Mentor Schools & Lake Health to Open Clinic at Mentor High

The opening of a clinic at Mentor High School makes it a bit easier for the district to encourage its 1,000 employees to embrace wellness.

In conjunction with Lake Health, the district will open Cardinal Clinic on Sept. 30. Clinic services will be offered to employees, their spouses and families as part of a district wellness initiative. The grand opening is Sept. 30.

"This will provide easy access for all of our employees," Superintendent Matt Miller said. "We believe this opportunity will help employees be more conscious about their own health."

A big part of that is getting regular screenings to catch problems early on. Chief Financial Officer Daniel L. Wilson said the district discussed the project with Lake Health for about three years. It was partly inspired by the fact that 40 percent of the county's workforce is without a primary physician.

Wilson believes the clinic will help the district save on future health care costs.

"Some of the studies show that within 10 years, you can save up to $4 for every $1 you spend now," Wilson said, citing studies he read from the early days of the employee wellness movement in St. Paul, Minn.

The remodel of the area where student-athletes have received training will include an exam room, private room and waiting room. In all, the clinic will be smaller than an urgent care center, but larger than miniature clinics found within some pharmacies.

The project was bid out to Chagrin Falls-based Vector Construction. Along with the remodeling of the high schools A-lecture room, the clinic was jointly listed as a $325,000 project, according to the city's building department.

"We're very exited," Wilson said. "We're the first in the area to do something like this."