Trucking Company Offers On-the-Road Wellness Services for Drivers

I have provided coverage in this blog in the past to alternative forms of healthcare delivery such as walk-in clinics (links here), direct access testing (links here), and test kits for home use (links here). A recent story described how Schneider National, a large trucking company, is now offering on-the-road health and wellness services for its drivers. Here is the link and below is the story:

Schneider National has signed a multi-year agreement with Atlas Ergonomics to provide Schneider drivers with health services at company-owned truckstops at no cost to the driver. Services will include physical therapy, blood pressure monitoring, diet and nutrition counseling, and exercise education. The 12 truckstops are staffed by full-time, certified physical and occupational therapists who are also able to provide referrals for other common problems drivers face, such as sleep disorders, smoking cessation, and family and personal issues. The in-house clinics are tied together through an electronic medical records system, allowing for treatments that start at one location to be transferred to another.

I thought that I would gather some additional information about Atlas Ergonomics. Here is the link to the company's web site from which I copied its discussion about transportation ergonomics (boldface emphasis mine):

Of all occupations in the private sector, commercial drivers are most vulnerable to death or injury. Workers in the trucking industry experience more fatalities than any other occupation, accounting for an astonishing 12% of all worker deaths.Seven out of 100 trucking industry employees experience work-related injuries and illness. These conditions can be aggravated by road vibrations, erratic sleep habits and unhealthy diets.

Schneider obviously has a very large stake in keeping its drivers healthy and avoiding costly and disruptive work-related injuries. This program strikes me as both practical and enlightened. Clearly, their drivers need all the help that they can get. I also wonder if Atlas will be performing any point-of-care testing (links here) in these 12 truckstop/clinics. The value of their wellness services would be enhanced by offering simple test panels such as lipid profiles. Here is a link to a list of CLIA-waived lipid panel and triglyceride analyzers.