Casinos A Big Win for Urgent Care: Jackpots of Workers Comp, Physicals and Drug Screens

If you’re an urgent care center located near a casino, you might be surprised by the potential for a business boost. Likely the traffic from casino customers won’t differ from what is found near any tourist attraction, but there’s potential for a boost in occupational medicine if you play your cards right.

When some think of casinos they might envision a rabid party environment that could lead to alcohol poisoning, dehydration, drug abuse, and STD infection. But in reality, the casino culture is pretty tame. It’s also not a nighttime phenomenon, as some might think. Most casinos have steady traffic flow throughout the day.

The “casino demographics” tend to trend more toward the nation’s middle class. A few statistics from business blogger Brandon Gaille:

• 78% of casino visitors who go to gamble are generally optimistic about their personal financial situation.
• 75% of gamblers who have not yet retired have plans in place to set aside enough money to meet their retirement goals (whereas 40% of non-gamblers don’t have any retirement plans in place).
• 57% of gambling casino visitors have saved more money this year when compared to the year before, while only 44% of non-gambling casino visitors can say the same.

A recent trip to a casino in a large Midwestern city revealed not a “party crowd,” but rather busloads of “blue hairs” with the busiest crowds happening on weekday mornings.

Even though you might not get spillover traffic from casino visitors, the business does present an opportunity for occupational medicine. While about 14 percent of urgent care business currently comes from occupational medicine, there’s plenty of room for growth.

It’s important to reach out to large employers (possibly a casino) in your community to establish a working relationship. And the payoff comes down the road, since many of these employees who visit your urgent care center for a pre-employment visit will return in the future if they have a minor ailment and can’t get in to see their primary physician.

Casinos, due to employees working with or having access to large sums of cash, have extensive employee screening processes in place and require pre-employment and periodic random drug screening.

Also, employees who are in positions that require lifting or driving may require a physical examination, including physicals regulated by the Department of Transportation (DOT). Service workers who handle food, work in sanitation (i.e. housekeeping or maintenance), or in public facing position (i.e. dealer and front desk staff) should be vaccinated for Hepatitis A/B and flu.

Having a large workforce who is standing, engaged in repetitive motion activities, or heavy lifting are subject to workers compensation injuries. Kitchen workers are especially susceptible to cuts, burns, and falls. The hazards are no different working in a casino than they would be working in any other restaurant and hotel, except perhaps the larger scale of the casino property.

So, if you’re located near a casino don’t miss the opportunity to connect with management and discuss occupational medicine opportunities. It’s a pretty safe bet that could really pay off.