When COVID-19 erupted, physician recruiters jumped in, adopting an “all hands on deck” mindset. Physicians mobilized and raised their hands to ask, “How can we help?” And just weeks into the pandemic, there were moments of recognition across the country that served as inspiration to doctors and healthcare workers. There have been many dark days – and there are some still ahead. Thankfully, many hospitals and healthcare organizations have jumped in to help and offer hope. We’ve highlighted some of them here.
A whole list of hospitals, including Graham Regional Medical Center in Texas, offered a one-time “Heroes Bonus” for all full- and part-time staff who were fighting and trying to prevent COVID-19. One of the largest hospital systems in the nation, Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), announced a “special pandemic pay program” that gave furloughed employees 70% of their base pay for a limited time. HCA’s CEO, Sam Hazen, also donated his salary to an employee assistance fund, while members of his leadership team took pay cuts.
In Pennsylvania, about 12,000 employees at Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Health Network received bonus payments as part of a new program to recognize their work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the largest hospital system in New York, Northwell Health, gave its front-line staff responding to the pandemic a $2,500 bonus plus an extra week of paid time off to thank them for their work. Northwell also announced they would support the families of employees who died from COVID-19 by giving $10,000 to each family for funeral expenses, paid time off payout (up to 315 hours), and salary payouts to clinical and non-clinical workers.
Recognizing the long hours staffers are working, numerous other hospital systems like Chicago-based CommonSpirit repurposed their hospital cafes into grocery stores for physicians and staff to pick up groceries and staples after their shifts. At the same time, Catholic Health Association Hospitals set up grocery stores and offered takeout meals for hospital employees. There’s a long list of other facilities with similar projects.
Businesses and community organizations got into the spirit, too. Hy-Vee, an Iowa-based grocer, rolled out expanded options for online groceries. Employees at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, Iowa, can now order groceries and pick them up in a locker at one of the hospital’s employee parking lots. Farther west in Denver, Colorado, a community fundraising group set up Lunches for Clinicians to “provide meals and morale to encourage clinicians on the frontlines of COVID-19.”
Another grand gesture to recognize frontline healthcare workers, an anonymous donor gifted $1 Million to Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz, California, where 100% went to hospital employees. A letter from the anonymous donor stated (in part), “To the heroes of Dominican Hospital: Thank you for standing up (and staying up!) to care for our community. This human kindness is what makes you heroic.”
Here at Doximity Talent Finder, we honored healthcare workers by asking our clients to select an organization we could donate to on their behalf in lieu of holiday gifts. The options included Project N95, Frontline Foods, and Project HOPE.
In the face of challenging times (and let’s face it, 2020 was challenging for most of us), there was also a lot of good in the world. Naturally, recognizing your healthcare employees is a great selling point for recruiting new candidates, too. Is your hospital or healthcare facility doing something unique to help physicians and other healthcare workers? We’d love to hear your stories. Send them in an email to talentfinder@doximity.com.
Did you know a clinician clicks on a Job Post on Doximity every 30 seconds? With that kind of engagement, you’ll absolutely want to maximize your Job Posts. To learn more about making your job titles more engaging and more tips, we invite you to sign up for our free Doximity User Training webinar on February 9, 2021. Click the button to register now.
