At a time when the nation’s health systems are in desperate need of labor, hospital chain Community Health Systems (CHS) announced Tuesday it will be expanding its employee benefits to the tune of roughly $40 million per year.
According to the for-profit healthcare company, the new programs will help workers clear their student debts, reimburse new types of education tuition and support renewals of professional licenses or certifications.
Franklin, Tennessee-based CHS, which employs about 66,000 people through its affiliates, said the measures are intended to retain existing employees as well as to attract new clinical and support talent to its health systems.
CHS owns or leases 83 hospitals across 16 states and provides outpatient care across more than 1,000 sites, according to the company.
It spent over $5.2 billion on salaries and benefits expenses through fiscal year 2021—nearly half of its total operating costs but still a dip from the $5.4 billion of the year prior. Of note, however, is the nearly $3 billion it logged as “other operating expenses,” a category executives said included the pricey contract labor CHS tapped to keep hospitals running during COVID surges.
CHS will be releasing its first-quarter earnings before the end of the week. In light of prior midquarter comments from management and the labor woes shared this past week by its public contemporaries, it’s likely that CHS will describe workforce and staffing challenges as a factor in its financial results.
According to the announcement, staff will soon see a new student loan repayment program that will include employer payments offsetting loan balances up to $20,000 “for most clinical employees.” Employees would also be able to consolidate their loans and reduce interest rates through the program, CHS said.
Another employee reimbursement program that’s been established will help workers with licensure or certification renewals that are required for “all job classifications … not already offered for free by the company’s Advanced Learning Center,” CHS said in the announcement.
Finally, the company will also be expanding an existing tuition reimbursement program that provided up to $5,000 in tax-free reimbursement each year. Whereas employees were previously only able to use the program for studies relevant to their current field, CHS said it can now be used for “any employment track offered within the organization.”
“We are constantly looking for ways to support the amazing team members who work across our organization in support of our purpose—to help people get well and live healthier,” Tim Hingtgen, CEO of CHS, said in a statement. “We want all of our employees to know they are valued, that we are invested in their professional development and that we sincerely hope they will continue to build and advance their careers within our organization.”