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MidMichigan Health

Winning year: 2007, 2006
Industry: Health Systems/Healthcare
Location: Midland, MI
URL: www.midmichigan.org

Highlights of 2007 Winning Strategies

MidMichigan Health's Retiree/Retiree program gives retirees the opportunity to return to work for a limited number of hours annually. This is one of many MidMichigan winning strategies summarized in this article.

Additional Policies and Practices:

• Recruiting: MidMichigan Health (MMH) uses senior placement agencies to target mature workers and retirees. MMH conducts a Senior Expo annually at a local mall to recruit employees and volunteers.
• Workplace Culture/Continued Opportunities: MMH makes available the following learning and development programs to its full- and part-time employees: tuition reimbursement, in-house classroom training, on-line training, certification classes, and financial assistance via scholarships and loans. The company offers up to a $500.00 bonus to any employee passing a certification. Part-time employees must work 8+ hrs/week to be eligible for the tuition reimbursement and certification programs. In the past 12 months, 100 percent of MMH employees took part in at least one of the training opportunities, with an average of 25 hours spent in training. Employee requests spurred benefit improvements including a new health plan offering. In addition, MGH offered single, family, and employee +1 coverage instead of single and family coverage only. Rehired retirees can gain new experiences within the health system by working in different departments. The "Temporary Transitional Work" program consists of 40 predetermined job functions that a worker would be able to complete with restricted duty. This program was created for employees returning to work needing special accommodations.
• Benefits/Health: Full- and part-time employees (working 22+ hrs/week) receive individual and family medical and prescription drug coverage, and short-term disability. Employees working at least 10 hours per week receive employee and family vision insurance while those working 35+ hours a week receive individual and family dental insurance and long-term disability. Retirees pre-65 and 65+ receive individual as well as spouse medical and drug coverage. New hires are not eligible for these health benefits upon retirement. MMH also offers retirees a Retiree Medical Account, which offers assistance with medical expenses. Employees can utilize an FSA to help cover out-of-pocket health care costs.
• Benefits/Financial: MMH offers a defined benefit, a 403(b), and a money-purchased defined contribution plan to its full- and part-time employees. Employees receive a company match to the 403(b) program and receive financial planning information from the financial services firm that administers their 403(b) plan. The healthcare system offers paid time off specifically designated for caregiving and short-term time off without pay as well as long-term leave of absences without pay to allow for caregiving. MMH provides the following wellness programs to full- and part-time employees: flu shots, health screenings, health risk appraisals, smoking cessation programs, health club discounts, physical activity/exercise programs, weight loss programs, and stress management training. Sixty-one percent of MMH employees have utilized at least 1 of the above wellness benefits in the past 12 months. MMH offers referral services to assist with childcare and eldercare to its full- and part-time employees.
• Benefits/Alternative Work Arrangements: MMH has flexible work arrangements for its full- and part-time employees: flex time, compressed work schedules, job sharing, and telecommuting. Full-time employees are eligible to move to part-time work on a permanent or temporary basis. Although there is no formal phased retirement program, MMH provides employees with numerous schedules and status to choose from to work in the retiree's best interest.
• Opportunities for Retirees: MMH currently has 517 retirees. There is an individual with direct responsibility for retiree relations. The company stays connected with retirees by inviting them to organization events/celebrations, providing them with ongoing access to retirement planning workshops/information, and formally acknowledging them when they retire. MMH offers retirees temporary work assignments and consulting/contract work. MMH has more than 1,010 volunteers, with many retirees returning to the hospital to stay active with the health system.
• Age of Workforce: Twenty-nine percent of MMH employees are 50+. The average tenure of employees age 50+ is 14.3 years.

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Winning Strategies 2006

MidMichigan Health’s ‘Retiree/Rehire’ program allows retirees the opportunity to leave the health system for six months and then have the option to return to work on an 800 hour annual schedule while still collecting full retirement benefits. The health system offers up to a $500 bonus for any staff member that passes a certification. Retirees often return to the health system as volunteers to stay connected, with 515 volunteers currently active.

Other Benefits:

• Recruiting: MidMichigan Health has an annual Senior Expo to recruit employees and volunteers in the over 50 age group.
• Workplace Culture/Continued Opportunities: The health system 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 (98% used past 12 months, on-line training (100% used past 12 months), certification classes (5% used past 12 months). MidMichigan also offers well for life programs, and continuing education programs. Employees must work at least 8 hours per week to be eligible for the tuition reimbursement program. Long-service anniversaries are celebrated with awards.
• Benefits/Health: Full and part-time employees (working at least 7.5 hrs/week) receive individual and family medical coverage, and individual and family prescription drug coverage. Employees working at least 35 hours per week receive individual and family dental insurance and long-term disability. Employees working at least 15 hours per week receive short-term disability. 21% of employees are enrolled in the individual medical and prescription drug plan while 43% are enrolled in the employee and family medical and prescription drug plan. 14% of employees are enrolled in the individual dental plan, 45% in the employee and family dental plan, and 81% in the short and long-term disability plan. Retirees pre-65 and 65+ receive individual and family medical and prescription drug benefits. The health system offers a health flexible spending account.
• Benefits/Financial: The health system offers a defined benefit, 401(k) and a money purchase defined contribution retirement savings plan to its full and part-time employees. The health system makes a discretionary contribution to the 401(k) plan, which historically has been 4% of the eligible employee’s compensation. Employees age 50+ can make ‘catch-up’ contributions to their 401(k) account. The health system offers referral services to assist with elder care, and back-up care for child care to its full and part-time employees. The back-up child care benefit is offered to employees to care for their grandchildren. The following wellness programs are offered to full and part-time employees: flu shots, health screenings, health risk appraisals, smoking cessation programs, health club discounts, exercise programs, stress management training, and weight loss programs. 44% of employees have utilized at least one of the above wellness benefits in the past 12 months.
• Benefits/Alternative Work Arrangements: The health system offers the following alternative work arrangements to its full and part-time employees: flex time (90% participation), compressed work schedules (32% participation), job sharing (12% participation), and telecommuting (1% participation). Although there is not a formal phased retirement program at the MidMichigan, employees are offered a variety of positions and shift options with multiple status options to choose from which gives them ‘casual’ status. Full-time employees are eligible to move to part-time work on a permanent and temporary basis. The health system offers paid time off that is specifically designated for care giving.
• Opportunities for Retirees: The health system currently has 440 retirees. There is an individual who has a direct responsibility for retiree relations. The health system stays connected with its retirees by 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 - temporary work assignments (20 used in past 12 months) and consulting/contract work (10 used in past 12 months).
• Age of Workforce: Thirty-three percent of the health system’s employees are 50+. Thirteen percent of the health system’s past twelve month new hires are 50+. The average tenure of employees age 50+ is 17 years.