows patients to start their care online and then move to in-person care if required.
Some Amazon employees are believed to have contracted the virus while on the job. If this happens, organizations need to assume liability for their care, making it available to them immediately. This also comes at a time when 5.4 million AmericansOpens a new window have lost their health insurance.
Companies need to evaluate multiple steps as they decide to bring essential employees back to work. That includes collecting and utilizing benefits data to make decisions on their overall employee benefits packages.
Employee Wellness Initiatives Grow as a Result of the COVID-19 Pandemic
In June 2020, Gartner released research indicating that by March 2020, 68% organizations had introduced at least one wellness benefit for their employees to support them during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some such initiatives have been launched by HSA Bank, Starbucks, and Cummins.
HSA BankOpens a new window shared a whitepaper to enable employers to become aware of how their healthcare benefits administration will be impacted. While it explains the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), it also shares how employers must listen to their employees and support them due to increased medical expenses.
StarbucksOpens a new window also initiated its mental health care program by bringing 12,000 store leaders together virtually to speak about this issue. In June, Starbucks Mental Health Fundamentals Training was created and launched in collaboration with the National Council for Behavioral Health. This is a tool for their partners to be able to learn from and respond to signs of mental health challenges. The training is currently available for U.S. assistant store managers, store managers, and non-retail partners.
CumminsOpens a new window has taken the simple measure to produce masks for its employees, providing at least two disposable masks per shift, in an effort to improve safety and enable business continuity. It already enforces screening for each employee before they enter the workplace to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
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A focus on employee wellness will define an organization’s approach to the employee experience in these times. While some of the measures mentioned above took shape before the pandemic, they have picked up pace in the current scenario. As companies introduce special measures to help employees deal with the health effects of the pandemic, others have introduced products to do this. These are all steps in the right direction, which can further strengthen their support to their own employees and the workforce at large.