Glimmerglass Festival Unveils New Infirmary, Health Program
By DARLA M. YOUNGSSPRINGFIELD
Less than a mile north of the Glimmer-glass Festival main campus lies Malton Place which, since the summer of 2000, has been used to house apprentices and staff. Now Malton Place, once the Deer Run Motel, will also be the site of a new infirmary for Glimmerglass employees.
On Friday, April 5, festival officials unveiled what they call “an unprecedented partnership.” Glimmerglass Medical & Wellness LLC, a local provider of institutional health and wellness programming and concierge primary care services, will offer regular weekly hours at the Glimmerglass Festival campus. The infirmary “will ensure easy access to healthcare services for Glimmerglass staff, apprentices, and performers,” offering first aid, triage of illness, acute-care escalation, and identification of episodic needs that a primary care provider should address, at no cost to Glimmerglass employees.
The impetus for the new infirmary centers around healthcare disparities in what is commonly referred to as the “gig economy.” Theater and music professionals live a gig-to-gig life, getting paid for jobs as they are completed. According to TechTarget, the gig economy is based on flexible, temporary or freelance jobs, which has the benefit of allowing for a more flexible lifestyle but, at the same time, alters the traditional economic relationship between workers, businesses, and clients.
