Employees at St. John's Health in Jackson Hole, Wyo., can expect a 6 percent boost in wages.
The hospital said Aug. 2 that it would raise employees' wages by 3 percent, effective Aug. 22, and by another 3 percent, effective Feb. 6, 2022. It would be the first raises for employees since December 2019. Increases are typically given in December, but the hospital said they were not given last December because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The raises are in addition to $1.2 million in bonuses paid to employees during the public health crisis.
"If we wait until December, it will have been two full years since you have seen any permanent change to your compensation," Dave Robertson, interim CEO of St. John's Health, wrote in a letter to employees. "I fully recognize the strain this has placed on you and your family. This strain is even greater in the communities we all live and serve in, given the high cost of living and extraordinarily high cost of housing."
The salary increases are part of a $6 million annual increase to the compensation package for employees the hospital board of trustees approved July 15. According to the hospital, the compensation package also allows for market-based adjustments to ensure competitive wages.
"As a board, we are so grateful for the hard work and dedication that our employees have shown the past 18 months. We witnessed our staff handle the extraordinary challenges the pandemic presented with such grace and professionalism," Sue Critzer, chair of the hospital board of trustees, said in a news release.
St. John's Health has 844 employees.
Read more about the raises here.