Nearly a hundred people, company-wide, took control of their health when they signed up for free blood screenings through Catapult earlier this month. This free, confidential blood panel made the lives of many of our TAB team so much easier — glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, and other measurements were taken right at work.
Each appointment was 40 minutes or less, and the two techs, Destiny and Somalia, made us feel right at home. And those of us who needed help using the online scheduler were taken care of by the always helpful Lighthouse receptionist Flora Cruz.
“No one has to figure out transportation to get from point A to point B,” says 3PL Shipping Supervisor Gabriela Garibay, “and some doctors are booked up to a year and a half, so it’s nice that people can actually get seen.”
This was our third annual Catapult blood draw, and the results of employees taking these screenings has already begun to pay off.
“Employees are Discovering issues they didn’t know they had, and are now able to take care of them before they can become a big deal, explains Christina Shepard, Benefit Specialist, Human Resources. “Problems are treated, conditions are managed, we have a healthier workforce, which has a positive impact on insurance premiums.”
Aiding this acceleration of enthusiastic engagement and participation is the care and competence of the Catapult techs who guided us through the process. All memories of *those* doctor visits — you know the kind, waiting for at least an hour, jabbed by impatient, uncaring nurses, yelled at for daring to get care for the very things were being yelled at about — banished as Destiny and Somalia answered our questions, talked us through what to expect, and did their absolute best to make sure that things went as smooth as possible.
“We have employees who are afraid to sign up,” says Shepard, “they say, ‘I know it’s going to be bad, I don’t want to make an appointment just to be judged.”‘ The rising participation rates are proof that this is not the experience you get with Catapult.
So next February, be sure to sign up When Catapult rolls back into town. No judgment, no hastle, no pain — okay, maybe a little, but only for like a split second. You can’t fix what you don’t know about, and you don’t need to leave work to do it. See ya then.