(LEX 18) — Staff at several local hospitals are left wondering what the future holds after LifePoint Health, the parent company of these facilities, announced changes to premium pay shift policies and paid time off plans. The company owns eight acute care hospitals across Kentucky, prompting numerous inquiries from concerned employees regarding how these changes will affect them and their institutions moving forward.
Recent adjustments to LifePoint's policies have raised questions among hospital staff who are anxious about potential impacts on their compensation and benefits. In response, the company acknowledged the concerns and provided a statement to clarify the situation.
Clifford Wilson, the Market President of LifePoint Central Kentucky, addressed the changes by issuing this statement:
“There seems to be a lot of misinformation being shared on social media about what is happening so appreciate the opportunity to clarify a few things. Our parent organization is implementing new systems to help us streamline some of the day-to-day processes like ordering supplies, scheduling, and staff requests for vacation and holidays, etc.
As part of this, we also have begun to standardize the numerous pay and benefits programs across the hospitals. This has led to some changes in premium pay shift policies and PTO plans across our Central Kentucky hospitals to ensure greater consistency for our teams. Many health systems – including several in our region – are making changes like these right now.
To offset adjustments in premium pay policies, we are making positive changes to base pay and investing in our team in other ways, including expanding our employee well-being and assistance programs, adding paid holidays, increasing paid time off for the majority of our employees, and more.
To be clear, we are not laying off staff or implementing cuts across the board to compensation and benefits, and this should not have any impact on patient care or the care and services we provide each day.
We understand that staff have concerns about how these changes will affect them, and we have been meeting with them throughout the week to answer their questions and address their concerns. Much of the initial concern has subsided as people have learned more.
We are fortunate to be a part of a large organization that continues to invest significantly in our hospitals and communities, and we believe that the changes being made now will ultimately improve the daily work environment for our staff, especially in patient facing roles. We appreciate our team members and sincerely apologize for the disruption or concern this news has caused in our communities.”
LifePoint Health emphasized its commitment to improving the daily work environment for staff, stating, “We are making significant investments in new technology, systems, and processes.”
They acknowledged that some changes to premium pay policies and PTO could lead to increased overall compensation for some employees while potentially decreasing it for others.
On Thursday, an ICU nurse at Clark Regional Medical Center expressed her concerns about the potential impacts of these changes on both staff and patients.
“It’s just important to know that healthcare is not just nurses and doctors; it includes EVS workers, lab personnel, and cafeteria staff. We all have to work together to provide the best patient care possible and get these patients healthy and out of our facility,” she said.
In addition to the changes in pay and benefits, Fleming County Hospital has recently announced its conversion to a Rural Emergency Hospital status, which will provide emergency and outpatient care, but will no longer accommodate inpatient hospital stays. This change results from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services determining that the hospital no longer meets Critical Access Hospital criteria.
A letter to the community detailed that once these changes take effect in the next 60 to 90 days, Fleming County Hospital will still provide services for those in need of hospital care, although inpatient services will cease.
LifePoint Health has reiterated its commitment to minimizing the impact of these changes on employees, encouraging staff to communicate with their managers and local leaders regarding any concerns. As the hospitals navigate this transition, staff continue to seek clarity on the future and how these policies may shape their roles in delivering quality patient care.
