Donna Kelley

Staff Photo by Dan Henry Donna Kelley, left, speaks with Steve Kell, and Cheryl Tompkins about the new additions being made to the city of Chattanooga's wellness center pharmacy on Wednesday.

Jim Rosenbloom, a retired city of Chattanooga employee, reaches quickly for a cup of water after spending almost an hour on the elliptical trainer at the city's Health and Wellness fitness center.

He comes to the center three times a week and spends an hour doing cardio, he said Wednesday. For the most part, it's quiet when he works out during the early afternoon.

"I think the ones working out here, their premiums should go down," he said. "If the city gave more incentive, there would be more people down here."

About 9 percent of the city's employees, retirees and dependents take advantage of the wellness program, city officials said.

But other programs have seen so much success, expansion is taking place on the clinical side of the Health and Wellness Center, City Personnel Administrator Donna Kelley said.

The city's employee pharmacy, which opened in January, fills about 175 prescriptions a day, she said. The clinics on 10th Street and Amnicola Highway have seen more than 50,000 visitors since they opened in 2006, she said.

"It's been overwhelming," Ms. Kelley said.

The expansions and participation in the clinics and pharmacy come as health care costs continue to go up. Ms. Kelley said the city has budgeted a 6 percent increase for health care over last year's budget, which was projected at more than $24 million.

Because the city's fiscal-year finances do not close until June 30, actual figures for this year were not available, she said. But the city wanted the increase to help as a cushion in case any employee had a major accident.

"We built a little more in there," she said.

The city spent $1.77 million for the 2007-2008 fiscal year on the clinic and wellness center and projected spending $1.98 million for the 2008-2009 fiscal year, according to the city's budget.

Two years ago, the city began a proactive approach to rein in health care costs with the clinic, wellness center and program and the pharmacy, which sells prescriptions at wholesale prices. The city uses a self-managed health care plan and encourages employees to take charge of their own health, officials said.

Ms. Kelley said she thinks it has worked.

"Employees have done very well in using the clinic," she said.

Jenny Lass, wellness coordinator for the city, said the city offers a variety of classes such as Zumba, Pilates and body sculpting. She said some classes are more popular than others, such as Zumba, which sees more than 20 people per class.

"We try to change it up at least every six months to avoid boredom," she said.

Chattanooga Firefighter Jamie Evers, who works at Station 19 in Hixson, said he just started using the fitness center. A lot of his coworkers use a treadmill at the station or have memberships with area gyms, he said.

Mr. Evers said he did not know why more of his coworkers did not come to the city's center. But for him, it's worth the price.

"It doesn't cost us a thing," he said.

BY THE NUMBERS

* 50,000: Number of visitors to the city clinic since it opened in 2006

* 8,000: Approximate number of city employees, retirees and dependents

* 700: Total number of people participating in city's wellness program

Source: City of Chattanooga