HEALTHCARE Frisco to sponsor free health clinic for city staff, their families
BENEFIT A WIDESPREAD These cities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area already offer a free clinic for city
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Cities with free clinic Frisco city limits
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employees and their families.
According to the ordinance, the term of the agreement begins June 1. Hours of operation will be Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a closure from noon to 1 p.m. Frisco Director of Human Resources Lauren Safranek said hours could potentially change. The clinic has an implementation fee of $173,754, according to a city memo. For the first five years, salary and management fees total more than $6.28 million. For the first three years, the clinic is projected to be subsidized by funds from Frisco’s insurance reserve fund. Safranek said by the second year of the clinic’s operation, money that the city already pays for insurance claims is expected to almost match operational costs at the clinic. “By the time that you get into years three and four, we’re actually, hopefully, saving money ... on
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City of Frisco employees and their families will soon be able to visit a doctor’s office paid for by the city. Mayor Jeff Cheney cast the tiebreaking vote to approve the clinic during the Dec. 7 City Council meeting after council members were divided 3-3 on the proposed agreement. The service agreement with Premise Health was nearly struck down, then tabled, at an earlier Nov. 16 council meeting, after City Manager George Purefoy spoke about his confidence in the clinic’s success. The clinic, to be located at 7589 Preston Road, Stes. 300 and 400, is an added benefit to city employees, who already receive insurance sponsored by Frisco. Employees will not be required to use the clinic, which offers a $0 co-pay and both in-person and virtual visits.
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SOURCE: CITY OF FRISCO/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
insurance costs that we feel that we’re moving from an environment that there is inflation and higher costs to a more cost-controlled environment with still very quality care,” Safranek said.
A survey conducted in November collected responses from 684 city employees. A total of 89.75% of respondents said they were “very likely or somewhat likely” to use the clinic for “urgent or sick care needs.”
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FRISCO EDITION • JANUARY 2022
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