For 38 years, SAS CEO Jim Goodnight has run this company by a simple philosophy: Treat employees like they make a difference and they will. It was with that philosophy in mind 30 years ago that SAS opened the doors to its on-site healthcare center – with just one employee!
Celebrating its 30th anniversary this week, the SAS Health Care Center (HCC) now has a 53-member staff – including 10 family nurse practitioners, four family practice physicians, three nutritionists, 11 nurses, five medical lab technologists, one psychologist and three physical therapists – all committed to keeping employees healthy, happy and productive.
For three decades, the SAS Health Care Center has strived to make it as easy as possible for employees and their families to have their health care needs met and get their job done without sacrificing either. Its focus has always been to change lives for the better in a relaxed family-friendly atmosphere that focuses on building strong, trusting patient-provider relationships.
And, trust is apparent – as evidenced by the 90% of SAS global headquarters employees who use HCC services. Seventy-five percent of employees and 50% of their family members currently designate the HCC as their primary care medical home.
SAS is consistently recognized as a leader in workplace culture, and people continue to be surprised at the environment we provide for our employees. What actually surprises us is why more businesses don’t do the same. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it also just makes good business sense.
For example, a roundtrip visit to the HCC for a minor acute illness is around 30 minutes – including a stop at the pharmacy. This on-site accessibility saves SAS more than $4 million annually in employee time. Added to more than $3 million in annual savings to the company medical plan, SAS experienced a total cost savings of more than $8 million last year!
Providing such convenience and healthcare benefits at the free on-site HCC helps SAS retain employees. A Stanford University professor estimated that SAS is saving approximately $100 million annually in recruitment and training costs (SAS has an average annual turnover of about 3%, compared to the industry average of more than 15%).
It’s easy to see that the SAS Health Care Center has been doing more than just keeping employees healthy. It’s helped keep the business healthy, too!
Take a trip down memory lane with Chief Health Officer Gale Adcock to learn more about the evolution of our wonderful Health Care Center!
