Monteith Construction and Cape Fear Commercial in Wilmington are urging their employees to use “all the tools in the toolbox,” but not in the traditional sense of real estate and construction. They support using tools for better health within their companies and the community.

Through an Employer Solutions program at Novant Health, the two companies are paying for each of their employees to have cardiac calcium screenings. These CT scans take images of the heart to see if there are calcium deposits in the coronary arteries. Higher amounts of calcium are associated with more severe disease in the arteries and may indicate a need for medication or more invasive procedures.

“Traditionally, physicians have established major risk factors, clinical calculations that establish the risk of heart attack and are widely used in clinical practice. We look at those risk factors, and we are able to do a 10-year risk estimate and use preventative strategies based on that estimate. The calcium score serves as a supplement. It is a direct measure of plaque in the arteries,” according to Novant Health cardiologist Timothy Winslow.

For each calcium test an employee completes themselves or shares with a family member, Monteith and Cape Fear Commercial donate a scan to someone in the community who might be unable to pay for one themselves.

Brian Eckel, co-founder and partner at real estate firm Cape Fear Commercial, serves on the Novant Health Board of Trustees and had been on the New Hanover Regional Medical Center board before they made the switch.

Bryan Thomas, CEO of Monteith Construction, feels a personal connection to calcium scores after a friend had bypass surgery and told him to have a calcium test done. He has had other friends who did not know they had cardiac issues, and he wished they did “because they’d still be here today.”

While Eckel and Thomas were discussing the topic of preventative care one day, the conversation led to the idea that they should do something for their employees. This led to the broader idea of health equity and giving “a one-for-one” test for those in the community.

“We thought about the concept that some companies use that you buy a pair of shoes, and they donate a pair of shoes. We didn’t invent the concept, but we thought, ‘What if we do one internally and then one for the community?’” Thomas said.

They contacted Novant and were “off and running. One thing led to another,” said Eckel. “The focus is on creating awareness and providing preventative care. It is just one more tool in the toolbox.”

The calcium scores range from zero to the thousands, according to Winslow, and measure the risk of heart attack. Zero reveals that there is no plaque, and the risk of heart attack is low, while scores over 400 indicate a large amount of plaque and a high chance of a heart attack.

“It is a tremendous tool for patients. We order a ton, and we recommend it to anybody over 50 with risk factors. We want to catch disease before it becomes a problem,” Winslow said. “If they get a score that shows there is some plaque, it should be a wakeup that they need to be taking better care of themselves.”

The test costs $100 and takes just a few minutes. Thomas said he hopes that other companies will choose to do the same, and the effect will extend within the community and beyond.

Eckel said most of his employees have taken advantage of the opportunity to take the test or have assigned it to “a family member, loved one or friend.”

“It is just a matter of trying to be as healthy as can be and using the tools that are available,” Eckel said. “Even if it changes five people’s mindset, then it is successful.”