NOTE: This message was sent by email on Feb. 2, 2022, to all Ballad Health team members from Alan Levine, chairman and chief executive officer of Ballad Health.
Dear Colleague:
Each day over the past month – as I am sure many of you have done – I’ve prayed the number of new COVID cases would peak and begin to decline. I’ve prayed for this because I don’t want people to suffer and I worry for the people on our team who, each day, encounter all the terrible challenges that come along with COVID. As the Omicron Variant has ripped through our region, our healthcare team has done everything we could – and can do – to take the best possible care of our friends and neighbors in the Appalachian Highlands.
Did you know that, even as our team has taken care of thousands of people inside our hospitals suffering with COVID, we also have a team who has cared for more than 5,600 people at home – through our Safe at Home program? This program has helped keep several thousand people from requiring admission to the hospital, thus reducing the burden on our inpatient clinical care team. There is no reimbursement or payment for this program. Ballad Health implemented it because it was the right thing to do, and several of our colleagues have gone about caring for these people, focused on keeping them well enough to not be hospitalized. This is but one example of the unsung heroes, many of whom volunteered their time, to help our fellow citizens, and to support our nurses and clinicians.
Another example is our Helping Hands program, where hundreds of our fellow colleagues who are not clinical have taken on the added role of assisting our clinical staff wherever they can. Again – heroes who have asked for nothing in return.
Monday, I spent the afternoon at Johnston Memorial Hospital in Abingdon with Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Attorney General Jason Miyares, Secretary of Health and Human Resources John Littel and Virginia Sen. Todd Pillion. The governor, attorney general, Secretary Little, and our Senator Pillion wanted to visit Ballad Health to learn more about the incredible work our team has done to serve the region, our patients, their families, and frankly, simply to say, “thank you.” I was genuinely happy to see our team members, who were so busy taking care of people in serious need, receive the thanks and recognition they deserve from the new leaders of Virginia. I have to admit, I was a bit amused by how nervous some of our folks were when they met the governor – but I will tell you, Gov. Youngkin was so much more inspired by you than you can possibly imagine. Our team members were the celebrities, not the governor. He was there to celebrate YOU.
When the Delta Variant subsided last fall, we thought there was light at the end of the tunnel. We were wrong. Omicron came and once again, you were on the frontlines taking care of patients and families as they navigated COVID. Some of these patients had positive outcomes and others, sadly, experienced terrible outcomes. We will live with the memories of the people we met during this crisis who suffered, whose family members suffered and, yes, with the experience of working with people who were so dedicated to caring for others, but who just didn’t have any more to give.
We have all been through quite a bit. And never have I been more proud of the people I work with – all of you.
The Ballad Health Board of Directors and our leadership team certainly don’t have all the answers. Each of us has tried to navigate this pandemic based on the best possible information – in a world where there has been so much misinformation. People are understandably frustrated by it, as are we. We can’t really control all of that, but what we can do is recognize one important fact – we know it has been hard for our frontline caregivers and for those who directly support them. And we believe each member of the team is important as we move forward together to try to restore the nation’s health care delivery system in the aftermath of what has been two years of damage done by the virus, the labor market shortages and the public’s frustration with the disruption caused by all of this.
So, here is something we would like to do to continue to recognize the ongoing difficulty for those of you who are exposed to this ongoing challenge, and who wish to continue to help us move forward together.
If you are a full-time team member and were paid an average of 60 hours per pay period (regular, overtime, PTO and MML) during the timeframe of July 4, 2021, through Jan. 31, 2022, or you began working here more recently and are currently paid an average of 60 hours per pay period (regular, overtime), you will receive a special bonus of $1,250. Of that, $750 will be paid in March as a special payment separate from your regular paycheck, and $500 will be paid in July as a special payment separate from your regular paycheck.
Part-time team members will receive a special bonus of $625, with $375 paid in March and $250 to be paid in July in the same manner as the fulltime payments. You must be a team member actively working at the time of payout in order to receive the payment. We understand some people may have questions about their individual situation based on unique circumstances, and human resources will consider these issues on a case-by-case basis.
This special bonus payment applies to all team members, with the exception of executive vice presidents and me.
Additionally, all Ballad Health team members actively working in May will be eligible for a special PTO cash-out of up to 40 hours, payable during the month of May.
If you are a partner with Compass ONE, you will receive the same bonus I’ve mentioned in this message above. If you are an associate of Ensemble Health Partners or STAT Informatic Solutions and you work in a Ballad Health hospital facility, you are eligible for the bonus, as well. I recognize some people with Ensemble Health Partners do not work in our hospitals but do support us and other health systems in other ways. We are grateful that Ensemble Health Partners has incentive and bonus programs which benefit you, as you so well deserve.
The people in our region need and appreciate you. We are all thankful for the work that’s been done, and we look forward to the important work that lies ahead as we work with our partners to restore stability in our nation’s health delivery system, and our own local health delivery system.
God bless each of you and thank you for what you have endured – and continue to endure – for so many people, many of whom you don’t know, but for whom you have dedicated yourself and your professional lives.
Alan
Alan Levine
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Ballad Health
