Disneys Center for Living Well helping employees
In a kingdom where Mickey and Minnie make dreams come true Disney employees are getting a helping hand with their medical needs.
This is the first time employees like Phillip Tinkes got to see the new medical facility, "Especially this time of year with the flu season it might come in handy. Never can tell when you might fall victim to the flu.” It’s called the Center for Living Well where employees can get primary medical care and other services like X-rays and pharmaceuticals, "I think they're looking at the long-term, the initial investment, they see the investment in a healthy cast."
An investment in employees at a time when the economy is down. We talked to Walt Disney World President Meg Crofton, "This is something we've been working on for quite some time. This is an agreement we've had. It represents our commitment to have proactive health and wellness." So does this mean Disney is getting more visitors, when other theme parks have reported less? "We don't talk about results outside of our earnings, but we think vacations are really important to people and we're going to give them lots of reasons to come."
With 40,000 employees plus their dependents eligible to come here, it will most likely lighten the load at other clinics in the area. Tinkes says it takes too long sometimes, "I've often had to wait close to an hour to see the doctor. So it's really inconvenient waiting for a long time." That's why Tinkes believes this can have an impact on everyone in Central Florida, not just Disney employees, "I'm sure it will help contribute to the flow in the local clinics as well."
The facility is 15,000 square feet and cost $6 million to build.