A new health center for North Penn School District staff will be centrally located near Penndale Middle School in Lansdale. The regional service provider is part of the Montgomery County school district’s initiative to cut the cost of employee healthcare claims and recruit more staff amid retention struggles, writes Maddie Hanna for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Currently, the district employs 1,700 teachers and staff.

The $1.25 billion project to consolidate provision of healthcare is estimated to save $10 million over the next decade if enough employees use the services. The goal is to have at least 25 percent of employees turn to the center for their healthcare needs within the first year, and 45 percent after four or five years.

North Penn School District is paying $40,000 to Denver-based Everside Health for a physician’s assistant and nurse.

Substitute teachers who work for at least 25 days will also have free access to the health center, according to district Chief Financial Officer Steve Skrocki.

The district’s teacher’s union president Sean Devlin said he would be pushing for more services, including virtual-mental health consultations.

Healthcare plans will not change for teachers or staff.

Read more about North Penn School District’s health center — still under construction but scheduled for a Feb. 2023 opening — in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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The North Penn School District plan to centralize employee healthcare services started with a bid invitation that was broadcast in Aug. 2022.