The Los Angeles-based airline catering company Flying Food Group recently opened a free health clinic for all of its employees in the region.
Located in L.A., the clinic is operated and staffed by RUSH University Medical Center in Chicago, where Angela Moss is the Assistant Dean of Faculty Practice and associate professor for the College of Nursing at Rush University.
“Our partnership with Flying Food is one of more than 20 academic-practice partnerships we have established across the south and west sides of Chicago. All our partner sites are place-based, meaning we leverage a preexisting location where people live, work, learn, and play, to provide nurse-led care to patients and families,” Moss told Coachella Valley Times. “For our Flying Food partnership, the place is the worksite. Our place-based model of nursing care is beneficial to patients, community members, and our partners because we are able to offer high quality primary care services in a cost-effective, evidence-based, and reduces health inequities by removing many historic barriers to healthcare access. Most of our academic-practice partners are non-profit organizations, but FFG has been a unique partner in the business space, demonstrating that this model works in a variety of settings.”
She said the RUSH College of Nursing was first approached in 2007 after Flying Food founder Sue Ling Gin visited an urgent care clinic while traveling and received urgent care from a nurse practitioner.
“Upon her return home to Chicago, Sue reached out to the RUSH College of Nursing to explore developing a program to ‘help FFG employees be healthier’ through improved access to nurse practitioner urgent and primary care services while at work,” Moss said. “For the past 13 years, we have developed and refined a care delivery model that works, and which we now look to expand to other Flying Food sites.”
According to FFG, the clinic is currently able to provide health education and coaching on variety of topics including high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep, diet and exercise, stress management, and cancer prevention. Hands-on care includes blood pressure screenings, weight screenings, blood sugar checks, comprehensive health assessment, and individualized health plan development. Additionally, the clinic can triage current health concerns of patients and connect to the appropriate level of care.
Once the clinic’s nurse practitioners get final approval and licensing, they will be able to provide diagnosis and treatment of chronic and episodic illness including things such as hypertension, diabetes, gastroesophageal reflux, upper respiratory infection, chronic pain and more, according to FFG. Other health services such as pap smears, cervical cancer tests, flu vaccinations, referrals to specialists, and prescriptions, if needed, will also be offered.
Moss said FFG employees have access to health care for urgent issues such as cold and flu symptoms, ear infections and injuries without the hassle of making appointments on days off.
“This extends from urgent health care needs to more routine checkups for wellness and chronic disease management too, meaning the employees we serve achieve improved health outcomes for chronic illnesses such as better controlled blood pressure and blood sugar, chronic pain, stress management, and other longer term health issues,” she said. “We also create space for worksite healthcare programming such as sleep hygiene classes, depression and anxiety awareness and management, weight management training, cancer awareness screening, and many other health education topics. Our clinical team conducts continuous needs assessments to tailor worksite health and wellness programming and direct patient healthcare services based upon need.”
Moss said RUSH’s mission is to improve the health of the individuals and diverse communities it serves through the integration of outstanding patient care, education, research and community partnerships.
“Specifically in the RUSH University College of Nursing, where this program is housed, our mission is to advance nursing education, science, and practice with a focus on providing nurse-led care through a health equity lens,” she said. “Employees appreciate access to conveniently located, high-quality health care delivered by nurses and nurse practitioners who build time to listen and understand employees’ individual healthcare goals. Employees feel our clinical team is their trusted partners in health.”