Escambia County Public Schools Partners With Marathon Health for Onsite Health Services

BURLINGTON, VT--(Marketwire - Feb 13, 2013) - Marathon Health, Inc. today announced its partnership with the Escambia County School District to provide onsite health services for 9,000 district employees, dependents, and retirees.

The Escambia County School District, based in Pensacola, Fla., is one of the state's larger school districts, covering 65 alternative, elementary, middle, and high schools. Using its MedicalHome@Work™ model, Marathon Health will provide onsite total population health management, including primary care, health assessments, health coaching, and disease management.

The Escambia County School District contracted with Marathon Health as part of an overall effort to promote health and wellness, increase participation in primary and preventive care services, improve health risk management, and reduce healthcare costs. Marathon Health's total population health management model moves away from 'sick care' toward a solution focused on the whole person, not just their symptoms. The model is designed to help individuals across the health continuum maintain or improve their health status, while at the same time helping employers reduce the increasing burden of healthcare costs. District Superintendent Malcolm Thomas said the district decided to become an early adopter of onsite healthcare because healthier employees are more productive both at work and at home, which is critical in education.

"Working with Marathon Health provides our staff with convenient access to both high-quality acute care and preventive services that help them lead healthier lives," Thomas said. "The healthier our employees are, especially our classroom staff, the more productive they are in working with students. And the fact that this service will help the district control rising healthcare costs is another reason why we can't wait to get started."

Marathon Health CEO Jerry Ford said the MedicalHome@Work™ solution is the next generation in health management and an approach tailor-made for school districts.

"Teachers work long hours, day and night preparing lesson plans and often sacrifice their personal health as a result," Ford said. "We are privileged to bring our total population health management program to the Escambia County School District and to inspire the employees and their family members to lead healthier lives."

About Marathon Health

Marathon Health of Winooski, VT, offers a proven solution for helping employers reduce the total cost of healthcare. The Marathon Health approach integrates the best practices of onsite primary care, health assessment with risk identification, coaching and advocacy, and disease management for high cost chronic conditions. Marathon Health supports its unique model with an eHealth Portal delivering medical content, interactive diet and fitness tools, a personal health record, and an electronic medical record to manage care. For more information, please visit www.marathon-health.com.