Marathon Health

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to bring Kansas City leaders together for an important conversation on one of the region’s growing workforce challenges: access to care. At our Cornerstone event hosted at Kauffman Stadium, leaders from across healthcare, business, and employee benefits came together to discuss how limited access, system consolidation, and rising demand are reshaping the workforce experience across Kansas City. A sincere thank you to our moderator, Stacie Prosser of the Kansas City Business Journal, and our panelists: - Shelly Summar, Children's Mercy Kansas City - Stephanie Price, Terracon - Doug Sumner, Marathon Health - Dennis Kadel, The Miller Group Throughout the discussion, several themes stood out: • Employees are increasingly delaying care due to access barriers and system complexity • Healthcare consolidation is affecting continuity, experience, and affordability • Employers and benefit leaders are looking for more proactive, connected models of care • Better access and stronger relationships are critical to improving outcomes and reducing avoidable costs We’re grateful to everyone who joined us and contributed to such a thoughtful, solutions-focused discussion. #MarathonHealth #AdvancedPrimaryCare #EmployerHealth #PopulationHealth #HealthcareAccess #KansasCity #WorkforceHealth #HealthcareInnovation 

We’re excited to share that Marathon Health is officially a Certified Great Place To Work®! Achieving certification on our first attempt makes this recognition especially meaningful—and a reflection of the people, purpose, and culture that power our organization every day. As Allison Velez, chief people and social responsibility officer, shared: “This distinction reflects the way our teammates support one another, care for our patients and communities, and live our purpose of enabling healthier lives.” This recognition is based directly on teammate feedback and highlights the strong collaboration, shared mission, and commitment our teams bring to the people and communities we serve. At Marathon Health, culture isn’t separate from the work we do—it’s foundational to how we deliver care, build partnerships, and support one another. Thank you to our teammates for making Marathon a place where people can thrive. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gKkwdVkc #marathonhealth #greatplacetowork #workplaceculture #employeeexperience #healthcare

Healthcare complexity is no longer just a benefits challenge — it’s a workforce challenge. At our recent cornerstone event at TQL Stadium, Cincinnati-area business and healthcare leaders came together to discuss how rising costs, chronic disease, fragmented access, and shifting consumer expectations are reshaping the employer healthcare landscape. The conversation explored: • The business impact of chronic disease • Workforce expectations across multiple generations • Access barriers and care fragmentation • Strategies to improve outcomes without adding complexity One theme remained consistent throughout the discussion: improving workforce health requires a more connected, accessible approach to care — one that better aligns the healthcare experience with the outcomes employers are trying to achieve. Watch the highlight reel and access the full on-demand conversation here: https://lnkd.in/gCifzaBv #marathonhealth #workforcehealth #employerhealthcare #advancedprimarycare #populationhealth #cincinnati

Healthcare costs aren’t just rising — they’re being reshaped by chronic disease, specialty drug spend, and growing fragmentation across the care journey. In this new piece for MedCity News, Marathon Health COO Nirav Vakharia, MD explores why employers can no longer afford to manage healthcare “around the margins” — and why strengthening primary care may be one of the most effective long-term cost containment strategies available today. The article examines the growing impact of GLP-1s, specialty care utilization, chronic disease, and the role coordinated, value-based primary care can play in improving outcomes while reducing avoidable costs. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/egGrQVj4 #marathonhealth #primarycare #valuebasedcare #employerhealth #healthcarecosts #chronicdisease #populationhealth

Whole-person care sounds great in theory. But how do you actually make it work for a workforce that's dispersed, diverse, and hard to reach? During our upcoming webinar with the Business Group on Health, Cargill's Jon Schloemer and Marathon Health's Nirav Vakharia, MD, will dig into just that—how advanced primary care can support both physical and mental well-being, engage hard-to-reach employee populations, and demonstrate clear value to leadership. No theory. Real experience from employers doing bold work. If you're a Business Group on Health member, we hope you’ll join us! 📅 May 27th | 12 pm ET / 11 am CT Register for the live session (or to get the recording): https://lnkd.in/gFZZ9H9k

