The Healthy Trucking Association of America and the Convenient Care Association announced plans to launch a nationwide program aimed at making high-quality health care more accessible and affordable for professional truck drivers.

The joint initiative was announced at the Healthy Trucking Summit, taking place through March 3 in Atlanta.

Through the partnership between CCA, the national trade association representing the retail-based health care industry, and HTAA, retail-based convenient care clinics nationwide will begin offering U.S. Department of Transportation exams, expanded medical treatments and wellness services designed for transportation industry employees. Of the 1,100 clinics in CCA’s membership, nearly 1,000 have committed to the partnership.

Brett Blowers, HTAA spokesman, said, “The CCA has made a commitment to the HTAA and to our nation’s drivers to help their member clinics become very ‘trucker-friendly’ by providing ample truck parking and a number of new services designed especially for professional drivers and their families.”

Tine Hansen-Turton, CCA executive director, said, “Located in retail stores like major pharmacies and large supermarkets, CCA clinics are much more accessible and affordable for drivers than traditional doctors’ offices or emergency rooms.”

Blowers said many CCA locations already have begun performing driver-specific services such as DOT exams and other services that appeal to drivers such as flu shots, smoking cessation programs and health and wellness screenings. Health Promotion Solutions will be the organization coordinating the activities at CCA locations and the professional registry based on Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration clinical guidelines.