Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Wake Forest Baptist Health plans to invest $23 million in market adjustments and pay alignments, including raising its minimum wage to $15 per hour, the organization said March 3.
The initiatives affect about 12,000 employees, or about 60 percent of Wake Forest Baptist's total staff. They take effect in April.
"We are so proud of our wonderful employees, and we are very glad to be able to provide a well-deserved increase in their compensation," Wake Forest Baptist CEO Julie Ann Freischlag, MD, said in a news release. "I have personally witnessed their dedication to our patents and their families and have seen them provide comfort and assistance, no matter their job. We are so fortunate to have such dedicated employees, and I thank each one of them for their kind and compassionate service to those who come to us when they need our help."
Under the initiatives, 7,500 employees in many pay grades will see their pay increase to the new $15 per hour minimum or 2 percent, whichever is greater, according to the health system. The minimum rate for staff registered nurses is increasing, and 4,500 nurses in nursing professional salary plans will see their pay increase by $1 an hour, or to the new minimums, whichever is greater.
The health system said staff salary ranges also will be adjusted, and all eligible staff below the new range minimums will see pay raises to the new minimum rates. Additionally, evening, night and weekend shift differentials will be based on market competitiveness and aligned across the organization.
Overall, Wake Forest Baptist has more than 20,000 employees.