BJC HealthCare In St. Louis Area Announces Plans To Raise Minimum Hourly Pay To $15, A 50% Increase
BJC HealthCare has 15 hospitals total, and 11 of them are located in the St. Louis region. About 3,500 employees, largely those in maintenance and patient transport, will see the increase, a spokeswoman said Wednesday. News on the health industry also looks at layoffs at skilled-nursing facilities and pension shortfalls at Catholic hospitals, as well.
St. Louis Post Dispatch:
BJC HealthCare Will Raise Minimum Hourly Pay To $15
BJC HealthCare, the area’s largest employer, announced plans Wednesday to increase its minimum hourly pay to $15 per hour. The new rate is a nearly 50% increase from the organization’s current minimum rate of $10.10 per hour. The nonprofit health care organization will raise pay over the course of two years, first increasing its minimum wage to $12.65 per hour on Oct. 27. It will then increase to $14 in fall 2020, and hit $15 in fall 2021. (Merrilees, 10/2)
Modern Healthcare:
Therapists Decry Layoffs Amid SNF Reimbursement Overhaul
Thousands of physical, occupational and speech therapists have been laid off as skilled-nursing facilities transition to a new payment model that kicked in Tuesday. Dozens of these therapists have emailed Modern Healthcare saying they have been laid off or had their wages cut as a result of the new patient-driven payment model, which is akin to bundled payments and based on patient assessments and acuity rather than the volume of therapy services. (Kacik, 10/2)
NPR:
'Why Is There Nothing Left?' Pension Funds Failing At Catholic Hospitals
The case highlights a more widespread problem: Because of a loophole, many religious organizations are not covered by a federal guarantee that protects most other workers' pensions, so the workers can get left with nothing. By one estimate, more than 1 million workers and retirees from religious organizations lack this federal protection. (Arnold, 10/3)
