Tyson Foods opens medical clinics next to meat factories
Tyson Foods holds a 20% share of the US combined market of pork, poultry and beef but the recent COVID-19 crisis has put the processing giant under pressure as several of its plants have been forced to halt the operations due to the large number of COVID-19 infections reported among workers.
Now, the company intends to open medical facilities next to some of its plants in order to increase the protection for the employees. Tyson said it would initially set up clinics near seven of its plants, including in Storm Lake, Iowa, and Holcomb, Kansas, in a pilot program. The clinics would open early next year, providing primary care to thousands of Tyson workers and their families.
“Some of our frontline team members aren’t using their health plan benefits, and others don’t seek care until there’s a crisis,” said Johanna Söderström, Tyson’s chief human resources officer. “We want to change that by providing access to care that can help detect health conditions early and promote healthy habits.”
Although Tyson has broader goals for its clinics, Söderström said the pandemic reinforced how important this plan is. The clinics will help educate workers about the coronavirus and address underlying conditions that could make the virus more dangerous. Meatpacking plant workers have been particularly susceptible to the coronavirus because they often stand shoulder-to-shoulder carving up meat.
At least 17,700 meatpacking workers in the U.S. have been infected or exposed to the virus and 115 have died, according to data released by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.
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