CEO Update: Supporting employees through wage increases

We’re really glad that in the Fiscal Year 2025 budget, we were able to include about $4 million specifically dedicated to wage improvements. That affected about 70% of our employees here at CMH and was a top priority as we created the budget for the new fiscal year.

Keep reading or watch the video to learn more about how Citizens Memorial Hospital is supporting employees through wage increases.

Why wage adjustments were a budget priority

Our people are our No. 1 priority. They’re the ones taking care of the patients every day. We want to make sure we take good care of them by making sure their wages are market competitive and they have a wage that can support their family. As we looked at our budget for this fiscal year, it was a priority to make sure we could raise wages, particularly for those on the front lines at the bedside.

Process for determining wage adjustments

Over the last few years, we have implemented the Wage Committee, a group of leaders from across the organization that reviews requests from department managers related to salaries. Since 2022, that’s been in our budget process every year. We look at wages, how they compare to the market and how many openings we have. We prioritize those and go down that priority list as the budget allows and make those increases every year.

We did that this year, but we noticed a real need to address especially the entry-level positions. Not only did we respond to the requests from the Wage Committee, but we also made an additional investment in entry-level and frontline positions.

As we addressed the entry-level positions, we also reviewed our entire salary schedule. Most of the salary schedule was adjusted up, touching most of our organization.

Helping recruitment and retention

One of the things that I love about CMH is our culture, and I think it’s something that’s really strong. It’s been the hallmark of this organization over the years that CMH is a better place to work.

It’s really important that not only are we a great place to work, but when people come to this organization, they see the wage comparisons and that they’ll make as much if they come here as if they went anywhere else.

Recruitment and retention have to be a top priority because we’re growing. As we grow, we need more employees. We are getting close to 2,400 employees, and we will need more as we expand the hospital and grow our services. It’s really important that CMH is attractive to our community as a place for a career.

Strategic priority

If you look at our new strategic plan for FY25, the No. 1 priority is growing and investing in our workforce. Our commitment is to our employees and making sure we invest in them is one that is ongoing. It’s not going to stop.

We couldn’t do anything we’re doing right now without the great people we have working at CMH — our staff, our nurses, our techs, our frontline folks. They’re the ones who are caring for patients at the bedside every day. We’re seeing that care continues to improve. Our service delivery continues to improve. And that’s because of the great work they’re doing.

I’m committed to making sure we continue to invest in them to ensure they have what they need to continue to provide great care for our patients.

Michael Calhoun shares the latest happenings at CMH in his monthly CEO Updates. He is the CEO/executive director of CMH and the Citizens Memorial Health Care Foundation.