A southern Mississippi home health-care provider has set up a 125-vehicle fleet of Ford Focus and Escape vehicles so its workers will no longer have to drive their personal cars.

The addition of the leased vehicles via Enterprise Fleet Management will help Camellia Home Health and Hospice of Hattiesburg lower operating costs and provide an added benefit to its team members, according to the company.

Camellia is achieving the cost savings by "leveraging Enterprise Fleet Management's buying power, expertise in cycling vehicles out of the fleet at the optimal time, and by providing greater control over maintenance costs for customers," a Camellia spokesperson told Automotive Fleet.

"The decision to switch to providing company vehicles from mileage reimbursement is reducing our expenses and those of our employees while offering employees the benefit of driving vehicles that are safe and reliable," said Abb Payne, Camellia's president and CEO.

Camellia staff log as much as 2.2 million miles per year. Company associates will use fuel cards so fuel purchases and mileage are monitored for each vehicle. Camellia will provide insurance and covers all maintenance expenses.

Camellia provides service to 39 home health and hospice locations in Mississippi, east Louisiana, east Tennessee, and metro Atlanta. Enterprise provides fleet management services for medium-size fleets through regional subsidiaries.