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Ochsner Clinic Foundation

Winning years:  2007, 2006, 2005
Industry:  Hospitals/Healthcare
Location:  New Orleans, LA
URL:  www.ochsner.org

Highlights of 2007 Winning Strategies

Ochsner Health System (OHS) has an Employee Career Center on site to promote internal advancement. The center helps employees find information on available career opportunities at OHS and with setting up job-shadowing assignments. The OHS Wellness Program is a yearlong program in which employees earn points for having an annual physical; getting a flu shot; exercising regularly; doing monthly personal exams; and keeping cholesterol, weight, blood pressure, and glucose within normal levels. If they reach a certain point total, at the end of the year they can be eligible for cash awards.

Additional Policies and Practices:

• Recruiting: OHS recruits mature workers and retirees from their own alumni, senior census, and the Jefferson Council on Aging.
• Workplace Culture/Continued Opportunities: OHS offers these learning and development programs to its full- and part-time employees: tuition reimbursement, in-house classroom training, and on-line training. Certification classes are offered exclusively to full-time employees, and 20% of employees have participated in the past 12 months. In the past 12 months, 100% of OHS employees participated in at least one of the training opportunities with an average of 3 hours spent in training. Employees can select courses at the Ochsner Learning Institute based on personal development needs, and all employees must take eight hours of training each year at the institute. OHS has a partnership with a local assisted living center, with several employees working in environmental and volunteer services. The employees' job descriptions were modified to allow them to work effectively.
• Benefits/Health: Full- and part-time employees (working 4+ hrs/week) receive individual and family medical coverage, individual and family prescription drug coverage, and individual and family dental insurance. Employees working 20+ hours per week receive short- and long-term disability, and there are no weekly hours required to be eligible for the individual and family long-term care insurance. Health benefits for retirees pre-65 and 65+ include individual and spouse medical and drug coverage. New hires are eligible for all these benefits upon retirement. OHS offers an FSA plan to assist employees with out-of-pocket health care costs. In addition, employees receive a discount for services within the Ochsner network.
• Benefits/Financial: OHS offers a defined benefit plan, a 401(k) plan, and stock options to its full- and part-time employees. The 401(k) plan does not have a company match but there is a contribution of annual earnings to the plan. All new hires may automatically enroll in the plan, employees may choose to 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 401(k). OHS offers short-term time off without pay and long-term leaves of absence without pay to allow for caregiving. Flexible scheduling options are available, and employees may borrow from GPT donation bank time. Full- and part-time employees are offered these wellness programs: flu shots, health screenings, health risk appraisals, smoking cessation programs, health club discounts, physical activity/exercise programs, weight loss programs, and stress management training. Forty-nine percent of OHS employees have utilized at least one of these wellness benefits in the past 12 months.
• Benefits/Alternative Work Arrangements: To its full- and part-time employees, OHS offers these alternative work arrangements: flex-time, compressed work schedules, and job sharing. Telecommuting is available exclusively to full-time employees. Although the organization does not have a formal phased retirement program, employees have phased into retirement by working a reduced schedule. Full-time employees are eligible to move to part-time work on a permanent and temporary basis.
• Opportunities for Retirees: OHS currently has 1,043 retirees and an individual directly responsible for retiree relations. OHS stays connected to its retirees by formally acknowledging retirees when they retire, holding an annual retired physician luncheon, and including retirees in some philanthropic events. Retirees are offered temporary work assignments, consulting/contract work, and full- and part-time work. The organization has 80 retirees who volunteer within the organization.
• Age of Workforce: Thirty-one percent of OHS employees are 50+. The average tenure of employees age 50+ is 11.5 years.

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Winning Strategies 2006

The foundation decided to maintain their defined benefits pension plan in appreciation of their long-term employees.  The employee wellness program is a year-long program in which employees earn points for maintaining their health.  At the end of the year, if the points reach a certain total, they can be eligible for cash rewards.

