Creating Sustainable Change with Orchid’s Wellbeing-First Flywheel
At Orchid Health, we believe that a healthy healthcare ecosystem must start with an unwavering commitment to the wellbeing of caregivers. The Orchid Wellbeing-First Flywheel embodies this vision, offering a practical yet revolutionary framework for building healthier organizations.
Our flywheel centers around Four Pillars of Health, each playing a critical role in sustaining the flywheel momentum needed to drive a positive ripple effect with patients, providers, and communities.
Pillar 1: Employee Wellbeing
Employee wellbeing always comes first. When employees are supported, they are empowered to bring their best selves to their patients and teams. Orchid prioritizes psychological safety, autonomy, and realistic workloads to ensure our team members feel valued and respected. We design our operations with detailed intention — every minute of every meeting point between patients and colleagues matters. Through monthly “How’re You Doing” surveys, we continuously gather feedback and take action to solve challenges and celebrate wins. We don’t survey to just create numbers, we survey to continuously improve our work experience, with rapid feedback loops.
Pillar 2: Trusting Relationships
Healthcare is deeply personal, and at Orchid, we emphasize the importance of trust between caregivers and patients. By breaking the status quo and offering 60-minute initial visits and establishing genuine connections, we ensure every patient feels heard and understood.
This emphasis on trust extends beyond individual interactions—our team lives and works in the same communities we serve. When patients call, they speak to someone who knows them, fostering local relationships that are more impactful than centralized efficiencies.
Within our org, we encourage our teams to take ownership of their work and see the tangible effects it has on organizational health. Through clarity in roles, decision-making authority, and feedback loops like clinic huddles and strategic meetings, team members feel directly connected to the mission. Autonomy and inclusivity are baked into the culture, creating a space where every voice matters.
Pillar 3: Community Health
Healthcare doesn’t end in the clinic. Orchid’s care teams, which include providers, behavioral health clinicians, community health workers, nurses, and medical assistants, collaborate to deliver integrated, whole-person care. With partnerships spanning local schools, farmers, and community organizations, we’ve become a foundational presence in the regions we serve.
Our clinics are our company, and our company is our community. The health of our community is inseparable from the work we do every day.
Pillar 4: Financial Sustainability
While employee wellbeing, relationships, and community health fuel the flywheel, financial sustainability ensures its longevity. Orchid works closely with local insurance companies to align payments with community health outcomes. By maintaining administrative overhead at half the industry average, we keep our focus on care rather than bureaucracy. We know that financial health happens when pillars one, two, and three are healthy.
The Flywheel in Action
What makes the Orchid Wellbeing-First Flywheel unique is its focus on interconnectedness. Each pillar feeds into and strengthens the others, creating a continuous cycle of improvement. For example, when caregivers are supported, they build stronger patient relationships. These relationships foster trust and lead to healthier communities, which in turn ensures sustainable operations.
At Orchid, this flywheel isn’t just a concept—it’s how we work, grow, and thrive every day as we venture forward on our journey towards our Orchid 2030 Bold Aim.
Join us in reimagining healthcare and building systems where patients and caregivers can thrive together. If you’d like to learn more, drop us a line here.
