Hospitals in Western Pennsylvania are stepping up to ensure that health care workers are available to meet the rapidly escalating needs of the new coronavirus outbreak.
UPMC, Allegheny Health Network, Excela Health and Heritage Valley Health System have all developed plans to make sure employees receive their base pay — even if they’re reassigned or sent home because of fewer patients or a doctor’s office closure. The pay guarantees last until May 2 for employees of Excela, May 9 for UPMC and “for the foreseeable future” at AHN.
“We’re trying to make sure we have a workforce here,” Excela CEO John Sphon said. “They’ve been the key to everything we do. We wanted to make sure their base was covered.”
In an email, Heritage Valley spokeswoman Suzanne Sakson said that three-hospital system had developed employee contingency plans for an anticipated surge in COVID-19 patients, but she declined to release specifics. COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease that is caused by the new coronavirus, which emerged in December in China.
Sweetening employee pay and benefits in a tight labor market for nurses and other medical personnel could help keep staff available and ready to meet changing personnel assignments.
Excela is using an employee’s hours worked the previous month to determine the pay rate when working hours are curtailed because of fewer emergency department patients, hospital admissions or surgical operations.
“A lot of employees have reduced hours,” Mr. Sphon said. The Greensburg-based network employs 4,800 people.
In addition to the pay guarantee, Excela has added bonus personal time off, which allows each employee to accumulate paid time off at an accelerated rate in addition to the time off granted by their job classification. Employees will have until Dec. 26 to take the time off or receive compensation for it.
“We need to stand by our employees,” Mr. Sphon said. “No one really signed up for this, but they’re answering the bell.”
At UPMC, workers will be paid at their current rates for normally scheduled hours, even if they are assigned to alternative work or asked not to report to work, depending on the system’s needs during the pandemic.
“This pay protection program is our commitment to our valued staff,” UPMC President and CEO Jeffrey Romoff said in a prepared statement.
UPMC employs 89,000 people, all of whom are covered by the new policy.
In addition to maintaining pay for employees who see their hours cut for any number of reasons, AHN will continue paying employees who are unable to work due to quarantine from COVID-19 exposure or if they have to care for someone who is quarantined. About 21,000 people are employed by the system and the policy covers all of them.
For AHN employees trying to avoid infecting their families, the hospital system is providing secure lodging near the network’s 10 hospitals.
“Without exception, our dedicated employees at every level have come together to care for our community with great compassion and skill during this uncertain and stressful time,” AHN President and CEO Cynthia Hundorfean said in a prepared statement.
Kris B. Mamula: kmamula@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1699.
First Published: April 7, 2020, 10:00 a.m.
Updated: April 7, 2020, 10:10 a.m.
