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BY FLORENCE GILKESON: Senior Writer

Wellness Works, an innovative approach to controlling soaring health-insurance costs, has paid off again, this time with a statewide award from the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC).

The program, officially known as the Primary Care Center for Employees and Dependents, is one of nine county programs across North Carolina to win the 2005 Outstanding County Program Award from the NCACC.

Ed Wooters, representing NCACC, made presentations to David Cummings, chairman of the Moore County Board of Commissioners, and to County Personnel Director Joyce McGehee during the Monday afternoon board meeting.

Wooters said awards are presented in three categories, and the Moore County program won in the category of local government service.

Wellness Works, as the program is named locally, is a special clinic for county employees and their dependents. The county contracts with a medical firm to provide professional services, including a doctor and a nurse, to employees covered by the countyís group insurance program.

In the first six months of operation last year, the primary care center produced savings in excess of $100,000 and the county experienced a 17.45 percent decrease per employee in medical claims costs.

The center treats employeesí workers compensation claims, performs drug testing and does pre-employment assessments. Employees and their dependents can take advantage of the program to undergo complete physicals, including blood work, EKG tests, pap smears, vision and hearing tests, and PSA exams. Employees enjoy an additional benefit in the form of drug samples provided by the attending physician.

Another saving is time, because of the convenience of the Carthage location, near the work place of most county employees.

ìThe purpose of this awards program is to highlight some of the outstanding work that is going on in North Carolina counties,î said NCACC Executive Director David F. Thompson in a statement released this week. ìWe commend Moore County for a program that not only controls medical insurance costs for employees, but also educates their employees and dependents about the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Healthier employees are also happier employees, and that creates a win-win situation for everybody.

ìAs the demands being placed on county governments become more complex, counties are forced to find new solutions to old problems. This awards program is a way to bring attention to excellent programs that other counties might want to emulate.î

The county employee health center was the brainchild of former County Manager Steve Wyatt, who had overseen a similar program in Catawba County.

The need for the program developed with the dilemma facing governments and businesses everywhere ó finding a way to combat sharp increases in health insurance premiums without cutting benefits.

Wellness Works, which opened in March of 2005, is in the Carriage Oaks complex, a building shared by the Department of Social Services, the Planning Department and other county agencies.

Employees are not required to use the center, but it is available to all interested in taking advantage of the savings in money and time.

Initiation of the center was the task of McGehee, who secured help from other county department heads in getting the program started last year. It was instrumental in winning for her the recognition of 2005 Employee of the Year.

Florence Gilkeson can be reached at 947-4962 or by e-mail at florence@thepilot.com.