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Hospice of Marion County & Affiliated Companies

Winning years: 2007, 2006
Industry: Hospitals/Healthcare
Location: Ocala, FL
URL: www.hospiceofmarion.com

Highlights of 2007 Winning Strategies

Hospice of Marion County's Performance Excellence Team (PET) program, an employee involvement program, offers employees the opportunity to be exposed to problem-resolution methods and training for future leadership. Several teams operate at one time, with approximately 35% of the employees having participated on a PET team. As a result of employee requests, within the last three years several improvements have been made including: improvement of holiday and holiday pay policy, addition of a reimbursement rate for use of personal vehicles while on company business, and addition of an electronic time and attendance system.

Additional Policies and Practices

• Recruiting: The Hospice staff speaks at conferences such as the Florida Department of Elder Affairs and the Ocala Human Resources Management Association about the benefits of an older work force and why it is good to target mature workers and retirees.
• Workplace Culture/Continued Opportunities: To its full- and part-time employees (working 8+ hrs/week), Hospice of Marion County offers these learning and development programs: in-house classroom training, on-line training, and certification classes. In addition, the organization provides Mega Manual Training, a mandatory training program, covering areas such as diversity, harassment, AIDS, drug-free workplace, safety/emergency management, and workplace violence. Employees working at least 20+ hrs/week are also eligible for the tuition reimbursement program. In the past 12 months, 100% of Hospice of Marion County employees participated in at least one of these training opportunities with an average of 15 hours spent in training. Examples of workplace accommodations include: modifying parking lot curbs to permit better building access with computer carts and other materials and adding parking lot lighting at remote locations.
• Benefits/Health: Full- and part-time employees (working 32+ hrs/week) receive individual and family medical coverage, individual and family prescription drug coverage, individual and family vision and dental insurance, and short- and long-term disability. Hospice of Marion County offers employees an FSA account to assist with out-of-pocket health care costs.
• Benefits/Financial: The Hospice offers a 403(b) plan and a money-purchase defined contribution plan to its full- and part-time employees. Employees may invest in lifecycle funds, and employees 50+ can make catch-up contributions. Employees receive financial planning information from staff members and from the firm that administers their 403(b). In 2006, Hospice of Marion County added the after-tax Roth 403(b) plan. The director of Human Resources and the Plan Investment Advisor conduct retirement plan meetings for all employees -- including new enrollees. Each member of the leadership team receives a free-coached, personal financial planning opportunity. Hospice of Marion County offers long-term leaves of absence without pay to allow for caregiving. In addition, employees may be eligible for up to 60 days of personal leave every two years. Full- and part-time employees are offered these wellness programs: flu shots, health screenings, smoking cessation programs, health club discounts, physical activity/exercise programs, weight loss programs, and stress management training. Fifty-six percent of Hospice employees have utilized at least one of these benefits in the past 12 months. Hospice of Marion County offers referral services to assist with childcare to its full- and part-time employees. On site childcare is provided in weather-related emergencies, and Hospice employees can bring their children to work when schools and day care facilities are closed.
• Benefits/Alternative Work Arrangements: Hospice of Marion County offers these alternative work arrangements to its full- and part-time employees: flex-time, compressed work schedules, and job sharing. Full-time employees are eligible to move to part-time work on a permanent and temporary basis if there are openings.
• Opportunities for Retirees: Hospice of Marion County currently has 18 retirees and an individual directly responsible for retiree relations. The Hospice stays connected with its retirees by communicating regularly, inviting retirees to organization events/celebrations, providing retirement planning workshops/information, and formally acknowledging retirees when they retire. Retirees receive monthly Hospice newsletters and volunteer newsletters. A retiring employee receives a check based on years of service. Retirees are offered consulting/contract work and part-time work, and they can participate in volunteer work.
• Age of Workforce: Fifty-nine percent of Hospice of Marion County employees are 50+. The average tenure of employees age 50+ is 4.2 years.

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Winning Strategies 2006

Fifty nine percent of the hospital’s employees are age 50+ and forty-eight percent of the hospital’s past twelve month new hires are age 50+. (These figures represent the highest % of 50+ employees and 50+ new hires among all 2006 AARP Best Employers for Workers Over 50.)

Other Benefits:

• Workplace Culture/Continued Opportunities: The hospital offers the following learning and development programs to its full and part-time employees: tuition reimbursement (10% used past 12 months), in-house classroom training (35% used past 12 months), on-line training (24% used past 12 months), and certification classes (45% used past 12 months). Part-time employees must work at least 20 hours per week to be eligible for the tuition reimbursement program and the remaining programs require a weekly minimum of 8 hours per week. All employees must participate in Mega Manual training which covers topics such as Diversity Training, Harassment Training, AIDS, Drug Free Workplace, and Safety/Emergency Management. Long-service anniversaries are celebrated with announcements, parties, gifts and awards.
• Benefits/Health: Full and part-time employees (working at least 32 hrs/week) receive individual and family medical coverage, individual and family prescription drug coverage, individual and family vision insurance, individual and family dental insurance, as well as short and long-term disability. 83% of employees are enrolled in the individual medical and prescription drug plan while 13% are enrolled in the employee and family medical and prescription drug plan. 83% of employees are enrolled in the individual vision plan, 13% in the employee and family vision plan, 66% in the individual dental plan, 32% in the employee and family dental plan, 57% in the short-term disability plan, and 100% in the long-term disability plan. The hospital offers a health flexible spending account.
• Benefits/Financial: The hospital offers a 403(b) and a money purchase defined contribution retirement savings plan to its full and part-time employees. Employees age 50+ can make ‘catch-up’ contributions and invest in lifecycle funds for their 403(b) account. The hospital offers referral services to assist with child care to its employees. On-site child care is also offered when there is a weather related emergency. The following wellness programs are offered to full and part-time employees: flu shots, health screenings, smoking cessation programs, health club discounts, exercise programs, stress management training, and weight loss programs. 56% of employees have utilized at least one of the above wellness benefits in the past 12 months.
• Benefits/Alternative Work Arrangements: The hospital offers the following alternative work arrangements to its full and part-time employees: flex time (35% participation) and compressed work schedules (15% participation). Full-time employees are also offered job sharing (2% participation). Full-time employees are eligible to move to part-time work on a permanent and temporary basis as long as there is an opening for the employee to make this transition.
• Opportunities for Retirees: The hospital currently has 16 retirees. There is an individual who has a direct responsibility for retiree relations. The hospital stays connected with its retirees by communicating on a regular basis with the retirees, inviting retirees to organization events and celebrations, providing retirees with ongoing access to retirement planning workshops and formally acknowledging retirees on the occasion of their retirement. Retirees are offered the following work arrangements: consulting/contract work (1 used in past 12 months), and volunteering (6 used in past 12 months).
• Age of Workforce: Fifty-nine percent of the hospital’s employees are 50+. Forty-eight percent of the hospital’s past twelve month new hires are 50+. The average tenure of employees age 50+ is 4.1 years.