Employee Benefits

Benefits are a competitive lever in recruiting and hiring employees. The pressure to offer a benefits package that is competitive in the marketplace is significant in healthcare. Florida Hospital, owned and operated by the Adventist Health System, offers many mandatory and voluntary benefits to all of its employees.

Upon hire, employees will receive a letter from the Human Resources department with information on how to access the employee benefits website. Benefits enrollment is the process of selecting the benefits and communicating these choices to the Adventist Health System Benefits Service Center. Benefit changes are only permitted once each calendar year, and per IRS regulations, this occurs in November. This time is known as the open enrollment period for Florida Hospital employees. Employees may attend one of the benefits fairs, held throughout the various Florida Hospital campuses, to make benefits changes or employees are able to make those changes online through the Florida Hospital Intranet. Each of the benefits vendors are represented, allowing employees to ask questions about coverage, costs, and comparisons. By having the vendors come to each of the campuses it creates easier access for employees, especially during the open enrollment period. Adventist Health System maintains an excellent retirement plan for eligible employees. Adventist Health System will match 50% of what an employee would put in, at a maximum of 4% of employee income.

Employer sponsored health insurance is one of the most expensive items in the budget for employers as a results of escalating costs of healthcare. Florida Hospital offers a choice of two health care plans through Florida Hospital Healthcare System (FHHS) to provide medical coverage for preventative care, hospitalization, physician office visits, and other medical services. Both plans are offered to full-time and part-time employees. In addition to the medical insurance (covering outpatient and inpatient coverage) and retirement plan, Florida Hospital offers prescription coverage, short term and long term disability insurance, cancer and other diseases insurance, and a vision plan. Dental insurance is available, offering low premiums and easy use. Dental reimbursement is offered to full time employees after their second employment anniversary. Family members are able to be added to any of these plans.

In conjunction with the Florida Hospital Diabetes Institute, the Florida Hospital Healthcare Systems offers a Diabetes Care program to assist FHHS Health Plan members with diabetes to meet the diabetes standards of care and improve health. Free diabetes and therapeutic lifestyle coaching, free PCP or Endocrinologist visits for diabetes management and free diabetes self-management educations are available to active participants. Enrollment is open to all eligible FHHS members, including employee, spouse, and dependents with diabetes.

Through the Employee Clinic, immunizations, TB testing and flu vaccines are offered at the time of employment and/or annually. (I got my flu shot this year!) Preventative services are covered in both FHHS plans at no cost to the member. Employees are also able to benefit from the complementary wellness screening (biometrics), health risk assessment, personalized Action Plan, and goal setting with the Healthy 100 Employees campaign. Employees that work toward living a healthier lifestyle can achieve points for each goal they accomplish on the way. These points can be used as currency at the online retail store associated with the program.

As most of the RN workforce is female, Florida Hospital most likely used this as a determinant when designing the benefits package. Screening mammograms, bone density scans, and annual physical exams with laboratory work cost employees with FHHS $0. Florida Hospital’s Healthy Pregnancy Programs promotes a healthy start for those planning to become pregnant, expectant mothers, and their babies, with personalized support and educational materials. A Lifestyle Manager screen for high-risk pregnancy and assigns a high-risk care manager if appropriate. Even though it’s not included in the benefits program, The Children’s Academy at Loch Haven, located adjacent to the Florida Hospital Orlando campus, is available for employees to utilize as a means to child care while at work. While this is something each employee must pay for themselves, the Academy’s flexible schedule makes this an ideal situation for working parents.

The Adventist Health System also provides an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) benefit, at no cost, to eligible employees, their spouses, and eligible dependents. The main portion of EAP includes confidential face-to-face counseling services such as martial and family relationships, stress management, alcohol and drug issues, work-related concerns, depression and anxiety, and bereavement. Life coaching services, legal services and financial services are also offered free of charge.

Paid Days Off is the system that pays employees when they take time off from work. PDO is able to be used by Florida Hospital employees for vacation, holidays, personal or family illness, and bereavement. Accrual begins on the first day of employment and employees are eligible to use PDO for time off the first full day period after their 91st day of employment. PDO varies according to employment status (Full-time vs. Part-time/TN), the number of hours worked per year, and the number of years of employment with Florida Hospital.

Florida Hospital Rewards is the Official Employee Discount Program for all Florida Hospital employees. This website helps to connect employees with great corporate and local deals and savings in the community. The discounts available vary greatly and include hotels, dining, automobiles, attractions, travel, real estate, and retail locations. Employees receive a 30% discount on select items at all cafeteria locations and a 10% discount on select Gift Shop purchases at all campuses.

I believe that Florida Hospital is doing a great job at remaining a step above competing healthcare organizations. After looking through all the opportunities offered to all of Florida Hospital’s employees, I can see that they demographics of the employee population were determined when designing the benefits package. There are many ways that employees and their families can access the hundreds of services offered to them – face to face, webinars, phone calls, local clinics, and a network of PCPs – this allows for the coverage to reach farther than it could have 20 years ago.