As more employers and employees grapple with rising health insurance costs, Teresa Fagan, director of Occupational Health at Redmond Regional Medical Center, said that there are some reasons to be optimistic.

Speaking to the Seven Hill Rotary Club on Tuesday, Fagan said there are some opportunities to rein in costs and provide better service.

“It’s one of the most exciting times I’ve seen,” Fagan said. “There are a lot of challenges out there, but there are huge opportunities and a lot of flexibility to bring health care to the work site and to do things that really make an impact and a change in people’s lives.”

In her presentation, Fagan referenced the Fieldale Farms Corp., as a “benchmark for Georgia.”

The company has been able to keep employee health insurance premium increases well below average for the State of Georgia and the nation.

“This was a really good way to look at what Fieldale Farms did as well as talk about what’s on the horizon,” Fagan said.

As Fagan herself is immersed in the industry, she has been able to work closely with employers and learn about issues that they are facing.

Taking that industry information and using it along with an annual screening or any sort of compliance or regulatory program, Fagan said she knows one of the most important things we have is our means of livelihood.

“What we say is occupational health is the pulse,” she said. “Because if we don’t keep ourselves healthy, and if we don’t keep it where we can perform the daily tasks of our own jobs, then we’re at risk of losing those jobs and those opportunities. Then you get people really focused on what to do to take care of themselves.”