Monaco plans on-site employee health clinic, pharmacy.

Byline: Tim Christie The Register-Guard

Monaco Coach Corp. announced Thursday that it will establish a new employee health clinic and drive-through pharmacy on the campus of its motor home factory in Coburg.

Company officials said they are the first private employer in this area to create an on-site clinic.

Chris Nystrom, director of business assistance for the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, said she's not aware of any other local private employers that provide on-site health care.

The clinic is expected to open in November, after a $650,000, 3,600-square-foot building is completed, Monaco spokesman Craig Wanichek said.

Monaco will contract with Cascade Health Solutions to run the clinic, which will offer primary health care, physical therapy, wellness and treatment for worker compensation-related injuries to the company's 2,500 employees.

The clinic will be staffed by a primary care physician, nurse-practitioner, physical therapist and nurse.

A pharmacist and pharmacy technician will dispense drugs at the drive-through pharmacy operated by Senior Pharmacy.

The clinic is intended to supplement the care that employees are getting from their regular health providers, he said.

The company decided to build and operate a clinic "to continue to be one of the top employers in the community" and "to help retain and recruit strong employees," he said.

But the move also makes business sense in the face of rising health care costs.

"This is a way to mitigate some of that," he said. "Our goal is to stem the rise of those costs and maybe flatten them out a little bit."

Also, having an on-site clinic should reduce lost time when employees have to travel to and from Eugene or Springfield to see their regular doctor, he said.

Wanichek said it's too early to say how much money the company expects to save with the clinic, and he wouldn't say how much it would cost Monaco to underwrite the clinic.

But it will be part of the overall benefits package provided to employees, which runs in the "millions of dollars" per year.

Cascade Health Solutions, the firm that will run the clinic, is a Eugene nonprofit that was spun off from McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center after the Springfield hospital was acquired by the for-profit Triad Hospitals chain.

Hours will likely run from about 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. depending on demand, Wanichek said.

Monaco, headquartered in Coburg, makes of recreational vehicles under the Monaco, Holiday Rambler, Safari, Beaver, McKenzie and Royale Coach brand names.