“The clinic gave me my life back.” That’s how one employee described their experience with workplace-based care in a recent piece by Erika Fry in The Washington Post. It’s a powerful reminder of what’s changing in healthcare. Employers are no longer just financing care—they’re helping deliver it. And when access becomes easier, more affordable, and more consistent, the impact shows up quickly: better outcomes, stronger relationships with providers, and fewer delays in care. As highlighted in the article, organizations like Marathon Health are helping make that shift possible—bringing care closer to where people are and removing barriers that too often get in the way. At the same time, the business case is becoming harder to ignore. Employers are seeing reduced reliance on high-cost settings like ER and urgent care, alongside measurable return on investment. This isn’t just a benefit trend. It’s a shift in how care is accessed—and how value is created. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gTYwyJFs #marathonhealth #advancedprimarycare #employerhealth #healthcareaccess #valuebasedcare

At Marathon Health, our Grand Strides sessions give our providers and advanced practitioners the chance to explore fresh concepts and expand their expertise. These discussions allow us to learn from healthcare changemakers and bring new insight into the care we offer our communities. Last month, we welcomed Dr. Ray Dorsey, a leading neurologist and advocate for brain health. Dr. Dorsey's talk equipped our clinicians with practical strategies for upstream prevention and early detection of neurological disease, emphasizing how we can safeguard brain health in the workplace and in our daily lives. This kind of dialogue is essential for driving the innovation required to transform healthcare. Want to be part of future conversations? Join the team! View open roles here: marathon.health/careers Explore the full conversation recap here: https://lnkd.in/dkqykQDQ #HealthcareCareers #BrainHealth #GrandStrides #MarathonHealth #CareerGrowth

In Kansas City, the impact of healthcare access challenges is becoming harder for employers to ignore—from delayed care to rising costs and a more fragmented employee experience. Join us on Tuesday, May 19, from 3:30–5:30 PM at the Royals Suite in Kauffman Stadium (with the game to follow) for “When access breaks down: The workforce effect of care barriers and hospital closures,” a focused conversation on how these dynamics are reshaping workforce health—and what can be done to address them. Moderated by Stacie Prosser of Kansas City Business Journal, this discussion features perspectives from: • Shelly Summar, Children's Mercy Kansas City • Stephanie Price, Terracon • Doug Sumner, Marathon Health • Dennis Kadel, The Miller Group Together, they’ll unpack: • The “two-sided squeeze” of limited primary care access and strained acute care capacity • How consolidation is reshaping access, continuity, and the patient experience • The downstream impact: avoidable acute utilization and rising costs • Practical strategies to restore access, engagement, and continuity This is a small, high-value session (limited to 50 senior leaders) designed for meaningful discussion. Registration includes light bites, refreshments, and access to the Royals vs. Red Sox game following the session. Register to attend: https://lnkd.in/gFTWSr5j #marathonhealth #kansascity #employerhealth #healthcareaccess #populationhealth #primarycare #healthcarecosts #workforcehealth

Too often, mental health support at work stops at an EAP. But as our teammate Allison Velez shares, that one-size-fits-all approach isn’t working—and it never really did. In this recent feature shared by StrategicCHRO360, Allison shares what meaningful employee support really looks like: • Integrating mental health with primary care • Removing cost barriers to increase utilization • Building a culture where seeking care is normalized • Measuring what’s actually working—not just what’s offered At Marathon Health, that shift has already driven a 30% increase in mental health utilization in less than a year. If we want better outcomes, we have to rethink the model. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/geXkiQ76 #marathonhealth #mentalhealth #employeebenefits #hrleaders #workplacewellbeing #advancedprimarycare

Cincinnati employers aren’t short on options—but navigating cost, access, and expectations is getting more complex by the day. Today at TQL Stadium, we brought together a group of regional leaders for a focused conversation on what that complexity actually looks like—and what to do about it. Across the discussion, a few themes came through clearly: • Cost isn’t just a plan design issue—it’s driven by how and when people access care • Chronic disease continues to shape the majority of spending and workforce impact • Expectations are shifting toward more convenient, consumer-driven experiences • Fragmented access is still one of the biggest barriers to better outcomes Moderated by Jamie Smith, the panel featured perspectives from: • Matt Mikolajewski, Batesville • Nirav Vakharia, Marathon Health • Marc R. Watkins, M.D., Concentra • Evelyn Hemmingsen, MD, FAAFP, Marathon Health The conversation went beyond trends—focusing on how employers can better connect care, reduce friction, and align workforce health with business performance. We truly appreciate the leaders who joined us for a candid, practical discussion—and for making this a high-value exchange. #marathonhealth #cincinnati #workforcehealth #employerhealthcare #advancedprimarycare #healthcarestrategy #populationhealth