Other Benefits:

• Workplace Culture/Continued Opportunities: The hospital offers the following learning and development programs to its full- and part-time employees:  tuition reimbursement (75% used past 12 months), in-house classroom training (100% used past 12 months), and on-line training (100% used past 12 months).  Certification classes (20% used past 12 months) are offered exclusively to full-time employees. Long-service anniversaries are celebrated with announcements, parties, and awards.  The hospital offers an Employee Learning Institute and an Employee Career Center which helps employees find more information about Ochsner career opportunities which in turn promotes internal advancement.  The career center offers resume writing and interviewing skills workshops, job interest courses, personal counseling on navigating the internal process, identifying a training or development plan to reach employee’s goals, and/or resources to learn details about career possibilities in the industry.
• Benefits/Health: Full- and part-time employees (working at least four hrs/week) receive individual and family medical and prescription drug coverage, and individual and family dental insurance.  Employees receive individual and family long-term care insurance with no minimum weekly hours required for eligibility.  Short- and long-term disability is offered to employees working at least 20 hours per week.  Thirty-four percent of employees are enrolled in the individual and family medical and prescription drug plans while 33% are enrolled in the individual dental plan, 65% in the employee and family dental plan, 1.4% in the individual long-term care plan, 0.5% in the employee and family long-term care plan, 73% in the short-term disability plan, and 65% in the long-term disability plan.  Retirees pre-65 and 65+ receive individual and spouse medical and prescription drug coverage and these benefits are offered to new hires upon retirement.  The hospital offers a health flexible spending account and employees receive a discount for services within the Ochsner network.
• Benefits/Financial: The hospital offers a defined benefit and a 401(k) retirement savings plan to its full- and part-time employees.   All new hires are automatically enrolled in the 401(k) plan, employees can invest in lifecycle funds, and those age 50+ can make ‘catch-up’ contributions to their 401(k) account.  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, and exercise programs.  52% of employees have utilized at least one of the above wellness benefits in the past 12 months.
• Benefits/Alternative Work Arrangements: The hospital offers flex time (33% participation), job-sharing (1% participation), and compressed work schedules (30% participation) to its full- and part-time employees.  Full-time employees can also participate in telecommuting and are eligible to move to part-time work on a permanent and temporary basis.  Although there is no formal phased retirement program in place, employees may work a reduced schedule to phase into retirement.
• Opportunities for Retirees: The hospital currently has 1,043 retirees. There is an individual who has a direct responsibility for retiree relations.  The hospital stays connected with its retirees by formally acknowledging retirees on the occasion of their retirement.  Retirees are offered the following work arrangements:  temporary work assignments, consulting/contract work, part- and full-time work, and volunteering.
• Age of Workforce: Thirty-one percent of the hospital’s employees are 50+.  Fifteen percent of the hospital’s past twelve month new hires are 50+.  The average tenure of employees age 50+ is 11.75 years.

Winning Strategies 2005

The Ochsner Clinic Foundation (OCF) presents numerous training opportunities to its employees, with a 49 percent increase in events over the past three years. Results from an employee satisfaction survey prompted OCF to maintain its defined benefit pension plan.

In order to reduce reliance on outside agency personnel, OCF developed two in-house staffing programs. The programs compensate nurses at a rate similar to agency rates, and the on-call employee program offers employees premium pay and flexibility. Employees typically change to the on-call program when they need more flexible time off, as well as if they are seeking reduced status hours and have alternative health care coverage.

Benefits

• All employees benefit from subsidized health insurance, including part-time employees who only need to work a minimum of four hours a week. Full-time employees pay 30 percent of the employee and family health insurance and prescription drug premium; part-time employees pay 50 percent. OCF pays short-term and long-term disability insurance in full for full-time employees. Part-time employees (minimum 20 hours/week) pay 100 percent of short-and long-term disability benefits.
• Ochsner offers a defined benefit and defined contribution plan to all its employees.

Twenty-nine percent of the hospital’s employees are 50+. Eleven percent of new hires over the last year are 50+.