A message from NHRMC President & CEO John Gizdic and Chief Nurse Executive Mary Ellen Bonczek.
We are proud of your work and the excellent care you continue to deliver to our patients. We also appreciate how hard you all have been working to keep pace with the growing medical needs of those we serve. As our volumes continue to climb, we continue to assess what we can do to ensure we have the staff we need to provide the excellent care we are known for – today, and well into the future.
As you’ll recall, by the end of 2017 we had invested $17 million in wage adjustments through the implementation of our new Healthy Community Wage, merit increases and market adjustments for many other positions in the organization, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to our employees.
As we continue our review of employee salaries, we are pleased to announce a significant new investment in our clinical nursing staff. Starting May 6, all those working in nursing positions that require an RN degree will earn $2 more per hour. This will include NHRMC, PMH, NHRMC Physician Group, and NHRMC Home Care positions. Letters to those whose salaries will be impacted will be sent to homes the week of May 6. The increase will be reflected in paychecks May 24.
This market adjustment is designed to help retain the wonderful nursing staff we have now and recruit more talented nurses to join us. In addition to helping us hire more experienced RNs, this will help us reach our target of hiring 200 new graduate RNs this spring to help us reach our staffing models. As we reach our staffing models, we will be able to eliminate the need for travelers, eliminate the need for staffing premiums, and reduce the amount of overtime currently being required.
In addition, work will also be done to shore up retention by developing ways to reduce floating, create more shift options, implement ways for staff to have more direct input in decision making, establish night shift Nursing Congress, and implement strategies to address compassion fatigue.
This investment of more than $7 million per year in additional salary spending, is coupled with the $17 million in adjustments in 2017. Though our volumes are high, threats to our reimbursement rates are ever-present and we need to continue to work to provide increasingly cost-effective, high quality care.
Still, we can’t do what we are called to do without those working on the front lines of care having the support they need. By continually evaluating our compensation levels and increasing our pay rates when necessary, and by continuing to offer one of the best benefits packages in the state, we expect to draw more employees to work with us, and stay with us, as we fulfill our mission of leading our community to outstanding health.
Thank you for all you do.
Sincerely,
John H. Gizdic
President & CEO
Mary Ellen Bonczek, RN
Chief Nurse Executive