Today, I am proud to announce that the City of Vicksburg has opened a state-of-the-art clinic for the employees of the city of Vicksburg and their dependents who are covered by the city’s healthcare plan.

The clinic will be staffed by some of the best medical care specialists in the city. Local doctors are on staff and will provide patient-specific care. Potential patients will not incur any out of pocket expenses…now that’s great news! Screenings, treatment, referrals and/or consultations are available to each patient. I am happy that employees and their dependents can use the clinic at no cost to them personally as well as no cost to our group plan.

I have continually maintained that the well-being of the citizens and the employees of the city of Vicksburg is one of my top priorities. I have literally participated in countless wellness and fitness activities sponsored by local and state entities, but even I have had to visit our local hospital and clinics.

The clinic will concentrate on wellness and preventive care. I want to see our employees utilize this facility to avoid unnecessary healthcare costs.  Blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass screenings and index glucose assessments are available at the clinic. Other common illnesses will be treated. Furthermore, since the clinic is dedicated to serving only our employees and their qualified dependents, there will not be long wait periods or scheduling issues. I have worked with the administrators to streamline the process to ensure that our employees are punctually seen by a doctor and treated accordingly.

By opening this clinic, I have endeavored to identify health care services that are offered, to develop a plan that will serve all city employees and their families and to request that our employees participate in the program. To this end, our monthly department and division heads’ meetings have included an informative workshop with the clinic’s administrators and these individuals have toured the facility and met with the staff and doctors. Further, I have requested that individual tours are offered for all city employees.

This clinic is designed to best serve city employees’ medical needs.

I believe that everyone should have access to quality healthcare and I also believe that the clinic will serve as a pathway to the future. Cities around the country are seeking ways to minimize these costs. The city of Vicksburg has expended over $4 million in self-insured policies for our employees and their dependents. If utilized by our employees as intended, the clinic will reduce the city’s budget for healthcare. My goal in promoting this clinic is to provide timely, high quality service and to lower healthcare costs within the city employment system.

Again, I want to emphasize that use of the facility is absolutely free for city employees. This bold and innovative move toward promoting better healthcare within the city of Vicksburg will transform our system into a higher quality system with limitless benefits. This is phenomenal!

“I am who I am; I am what I am; and I am who and what I am wherever I am.”
George Flaggs Jr. is mayor of the City of Vicksburg.