Crime & Safety

Mehlville Fire District to Consider Wellness Program

The board will consider the incentive-based program at its next meeting.

The number one killer of firefighters isn’t related to the dangers they face while on a call, but tied in with cardiovascular health. Firefighter Health and Wellness names heart attacks as the primary killer of firefighters in America.

That’s why Brian Hendricks, chief of the Mehlville Fire Protection District, put together a wellness program for the district’s employees.

The chief introduced the plan at the board meeting Thursday and directors will consider the plan at the next meeting—July 18 at 5 p.m.

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The plan is a multi-step program that uses health-savings account (HSA) contributions as incentives. It won’t add costs to employees or the district, Hendricks said, but will actually save money in the long run if health issues can be found ahead of time.

Currently, the district spends $15,000 a year for a company to do standard blood draws on all employees. The results are given to the employee and then they receive an HSA contribution based on those results.

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“The one thing we realized is that there’s no involvement with a physician,” Hendricks said. 

The wellness program would require an annual physical with a blood draw. The results will be sent back to the doctor, so employees can talk to a physician about blood pressure or other conditions. The physical costs are already in the district's insurance program.

Good results on the physical could net the employee $300 in their HSA.

The number of employees that don’t see a doctor on a regular basis is “staggering,” Hendricks said, and with health insurance being one of the biggest line items in the budget, he believes the program can keep long-term costs down.

Another component is a tobacco affidavit. If an employee is smoke-free, $100 will be put in their health savings account. A pedometer challenge and other incentives are also included in the wellness program.

The program would allow the district to eliminate its tri-annual physicals that cost more than $100,000 a year, Hendricks said. Approximately $64,400 is budgeted for the HSA contributions, which the chief has asked to remain the same.

Deputy Chief Dan La Fata said the new wellness initiative would offer employees a free gym membership at its newest firehouse.

He said every firehouse has equipment for general workouts, but the will include multipurpose weight machines, treadmills and ellipticals. Once complete, any firefighter can come in and work out while off-duty.

“We’re just trying to make wellness a little more user-friendly and achievable for our employees,” he said.


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