FRANKLIN, Tenn.--Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE: CYH) announced today that the organization’s affiliates will offer new and enhanced employee benefits valued at approximately $40 million annually. The major investment in new benefits is designed to help employees eliminate existing student debt faster, pursue additional professional education, and advance their careers. The new benefits are part of the organization’s strategies to attract and retain a strong workforce for each CHS-affiliated healthcare system, especially frontline nurses, technicians, therapists and other clinicians and caregivers, along with support personnel at affiliated hospitals and outpatient care locations.
Benefits include a new student loan repayment program that enables employees with outstanding student debt to consolidate their loans, reduce interest rates, and benefit from employer sponsored payments. For most clinical employees, their employer will directly pay a portion of loan premiums as long as the employee remains current with payments, offsetting student loan balances up to $20,000 per employee.
A new employee reimbursement program has been established for licensure or certification renewals required for all job classifications and can be used for any license or certification testing or renewal not already offered for free by the Company’s Advanced Learning Center.
In addition, a long-standing tuition reimbursement program that provides employees up to $5,000 in tax-free reimbursement annually is being expanded and can now be used for continuing education for any employment track offered within the organization. Previously, employees could only use the tuition reimbursement program toward studies in their current field of work.
“We are constantly looking for ways to support the amazing team members who work across our organization in support of our purpose – to help people get well and live healthier,” said Tim Hingtgen, Chief Executive Officer of Community Health Systems, Inc. “We want all of our employees to know they are valued, that we are invested in their professional development, and that we sincerely hope they will continue to build and advance their careers within our organization.”
Affiliates of Community Health Systems, Inc. employ approximately 66,000 people and offer competitive compensation packages with comprehensive benefits including health, dental, vision and prescription plans, a 401(k) retirement plan, life and disability insurance, paid time off, and many other benefits and incentives.