Mercy Health System

Employees who are caregivers benefit from paid time off that is specifically designated for caregiving, in addition to short- and long-term unpaid leave.

Mercy Health System offers the following wellness programs to full- and part-time employees: flu shots, health screenings, smoking-cessation programs, discounts to health clubs, physical-activity programs, weight-loss programs, and stress-management training. Ninety-three percent of Mercy employees have used at least one of the health system's wellness benefits during the past 12 months.

Employees have access to on-site eldercare, referral services to help find care for children, grandchildren, and elders, and backup care for children, grandchildren, and elders.

Benefits/Alternative-Work Arrangements: Mercy Health System offers alternative-work arrangements to its full- and part-time employees, including flextime, compressed-work schedules, job-sharing, telecommuting, and a formal phased-retirement program.

The health system’s Work-to-Retire program is designed to retain talented employees over age 50 while simultaneously offering them greater flexibility and benefits. The program allows those employees over age 50 who have five years of service to work reduced, pool, or work-at-home schedules. Further, the program allows employees over age 55 with 15 years of service to work seasonally—for 1,000 hours in a year at their discretion—while maintaining benefits for the entire year. Mercy staff members can also move to part-time work on a temporary or permanent basis.

Opportunities for Retirees: Mercy Health System’s 323 retirees benefit from the dedicated service of a staff member who is directly responsible for retiree relations. The organization stays connected to its retirees by communicating with them regularly, inviting them to events, providing them ongoing retirement planning, and formally acknowledging them when they retire.

In addition, the Mercy Retiree Association offers health screenings, volunteer opportunities, social programming, financial planning, mentoring opportunities, and discounts. Work opportunities available to retirees include temporary assignments, telecommuting, and full- and part-time positions.

Age of Workforce: Thirty-three percent of Mercy employees are age 50+. The average tenure of workers age 50+ is 12.9 years.