Healthcare…
Just the word can dizzily make one’s mind spin.
Employees want and need it from their employers. Employers, large and small and tax-dollar-funded municipalities across the nation, want to provide as much as possible for their employees at a price beneficial to all.
Rock Valley Physical Therapy has a solution to what has been a never-ending search for a fair-and-balanced victory for both sides.
Backed by 40 years of “Making Better Lives,’’ a deep understanding of the issue and firmly-versed at finding solutions, Rock Valley Physical Therapy’s Employer Health Services offers a number of successful options to lower costs for employers while aiding and benefiting those to which they employ.
Whether it be a bevy of physical therapy services for employers, each designed to assist organizations in hiring healthy employees, keeping workers healthy, and helping injured staff quickly get back to their jobs, Rock Valley Physical Therapy has a win-win solution for all.
Lori Stratton, OTR/L, CHT, the Employer Service Coordinator for Rock Valley Physical Therapy’s Central Illinois region, tirelessly works side-by-side with a number of corporate and municipal entities in Central Illinois.
Compassionate, ever-caring and dedicated to bettering the lives of those she serves, Stratton says Rock Valley Physical Therapy has the perfect formula to better the lives of employees and employers on a wide and successful scale.
Accepting the challenge of leading the Employer Health Services charge for the Central Illinois/Peoria region, was the perfect test for the always-upbeat Stratton, who calls Morton, Ill., home.
“I feel passionate that the offerings we are marketing are of great value,’’ said Stratton, noting Rock Valley Physical Therapy features 62 clinics across Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska, and is one of the nation’s largest therapist-owned and therapist-led private PT practices.
“I feel confident a company’s greatest resource is its people, and the greatest investment they can make is in their health,’’ added Stratton. “All of our offerings are to better the health and wellness of people.’’
Stratton says the reach of Rock Valley’s Employer Health Services is far, it is wide and has something for entities, large and small.
“We provide our Fire and Police program in Iowa and Illinois,’’ said Stratton, a St. Ambrose University (Davenport, Iowa) graduate. “For Employer Health, we service the areas where we have clinics. For Corporate Wellness, we travel across the United States to partner with businesses. My role as Employer Service Coordinator for the Central Illinois/ Peoria region evolved from my leadership approaching me with this opportunity. I was open to trying it and soon realized I really enjoyed it.’’
Stratton lauded Rock Valley’s entire Employer Health Services team, Director Ken Asta, CHC, CSCS, MBA; Larry Ratigan, PTA, CEAS,CIEE, Quality and Development Specialist; Dr. Peter Matos, DO, MPH, FACOEM, FACPM; and Kara Kurtz, BSN, RN, CHC, Wellness Manager, for their expertise, willingness and guidance in bringing such a cutting-edge program to light.
“Marketing these offerings is relational work,’’ Stratton explained. “Communication and customer service are what our team excels at.’’
Rock Valley Physical Therapy offers a number of employee health services:
- Tactical Fitness: An annual medical exam and fitness assessment for fire and police across Iowa and Illinois. The program is completed on site at the fire or police station. Rock Valley accommodates the unique schedules of first responders and partners with a physician to bring this to light.
- Employer Health: Offerings include services that help employers hire healthy employees, keep healthy employees, and minimize the impact of injuries when they do occur. The most requested services in this category are Rock Valley’s skilled therapy for the injured worker, post-offer employment testing (POET), and ergonomic and job-site analysis. The skilled therapy and POETs occur at one of Rock Valley’s 62 clinics, and ergonomic and job-site analysis services occur on site at the business.
- It must be noted, musculoskeletal injuries are the fastest-growing health cost for employers. Rock Valley’s Corporate Wellness programs and Employer Health Services, can prevent and minimize these injuries, keeping employees at work (less paid time off) and more productive. If an injury does occur, early intervention with our skilled physical therapists can eliminate the cost of surgery, medication, and expensive imaging. The cost savings are abundant.
- Corporate Wellness: Offerings include biometric screenings where all company employees receive a personal-health report from a fasting blood draw finger stick and Tanita scale body composition analyzer. The body fat, BMI, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, fasting glucose, and triglyceride results are available in 90 seconds, and our certified staff provides consultation of those results with the employee. The biometric screening is performed on site at the company. Other offerings are available for Corporate Wellness, including health challenges that Rock Valley will customize and run for companies as well as health coaching.
In today’s world, the bottom line to decisions regarding healthcare is simply the bottom line…
Cost.
Financially, Stratton says, Rock Valley has found a way to bring great health and happiness to all involved. While providing relief financially for both sides.
“The financial impact is extravagantly advantageous for a company,’’ said Stratton, who can be reached at 309 243-1989 or by going to rockvalleypt.com. “Essentially, wellness programs are preventative medicine, and all studies show that catching diseases and conditions early can save employers billions of dollars in healthcare costs.
“There is great need for the services we offer,’’ added Stratton.” It’s a win/win for everyone, the employer and the employee. Health and wellness offerings increase personal health awareness and enhance quality of life. Consequently, improved quality of life makes people more productive workers. One of the companies we partner with, did data analytics and determined that our corporate wellness program put them $1,310,247 under the benchmark they had predicted to spend on healthcare costs across a two-year plan.’’
Rock Valley Physical Therapy Employer Health Services is a victory for all involved.
By: Johnny Marx, Storyteller