Amazon launched neighborhood health clinics for warehouse workers and their families in a handful of cities, the company announced Tuesday.
The first clinics, to be implemented as a pilot program, will be located in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Phoenix, Louisville, Detroit and San Bernardino, California area. Amazon hopes to open 20 health centers in those five cities and, if the pilot succeeds, will establish additional centers in other cities and states in 2021, the company said.
While the clinics will serve Amazon employees, they will be operated and serviced by Crossover Health, a new company that works with self-insured employers to provide health care services. The health centers will be located near Amazon distribution centers, sorting centers, and delivery stations. With Amazon warehouses open 24 hours, the centers will also have extended hours to “accommodate multiple employee work schedules.”
Darcie Henry, Amazon’s vice president of human resources, said the clinics are designed to provide a range of preventive care resources for warehouse workers, rather than emergency or urgent care options, which are not only more expensive for patients but are also limited in the types of care they can provide.
“We want to solve that for our employees, and the launch of these new neighborhood health centers will provide a range of quality primary care services for employees across the country,” said Henry.
The clinics will offer acute, chronic, and preventive primary care, prescription drugs, vaccines, behavioral health services, physical therapy, and chiropractic care, among other services.
Clinics are launching at a crucial time as coronavirus outbreaks continue to appear across the country. Many warehouse employees have pressured Amazon to better protect them from the virus while on the job. Amazon’s facilities in the US continue to report new cases and at least nine workers have died from Covid-19.
Amazon has added to its set of benefits for warehouse employees in recent months. In June, Amazon said it would start providing 10 days of subsidized emergency care for children or adults to all of its US employees through Oct. 2.
Last September, Amazon launched a virtual health clinic with home follow-up for corporate employees in the Seattle area, known as Amazon Care. In May, Amazon expanded the service to include warehouse workers near the company’s headquarters. Using an app, employees can connect with medical professionals for a video consultation and then request a home visit if necessary.
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