Correction provided by Mayor Herbert on May 5 at 10 a.m.: “During the ribbon cutting at the health center, two people provided me misleading or inaccurate information that borough staff may be able to use the health center. After initially reporting this in the article, it has since come to my attention that those conversations have not happened to date and to my knowledge are not happening currently. This does not change the important and valuable relationship the borough has with the school district, which is the theme of the article itself.”
Original column follows...The health center has been a collaborative project that has been underway for over five years now. In that time, the school board, district staff, union representatives, and community officials have been working together to bring it to life and make it reality. The health center will act as a first stop for employees and staff when it comes to healthcare needs by offering free healthcare — including no-cost medications — to employees and their dependents enrolled in the North Penn insurance plans.
Additionally, the health center will save the NPSD $10 million over the next 10 years while also making healthcare more accessible to every employee.
So, you might be asking, why does the school district opening a healthcare facility matter to our borough? The answer is simple: When staff and teachers are happier and healthier in their jobs, they can reach their maximum potential during the school day. When every person in our school district is performing their best, our school district will help make Lansdale a better place to live, work, and play. It really is that simple. Our community thrives when all the elements of the community are working together. This, critically, includes the school district, their employees, and their students/our residents.
The new healthcare center represents a new, innovative way of thinking about the relationship between health and performance at work. It is an investment in understanding that you cannot reasonably ask for the best of someone every day if you cannot meet their basic healthcare needs in a real and accessible way. As a community, we want innovative ideas living in Lansdale. We want to be seen as a place where new ideas can thrive and lift the whole community up.
Finally, as partners to our community, NPSD has offered Lansdale Borough employees the opportunity to utilize their health center for their health care needs as well making healthcare more accessible for more than just their own staff, but the staff that supports the wider community and makes working for the borough an even better opportunity and making our open positions that much more attractive to potential employees.
This health center is just one example of how important it is for the borough, the school district, the county, and others to all be working together to uplift our North Penn Area. When one of us is innovative and blazing new paths, the ripples of that positive impact help all of us grow and become the community we know we can be — one that is always moving forward together.
(Mayoral Musings is a weekly op-ed column submitted to North Penn Now, courtesy of Lansdale Borough Mayor Garry Herbert. The views expressed are his own.)
See also:
Mayoral Musings: Two-Way Conversion of Courtland and Susquehanna
Mayoral Musings: Local Scouts Prove to be Assets to Our Community
Mayoral Musings: Revenue Per Acre May Be a Better Metric for Borough Management
Mayoral Musings: Municipal 5G Could Provide Revenue to Repair Lansdale’s Deteriorating Sewer System
Mayoral Musings: Exploring the Elimination of Electric Deposits for Renters
