The nation’s oldest free clinic has inked a deal with one of St. Joseph’s largest employers to care for its uninsured employees.

Triumph Foods is paying $59 for each clinic visit by a sick employee and to screen potential employees who may require medical treatment. The agreement aims to address a glut of uninsured Triumph employees that the Social Welfare Board says it’s seen since the pork processing plant opened in January 2006.

Nearly 2,500 people are employed by Triumph. It takes six months for hourly production employees to be eligible for health insurance.

Triumph Chief Administrative Officer Patt Lilly said the majority of employees take advantage of its employer-provided health insurance. However, it is the new employee who gets ill on the production floor during his or her six-month waiting period, or the prospective employee who may have a medical condition that may preclude him or her from employment, that Triumph will cover under the agreement.

“For them, we would need to receive a doctor’s explanation for a particular ailment or medication before we can hire them,” he said.

The Social Welfare Clinic became a hotspot among employees shortly after the Triumph plant opened. Employees quickly discovered it was an easy and free way to get medical treatment.

By fall 2006, 40 to 50 uninsured Triumph employees were visiting the clinic each month, some who had never seen a doctor, said Social Welfare Board Executive Director Linda Judah. Negotiations soon began between the welfare board and Triumph.

Initially, Ms. Judah asked Triumph for $10,000 per year to cover its unreimbursed health costs. But under the new agreement, which took effect on March 1, the free clinic may be reimbursed up to $14,000 by year’s end, if the current medical visits keep steady.

Last month, the clinic treated about 20 Triumph employees. Already this month, it has seen 17 Triumph employees.

Ms. Judah said the ailments they see most commonly deal with body adjustments necessary to endure repetitive tasks on the production floor. Blood pressure problems, diabetes, skin ailments and upper respiratory infections also have been seen.

Ms. Judah said the agreement benefits the St. Joseph community in the long run, especially against an infectious incident.

“These employees are getting their medical needs tended to, so if there’s an infectious type of situation, they can come here rather than not getting it treated and infecting everybody else around them,” Ms. Judah said.

At any time, either party may end the health agreement.

Ahmad Safi can be reached at ahmadsafi@npgco.com