FARMINGTON, Minn. -- Dawn Cherwinka is an art teacher at Farmington High school. Her class is in the middle of putting together the yearbook and missing a day of work would set them back. Earlier this year she had a close call.
"I had a little scare with asthma and bronchial problems," the veteran teacher said.
But instead of taking a day off work to see the doctor she just walked into the new NeoPath clinic right down the hall. The district opened the clinic this summer to try to keep staff healthy and in the classroom and also help lower healthcare costs.
The district is charged $16,000 for the service by NeoPath, according to Heidi Gunn, a doctor and NeoPath manager. Nearly 30 percent of all district employees have already taken advantage of the onsite clinic.
"We're only open right now two days a week and I know there's pressure for us to expand the number of days because they're getting pretty full," Superintendent Jay Haugen, said.
Cherwinka said using the clinic is easy. She makes her appointment online and can pop into the clinic during her prep hour. She's already been there at least five times this year.
"A couple times they even walked my prescription down to my classroom which is pretty unheard of," she said.
Haugen can't say yet if the clinic has indeed lowered absenteeism or how much the district is saving in health premiums but he is hopeful their proactive approach will pay off.
NeoPath already has a clinic in the Brooklyn Center school district for students. There are plans to have a clinic in the Robbinsdale school district soon.
(Copyright 2011 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)