North Penn Board approves North Montco’s use of county health center

LANSDALE – The new school year brings an expansion of the North Penn School District’s health center.

School board members unanimously approved an agreement with North Montco Technical Career Center that will allow North Montco to use the district-operated center for its employees.

“I just want to make sure the community knows that this is a step forward in the right direction for the technology center employees and their families. This has been in the works for months now,” said board member Tim MacBain.

Located near Penndale Middle School, the health center is set to open in March 2023 after nearly two years of discussion, planning and construction. It will be operated by countywide operator Everside Health, which can provide certain medical care to district employees and their dependents.

In initial discussions leading up to approval, county staff argued that the in-house clinic was expected to save $10 million over 10 years by offering lower-cost treatments and generic drugs, identifying medical problems early before they require expensive treatment, and reducing absenteeism among staff who use a county facility rather than having to travel long distances to appointments elsewhere.

At the end of the year, district staff reported to the board that one employee had received a potentially life-saving diagnosis through the center and that more than 700 people had visited the center more than 1,400 times in total. At the time, staff cited figures such as a roughly 15 percent decrease in sick days and savings of about $25,000 from no longer needing substitutes to cover the time of those who had scheduled appointments at the center instead of other medical facilities in previous years. Additionally, the district’s medical costs increased by zero percent for the current school year, compared to a $1.5 million increase the previous year.

At the time, district chief financial officer Steve Skrocki said staff had begun discussions with North Montco, a site adjacent to North Penn High School on Sumneytown Pike in Towamencin, about allowing their employees access to the facility as well.

The agreement approved Tuesday states that North Montco will determine who can use the North Penn Center and provide the district with certain information about usage. The district will then bill North Montco for usage. It also sets out terms for how both parties will securely store and transmit all related medical records.

MacBain, the board’s liaison to North Montco’s joint operating committee, also thanked Skrocki and North Montco’s recently retired administrative director Gina Pardovich “for communicating on this issue and making sure everything was done correctly and we had all the information we needed.”

The next North Penn School Board meeting will be held on August 15 at 7 p.m. at the district’s Educational Services Center, 401 E. Hancock Street in Lansdale. For more information, visit www.NPenn.org.

Originally published: August 8, 2024 at 1:54 pm