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PinnacleHealth System

Winning years: 2007, 2006
Industry: Hospitals/Healthcare
Location: Harrisburg, PA
URL: www.pinnaclehealth.org

Highlights of 2007 Winning Strategies

For employees approaching retirement, PinnacleHealth System offers the opportunity to retire and return to work in a limited part-time status (no more than 16 hours per week) and still maintain health care benefits at reduced rates.

Additional Policies and Practices:

• Workplace Culture/Continued Opportunities: To full- and part-time employees, PinnacleHealth offers these learning and development programs: tuition reimbursement, in-house classroom training, on-line training, certification classes, and attending external seminars/training/conventions. Part-time employees must work at least 16 hrs/week to be eligible for the tuition reimbursement program. In the past 12 months, 100% of Pinnacle employees participated in at least one of the training opportunities with an average of 4 hours spent in training. PinnacleHealth offers many training opportunities, including financial and retirement planning seminars, computer classes, Spanish classes for health care providers, and management and leadership training classes. Nurses that have been inactive in the field can take a three-month refresher course. PinnacleHealth offers nursing student employees the opportunity to job-shadow more experienced nurses. The hospital has implemented special accommodations for mature employees, such as large screen monitors and amplifiers and headsets for phones, and has an Ergonomics Department which evaluates workspaces and initiates replacing improper equipment.
• Benefits/Health: Full- and part-time employees (working 16+ hrs/week) are offered individual and family medical coverage, individual and family prescription drug coverage, individual and family vision and dental insurance, and short-term disability. All PinnacleHealth employees receive individual and family long-term care insurance with no minimum hourly work requirement, and those working 30+ hrs/week receive long-term disability. Health benefits for retirees pre-65 and 65+ include individual life insurance or other death benefit coverage, and new hires are eligible for this benefit upon retirement. The hospital offers an FSA to assist employees with out-of-pocket health care costs.
• Benefits/Financial: PinnacleHealth System offers a 403(b) and a money-purchased defined contribution plan to its full- and part-time employees and provides a match to the 403(b) program. Part-time employees with less than one year of service or those working less than 16 hrs/week can invest in the 403(b) plan but will not receive a match. Pinnacle employees also receive financial planning information from staff members, from staff from the firm that administers the 403(b) plan, and from external experts not associated with the 403(b) plan. Financial planning services are also available via an on-line life event management service, which has information on planning for retirement, annuities, early retirement, and managing retirement income. PinnacleHealth offers short-term time off without pay and long-term leaves of absence without pay to allow for caregiving. Employees are able to donate unused days to fellow employees in emergency/extended absence situations. 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. Forty-one percent of the PinnacleHealth employees have utilized at least one of these wellness benefits in the past 12 months. Pinnacle employees participated in an Appalachian Trail Walk Competition by forming 38 teams with 324 employees and cumulatively walked 28,110 miles during the 12-week competition. The hospital offers backup care for childcare/care for grandchildren/eldercare and referral services to assist with childcare/care for grandchildren/eldercare to its full- and part-time employees.
• Benefits/Alternative Work Arrangements: To its full- and part-time employees, Pinnacle offers these alternative work arrangements: flex-time, compressed work schedules, job sharing, telecommuting, and a formal phased retirement program. Full-time employees are eligible to move to part-time work on a permanent and temporary basis. Pinnacle employees with 10 years of service may retire at age 55. Their pension may commence at a level reduced than if they had retired at full pension at age 65. PinnacleHealth allows retirees that have filed for long-term disability and Social Security disability to continue on group medical and dental benefits at the employee rate for up to two years until they become eligible for Medicare.
• Opportunities for Retirees: The hospital currently has 1,273 retirees and an individual directly responsible for retiree relations. PinnacleHealth stays connected with its retirees by communicating regularly, inviting retirees to organization events/celebrations, and formally acknowledging them when they retire. Retirees are offered consulting/contract work and part-time work.
• Age of Workforce: Thirty-two percent of Pinnacle employees are 50+. The average tenure of employees age 50+ is 17 years.

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Winning Strategies 2006

PinnacleHealth System offers retirees the opportunity to retire from the health system and return to work in a limited part-time status (no more than 16 hours per week). This benefits the hospital by retaining experienced long-term employees and benefits the retiree by allowing them to work a reduced schedule and receive healthcare benefits at reduced rates. The average tenure of employees age 50+ is 17 years.

Other Benefits:

• Workplace Culture/Continued Opportunities: The health system offers the following learning and development programs to its full and part-time employees: tuition reimbursement (65% used past 12 months), in-house classroom training (35% used past 12 months, on-line training (100% used past 12 months), continuing medical education and general medical education seminars (56% used past 12 months), and certification classes (15% used past 12 months). Employees must work at least16 hours per week to be eligible for the tuition reimbursement program. Long-service anniversaries are celebrated with announcements, parties, and awards. The health system offers nursing student employees the opportunity to job shadow nurses.
• Benefits/Health: Full and part-time employees (working at least 16 hrs/week) receive individual and family medical coverage, individual and family prescription drug coverage, individual and family vision insurance, individual and family dental insurance, and individual long-term care insurance. Employees working at least 30 hours per week also receive long-term disability. 29% of employees are enrolled in the individual medical and prescription drug plan while 38% are enrolled in the employee and family medical and prescription drug plan. 28% of employees are enrolled in the individual vision and dental plan, 47% in the employee and family vision plan, 41% in the employee and family dental plan, 3% in the individual long-term care plan, and 100% in the long-term disability plan. The health system offers a health flexible spending account.
• Benefits/Financial: The health system offers a 401(k) and a money purchase defined contribution retirement savings plan to its full and part-time employees. The health system matches 0.50 cents on the dollar for the first 6% employee contributes for those working more than 16 hours per week and has one year of service. Employees age 50+ can make ‘catch-up’ contributions to their 401(k) account. The health system offers referral services to assist with child and elder care, and back-up care for child and elder care. All of the child care services are available for employees to use for their grandchildren. The following wellness programs are offered to full and part-time employees: flu shots, smoking cessation programs, health club discounts, stress management training, and weight loss programs. 17% 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 (50% participation), compressed work schedules (5% participation), job sharing (1% participation), and telecommuting (1% participation). Full-time employees are eligible to move to part-time work on a permanent and temporary basis.
• Opportunities for Retirees: The health system currently has 1,224 retirees. There is an individual who has a direct responsibility for retiree relations within the health system. The health system stays connected with its retirees by communicating on a regular basis with the retirees, inviting the retirees to organization events/celebrations, and formally acknowledging retirees on the occasion of their retirement. Retirees are offered the following work arrangements: consulting/contract work (3 used in past 12 months), and part-time work (32 used in past 12 months).
• Age of Workforce: Thirty 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.