To help keep its workforce healthy in order to better serve the public, the city of El Dorado is dipping into its reserve coffers to implement a wellness program for municipal employees.
The El Dorado City Council agreed to start with the El Dorado Fire Department, voting June 20 to dedicate $5,000 toward the launch of the program.
Fire Chief Chad Mosby initially presented the funding request to the city council Finance Committee earlier this month.
Mosby approached the full council last week, saying that he and Council Member Judy Ward, who was unable to attend the June 20 meeting, previously participated in an Arkansas Municipal League class in which the topic was wellness initiatives.
” … in the fact that it reduces our liability whenever our employees are healthy and one of the things that we need is to establish a baseline to make sure our employees are healthy,” Mosby explained.
He said the fire department had reached out to the Arkansas Heart Hospital to learn about its wellness program and pricing on such services as heart screenings and other non-invasive testing to provide medical assessments and determine risk factors concerning heart health.
Mosby drew on his own harrowing experience with a medical crisis on Easter Sunday/April Fool’s Day 2018.
“As you know, a year ago, I had a heart attack myself and I considered myself to be pretty healthy,” he told council members.
Mosby had just returned from a run and a cool-down while celebrating Easter with family in Tinsman when he began to feel a burning sensation in his lungs.
He initially attributed the sensation to seasonal allergies triggered by heavy pollen but later learned that he had suffered a myocardial infarction, a heart attack that occurs when the heart muscle doesn’t receive enough blood flow.
“They cleared the blockages in my blood vessels and put a stent in one of them and I haven’t had any problems since,” Mosby previously told the News-Times.
An avid runner and active practitioner of the martial arts, Mosby told council members last week that the experience was an eye-opener for him.
“I found out there was some things I didn’t know about my condition, even being a runner and a pretty active guy,” Mosby said.
Within the year, another El Dorado firefighter suffered a heart attack while on the scene of a fire.
“And he was healthy or appeared to be healthy and he found out he had some underlying conditions that all would have been caught with this screening,” the fire chief said.
“I was fortunate enough that I’m not on the front lines anymore and I was able to come back to work within a week,” he continued. “The guy who had the heart attack is still off. He’s been off for several months.”
Had the existing health conditions been detected early with preventative care, Mosby said the city could have potentially saved money not only with medical insurance, but also the costs to cover the firefighter’s shifts as he convalesces.
He added that the firefighter is expected to be cleared to return to work in July.
Mosby went on to say that heart attacks are among the leading killers of firefighters, second only to cancer.
‘Full gamut’
The price quoted for the AHH’s wellness program is $90 per firefighter and includes a “full gamut of blood work, ultrasounds and vein scans.”
Pulmonary function tests are also folded into the price — a total of $5,000 for the fire department — because of respirator fit-testing and certification that is mandatory for firefighters.
Mosby said the EFD is using its participation in the AHH program as a launchpad toward a holistic approach to wellness.
“We’re not just banking on these screenings. We’re … just trying to change the mindset on nutrition and healthy eating, healthy lifestyles,” he said.
Mosby added that the El Dorado Firefighters Association is helping to develop fitness programs, including investing money in peer fitness trainers.
Council Member Dianne Hammond said she felt the wellness program was important for all city workers, adding that council members have requested quotes for the rest of the city’s workforce.
Quotes from AHH were $80 per person, noting that the $10 difference applies to the exclusion of the pulmonary function test, which is not required for other city workers, Mosby said.
He said $80 was based on an estimate of 300 employees, noting that he did not have an exact number for city employees when he inquired about pricing for other city employees.
Hammond said the council is awaiting a total cost for other city departments, including the police, public works and administrative divisions.
Council Member Andre Rucks asked if the reduced rate would still be available if the city started with the fire department and added the rest of the city workers later.
Mosby said the $80 price was locked in.
Council Member Billy Blann said that while he supports the initiative, he opposed the launch with only one city department on board.
“I think it’s setting a bad precedent here by earmarking money just for the fire department. What about the police department?” Blann asked.
“I did talk to (Police Chief Kenny Hickman) and it’s something they’re interested in and that’s why we asked for Chief Mosby to get a price … on what it would cost for the entire city,” Hammond said.
“At this time, we don’t have the numbers and that’s why I mentioned tonight, let’s get numbers (for) how many other employees are involved and at the next council meeting, we can look at bringing that up for the rest of the employees.”
Blann inquired about the line item from which the $5,000 would be taken in the 2019 city budget.
City Treasurer Bonnie Wyles initially suggested the EFD’s miscellaneous budget, telling council members, “There’s no other line item that really covers — that it would really fall under.”
Mosby clarified that his request was to transfer $5,000 into the EFD’s miscellaneous budget “because I don’t have it in my budget.”
He said the Finance Committee had discussed relocating the funds from the city reserves.
“I think that would be an appropriate place to take it from,” Council Member Paul Choate said.
Added Hammond, “And if we’re looking at doing this for the rest of the employees, I think the entire amount should come out of the reserve.”
The vote was 4 - 1 in favor of the measure. Blann voted no. Council Member Michael Rice was also unable to attend the meeting.
There was some discussion about available wellness options in existing medical insurance for city employees.
Mosby said the Arkansas Municipal League wellness plan does not cover the AHH service but the hospital is in discussions with the league about the matter.
Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 or tlyons@ eldoradonews.com.