After months of talks and preparation, Tyson Foods is opening seven Bright Blue health clinics near its production plants for workers and their families.
The clinics, operated by partner Marathon Health, offer primary and preventive care such as health screenings, education and counseling. In most cases, services are free to employees.
They also collaborate with health providers in the area, including primary-care physicians and specialists, so that workers can receive adequate care. One of the locations is scheduled to open in Green Forest next week.
The Bright Blue health clinics, intended to convey the bright future of someone with easy access to health care and the company's heritage color, is Tyson's latest effort to invest in worker health and safety. Since spring 2020, the company has invested more than half a billion dollars, saying the efforts were to make its production plants safer places to work. Tyson also expanded its health services staff and hired a chief medical officer.
"We really want to support our team members in a more holistic way," said Dr. Claudia Coplein, Tyson's chief medical officer.
After being hired, Coplein noticed that some workers were not using their health plan benefits and others didn't seek care until there was a crisis. With the addition of the health centers, she said that Tyson is trying to change that.
"By expanding our efforts in health and safety and growing more towards a culture of health, we can really help our team members and their families live their best lives," Coplein said.
The seven health centers will serve 38,000 workers and their families, including spouses and dependents age 2 and older who are covered by Tyson's insurance plan, the company said.
In the U.S. meatpacking industry, a majority of workers are Black or Hispanic and live at or below the poverty line, census data show. A substantial amount do not have health care.
Tyson debuted plans in September to create on-site health clinics. The first health center opened April 28 near a poultry processing plant in Newbern, Tenn. Five more are scheduled to open this month, including one in Green Forest on May 12.
Tyson said workers enrolled in high-deductible insurance plans will pay a fee for visits until the deductible is met. This would apply to less than 2% of eligible workers. About 139,000 people work for Tyson.
Tyson expanded its health efforts last year as U.S. meatpacking workers contracted the coronavirus. The company implemented health and safety measures, including temperature scanners and workstation dividers. Tyson also temporarily relaxed its attendance policy.
Despite efforts from Tyson and others, 58,843 U.S. meatpacking workers tested positive or became sick from the virus, according to FERN, a nonprofit that has been tracking covid-19 data since April 2020. At least 291 workers have died in the pandemic.
Tyson has attempted to educate workers about the vaccine and held on-site vaccination clinics or compensated up to four hours of regular pay for employees to leave work to get a shot. According to the company, more than 40,000 workers have been vaccinated.