BMW Manufacturing celebrated the official opening of its new Associate Family Health Center at its South Carolina plant. The Center is a first-class facility, employing highly-trained professionals and offering the latest in healthcare technology. Use of the facility is available to all BMW Associates, eligible retirees and their dependents.
BMW’s existing onsite family pharmacy was relocated to the new facility and joined by occupational, primary care services, as well as vision, dental and physical therapy. The combination of cost savings and the benefit of having medical services all in one location offers the company’s workforce with a new option in their overall healthcare management.
“With this announcement, BMW affirms its focus on quality innovation both in our products and in our facilities,” said Frank-Peter Arndt, BMW Group Board Member responsible for Global Production. “Our company remains committed to developing programs that positively impact the overall quality of life of our workforce. The success of our company lies in the hands of our associates. They are active designers of our future. They are BMW.”
BMW’s Associate Family Health Center, which was originally announced in August 2011, represents a $5 Million investment in a 25,000 square foot facility. It is the latest demonstration of BMW’s continued dedication to workforce wellness proving its commitment to value, quality and convenience in the choices offered to its employees.
“We want to bring quality health care to associates and their families in a cost-effective and efficient manner,” said Annmarie Higgins, Vice President of Human Resources for BMW Manufacturing. “We want to provide individuals greater opportunity to reach and maintain optimal health through education, prevention, early detection and management of existing health conditions.”
The Center will be independently managed by Walgreens Take Care Health Systems and is among just a few health centers across the U.S. that offers such an array of services under one roof exclusively for on-site corporate use.
“Walgreens has increasingly shown how investing in worksite health programs can be instrumental in helping to reduce costs for employers, while improving the overall health and productivity of their workforce,” said Peter Hotz, Walgreens group vice president. “We’re proud to expand our relationship with BMW and look forward to helping its associates, their dependents and company retirees get, stay and live well through a broad scope of on-site health and wellness programs and services.”
Located on the campus of the company’s 4.0 million square foot manufacturing facility, the center is designed to support BMW’s continued efforts to manage healthcare costs and increase productivity for its workforce.
In 2005, BMW opened its onsite Associate Family Pharmacy. Utilization of the pharmacy was consistently high, averaging 90,000 prescriptions annually. Patient satisfaction at the Associate Pharmacy continues to be favorable providing further rationale that the company’s new Associate Family Health Center will be a successful benefit for the company’s workforce and their families. The center will be open Monday through Saturday offering flexible appointment times to meet individual scheduling needs.
BMW Manufacturing is currently undergoing a $900 million investment to expand the plant’s manufacturing footprint by 1.6 million square feet, add another vehicle model and increase the plant’s overall annual capacity to 350,000 units annually. In 2012, the plant produced over 300,000 vehicles, a record production year for the company’s South Carolina factory.
