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Yale-New Haven Hospital

Winning years:  2006, 2005
Industry:  Hospitals/Healthcare
Location:  New Haven, CT
URL:  www.ynhh.org

Winning Strategies 2006

Yale-New Haven Hospital has made the following improvements in benefits within the past 3 years:  added no- cost medical coverage based on need, added lower cost prescription drug coverage, added coverage for civil union partners to medical, dental, vision and dependent life insurance plans, added cost of prescription eyeglasses to vision plan, expanded retirement planning seminars, implemented a 4-hour ‘Have it Your Way’ shift option to nurses in the float pool, increased opportunities for flextime, and added dependent life insurance for spouse and child.
  
Other Benefits:

• Recruiting: Yale-New Haven Hospitals ‘Senior Aides Program’ provides training and development for citizens age 55 and older which eventually leads to recruitment for the hospital.  The hospital uses senior placement agencies to target mature workers and retirees.
• Workplace Culture/Continued Opportunities: The hospital offers the following learning and development programs to its full and part-time employees:  tuition reimbursement (7% used past 12 months), in-house classroom training (55% used past 12 months), on-line training (100% used past 12 months), certification classes (0.14% used past 12 months), organizational training (5% used past 12 months), and team building retreats (5% used past 12 months).  Employees must work at least 24 hours per week to be eligible for the tuition reimbursement and certification classes training.  Long-service anniversaries are celebrated with announcements, parties, awards, and gifts which increase in value as years of service increase.  The Yale-New Haven Quarter Century Club inducts employees after 25 years of service.  The hospital offers a quarterly Planning for Successful Retirement Program.  One unique opportunity for employees age 50+ is the School at Work Program which is an eight month refresher educational program.
• Benefits/Health: Full and part-time employees (working at least 24 hrs/week) receive individual and family medical coverage, individual and family prescription drug coverage, individual and family vision insurance, individual and family dental insurance, individual and family long-term care insurance, as well as short-term disability.  Long-term disability is offered exclusively to full-time employees.  34% of employees are enrolled in the individual medical and prescription drug plan while 42% are enrolled in the employee and family medical and prescription drug plan.  22% of employees are enrolled in the individual vision plan, 25% in the employee and family vision plan, 32% in the individual dental plan, 42% in the employee and family dental plan, 1% in the individual and family long-term care insurance plan, and 100% in the short and long-term disability plans.  Retiree’s pre-65 receive individual life insurance or other death benefit coverage and this benefit is offered to new hires upon retirement as well.  Health benefits for retiree’s 65+ include individual as well as spouse medical and drug coverage, EAP services, and individual life insurance or other death benefit coverage.  New hires are eligible for all of the above benefits upon retirement.  The hospital offers a health flexible spending account.
• Benefits/Financial: The hospital offers a 401(k) and a cash-balance retirement savings plan to its full and part-time employees.  Employees age 50+ can make ‘catch-up’ contributions to their 401(k) account and also invest in lifecycle funds.  The hospital matches employee contributions on a sliding scale; 1% employee to 1% employer, 2% to 1.5%, 3% to 2%, 4% to 2.5%, 5% or more to 3%.  The hospital offers on-site child care, and referral services to assist with child care and elder care.  The hospital offers child care services to employees grandchildren if the grandchild is living in the same home as the grandparent.  The following wellness programs are offered to full and part-time employees:  flu shots, health screenings, health risk appraisals, smoking cessation programs, exercise programs, and weight loss programs.  62% 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 (40% participation), compressed work schedules (30% participation), job sharing (2% participation), and telecommuting (5% participation).  Full-time employees are eligible to move to part-time work on a permanent and temporary basis.
• Opportunities for Retirees: The hospital currently has 562 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 retirees, inviting retirees to organization events or celebrations, and formally acknowledging retirees on the occasion of their retirement.  Retirees are offered the following work arrangements:  temporary work assignments (5 used in past 12 months), consulting/contract work (10 used in past 12 months), telecommuting,  part-time work (50% used in past 12 months), and full-time work (5% used in past 12 months).  Clinical staff frequently remain in per diem positions after retirement.
• Age of Workforce: Twenty-six percent of the hospital’s employees are 50+.  Nine percent of the hospital’s past twelve month new hires are 50+.  The average tenure of employees age 50+ is 19 years.

Winning Strategies 2005

Yale-New Haven Hospital is a 944-bed, not-for-profit hospital serving as the primary teaching hospital for the Yale School of Medicine. Yale-New Haven was founded as the fourth voluntary hospital in the United States. In 1826 and today, the hospital complex includes Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital and Yale-New Haven Psychiatric Hospital, with a combined medical staff of about 2,400 university and community physicians practicing in more than 100 specialties.

Over 10 percent of Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH) employees have 25 or more years of service; 24 percent have 10 to 24 years of service. YNHH offers a gain-sharing plan that financially rewards eligible employees if the hospital meets certain financial, quality, and productivity performance targets at the end of the year. Under the gain-sharing plan, YNHH employees continue to meet or surpass their targets; the plan has paid out over $10 million over the last four years.

In the spring of 2005, the hospital launched the School at Work program to teach basic skills to employees in entry-level positions. For eight months, for two hours every week, employees – during paid work time and with manager’s approval – learn reading, writing mathematics, and computers.

The hospital is collaborating with a community agency to hire people age 55 and older. Those who are eligible are paid to work 20 hours a week on temporary assignments, based on skills and interests, and to attend classroom instruction as needed.

YNHH offers sign-on bonuses to newly hired nurses ($4,000/ full-time - $2,000/part time).

Benefits:

• Full-time employees pay 15 percent of the premium for employee and family health insurance and prescription drug coverage; part-time employees (minimum 24 hours/week) pay 24 percent. The hospital pays for short-term disability in full. Full-time employees receive the long-term disability benefit after three years of service, which is paid for in full by the hospital.
• YNHH offers a matching defined contribution plan and a cash balance pension plan to all employees. Quarterly retirement seminars cover legal considerations in retirement, investment strategies, IRAs, 529 plans, Social Security, and Medicare.

Twenty-four percent of YNHH’s employees are age 50+. Eight percent of the hospital’s new hires over the past year are age 50+.