Silver Dollar City opens employee medical center

Officials on Tuesday celebrated the opening of Mary’s Well House, named in honor of company founder Mary Herschend, on Highway 265 near the theme park. Medical services are available weekdays year-round to the 2,300 employees of Silver Dollar City, White Water, Celebration City, Showboat Branson Belle and Ride The Ducks.

The center is part of the company’s benefits program and operates in a partnership with Skaggs Community Health Center in Branson. Company officials would not disclose the cost of the center.

Basic services, annual health risk appraisals, flu shots, screenings and classes will be offered free. Expertise and other services, such as exams, X-rays and lab work, will be offered at reduced rates. Co-pay rates are $15 for an employee visit and $20 for a dependent visit. If advanced treatment is needed, employees will be offered discounted services at Skaggs.

Low-cost prescriptions are available as well.

New employees will have a 30-day waiting period to participate, and their dependents will be eligible after employees complete one season of work.

The center is staffed by two licensed practical nurses, an administrator and longtime Skaggs physician Dr. Jack Gillispie, a Branson native who is board-certified in family medicine. Dr. Angela Casteel, from Bentonville, Ark., will join the staff in August; Casteel is completing her family medicine residency at the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences.