Amazon plans to establish healthcare facilities for its warehouse workers and their families across the country. The company unveiled the plan Tuesday, starting with a clinic in the Dallas-Fort Worth region.
Amazon expects to build 20 health centers across five cities in the U.S. as part of a pilot program. In addition to Dallas, the initial cities are Phoenix, Ariz., Louisville, Ky., Detroit, Mich., and San Bernardino, Calif. Amazon will expand the program to additional cities if the pilot is successful.
Amazon is partnering with the medical group Crossover Health, which works with self-insured employers across the country. Crossover Health will operate and staff the facilities, according to Amazon.
The first Neighborhood Health Center will be established in Las Colinas, Texas, near an Amazon fulfillment center. Medical services will be available exclusively to Amazon employees and their families.
The clinics will offer primary and preventative care, physical therapy, behavioral health services, vaccinations, and prescriptions.
Earlier this year, Amazon launched a program that offers employees a blend of virtual medicine and in-house/office visits. Amazon Care is one of several projects by the company aimed at transforming the healthcare system. The two most prominent plans are Pillpack, the drug-delivery startup that Amazon reportedly paid $1 billion for last year and Haven, the tech giant’s joint healthcare venture with JPMorgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway that aims to improve healthcare for employees.
But duplication with Amazon’s own internal healthcare initiatives has emerged as one of multiple stumbling blocks for Haven. A report by health industry publication STAT in May describes “a frustrating two years” for the Boston-based joint venture that led Dr. Atul Gawande, a respected surgeon and health policy leader, to step down as Haven CEO while staying on as chairman.
Amazon is establishing the clinics at a time when its warehouse workforce is grappling with COVID-19 outbreaks across the country. Amazon does not disclose the number of workers who have contracted the virus but a count crowdsourced by employees puts the number at more than 1,600.
In addition to providing medical resources at this critical time, Amazon hopes the new program will help employees access preventative care.
“Across the U.S., an increasing number of patients do not have easy access to a primary care physician and instead utilize emergency or urgent care options, which is not only more expensive for patients, but also overlooks important preventative care opportunities,” said Amazon human resources VP Darcie Henry in a statement. “We want to solve that for our employees, and the launch of these new Neighborhood Health Centers will provide a range of quality primary care services for employees across the country – further strengthening Amazon’s industry-leading benefits program, which provides comprehensive healthcare for employees starting on day one of employment.”
