Donations to assistance funds keep pace with employee needs By JULIE MINDA
Health care workers generally have fared better in the recession than people working in other sectors of the economy. But, that doesn't mean they have remained unscathed.
Many who are feeling the crunch get the extra help they need from colleague-to-colleague donation funds and other aid programs set up by their employers.
"We have given out increased donations (to employees needing help), and associates have increased their donation levels" respectively, said Sr. Rita Levasseur, RSM, vice president, sponsorship and mission, Holy Cross Hospital, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. She said the employees who are contributing to that facility's Catherine McCauley Fund are more committed than ever to help their colleagues. "They want to give."
Recession's long talons
By and large, the nation's health care workforce has been somewhat insulated from the worst fallout of the recession. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the health care sector actually added jobs during the recession. But, while there has been no industry-wide shake up in health care during the downturn, there have been isolated layoffs. Individual health systems and hospitals under financial pressure have made some hard choices that have had an impact on some employees, ministry executives told Catholic Health World.
At Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Hartford, Conn., some employees went without pay increases and executives took a pay cut this year in a plan that helped the medical center avoid mass layoffs. St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport, Conn., froze merit pay this year; and Saint Thomas Health Services in Nashville, Tenn., plans to do the same next year. St. Joseph Health System in Tawas City, Mich., made changes to its health insurance benefit package, increasing employee co-pays and deductibles.
Some health care employees not hit by these types of changes were still vulnerable. For instance, the Fort Lauderdale area has been hit hard by the housing crisis over the last few years, and some employees left the area when their mortgage payments reset beyond their ability to pay, reported Holy Cross' Sr. Levasseur.
Also, some hospital employees had taken second jobs, part-time, to try to keep up with the high cost of housing, homeowners' insurance and county taxes; to save for retirement; or to pay for their children's college, for instance. When the economy tanked, many employers let go of part-time workers. This put a strain on those moonlighting hospital employees, Sr. Levasseur said.
At Saint Francis in Hartford, some hospital employees began to have financial problems when their spouses were laid off, said Betsy Lunt, a licensed clinical social worker and certified employee assistance professional at the hospital. "In our area, the story is that we are in the insurance and banking industry," she explained. These industries were hard hit when the economy teetered on the brink last year, and many banking and insurance executives have lost their jobs.
"People are coming for help who you wouldn't have thought would, people with high incomes," said Lunt.
Aid funds strained but durable
Whatever the reason for the financial stress, hospital and health system employees have felt the impact of the recession, and increasing numbers are looking for help, said ministry executives who spoke to Catholic Health World.
"We've seen an increase in demand for employee assistance funds," said Patrick Murtha, president and chief executive of St. Joseph in Tawas City. That facility's Side-by-Side fund uses employee dona-tions to give grants to colleagues affected by medical crises, house fires, natural disasters and other upheavals. St. Joseph also provides interest-free loans for employees who need help paying for utilities, mortgages, emergency auto repairs and the like.
The fund was sufficient to meet requests until last month, when peti-tions for assistance increased rapidly. St. Joseph paid out almost $4,000, nearly depleting the fund's reserves. When a request came in that could not be funded, fund administrators sent a quick e-mail to associates and in minutes received more than $650 in donations. Shelley Buresh, executive director of St. Joseph's foundation, said "It was truly an inspiring time to once again witness the extreme generosity of our associates."
But, she said, "We very consciously only make appeals for donations when the requests appear to be depleting the gifts too quickly. It is fair to say that every earned dollar for all our staff is needed in running their own household, and we are conscious not to take advantage of their generosity until the need arises."
Greg Pope, chief development officer for Saint Thomas in Nashville, said that system has seen a slight increase in requests for aid from the Employee Assistance Fund. He said that the Middle Tennessee market that Saint Thomas serves tends to lag the national economy. Therefore, he said, Saint Thomas Health Services has not suffered the levels of economic reversal as facilities in other areas of the country, and its assistance fund is stable.
And, Pope said he's cautiously optimistic about the prospects for the coming months. "I think things will likely look a little better because people seem to be feeling a tad better about the economy."
At Lourdes Hospital in Paducah, Ky., 2009 began with an ice storm that increased workers' expenses, with people having to deal with power outages and storm damage. But, the hospital had a record-setting collection for the facility's Associate Mission Fund the previous fall, and people honored their pledges despite the downturn, so the fund has been able to meet employees' needs, explained Melanie Ellingsworth, the hospital's communications manager.
At Denver-based Catholic Health Initiatives, increased pressure on the Employee Financial Assistance Fund during the recession prompted fund administrators to make a new appeal for donations last spring. Employees responded to that call, and the fund is now healthy, according to system administrators.
The Employee Giving Program at St. Vincent's in Bridgeport also saw an increase in requests for aid, which can go for one-time help with utilities, a mortgage payment, rent, medication, health insurance and other expenses. The program has remained fiscally strong, said Lucinda Ames, senior marketing and communications asso-ciate at the medical center.
Lunt of Saint Francis said the fact that these funds are keeping pace with demand despite the recession speaks to the generosity of ministry employees. "We contribute because we're blessed. We remember that giving is an important part of our mission."
Murtha of Tawas City said employees also help their colleagues in other ways. Some cook meals for one another or help at their farms. One unit's employees did household chores for their colleague who was sick with cancer, he said.
Longer-term assistance
Most of these employee assistance funds are for one-time, emergency help. Many ministry facilities offer other programs for employees needing more lasting assistance.
Saint Francis in Hartford works with MetLife to offer hospital employees monthly workshops — called Lunch-n-Learns — at which employees learn how to avoid living paycheck to paycheck, for instance.
Catholic Health East of Newtown Square, Pa., provides credit counseling to help employees get at issues underlying their financial concerns, explained CHE's Sr. Karen Helfenstein, SC, director of mission and spirituality. "Sometimes, people need to learn to budget or make other changes," she said. For instance, Sr. Helfenstein said, counseling is helpful when an employee has a spouse with debt problems.
Sr. Helfenstein keeps in touch with people who access these free counseling sessions. "I tell people, if that doesn't help, come back and let me know how it went. There's a feedback loop."
Holy Cross in Fort Lauderdale has been bringing in credit counselors for employees since last year and has hosted open forums on how to negotiate with lenders. These free programs benefit not just the employees but also the hospital, said Sr. Levasseur. "We realize when people are hurt, they are stressed, then they are not focused on their job."
She said the services Holy Cross has provided its employees prevented foreclosures. "Our counselors helped (employees) call landlords and unresponsive lenders. Our employees didn't know their rights. They were in very scary circumstances and got erroneous information. The counselors we provided know the system and could help."