HCA bolsters rules for masks, financial help
HCA Houston Healthcare will give financial assistance to employees affected by the new coronavirus through a “pandemic pay continuation” program, according to a statement released Friday.
Separately, the Houston division, which operates 13 hospitals in the region, told staff it was “ensuring they are being heard and have the supplies and equipment they need,” according to an internal email obtained by the Houston Chronicle.
The for-profit health system’s policy previously said that employees in all patient areas are to wear masks but that masks are “optional” for anyone in non-patient areas. On Friday the policy was expanded and wearing masks is now mandatory for all employees, including those in non-patient areas, according to an email to staff from Troy Villarreal,
president of HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division.
“Despite this and other protocols in place, we know that those on the front line are at an elevated risk of contracting infectious disease,” his email said.
On Wednesday the Houston Chronicle reported that an emergency room nurse at HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest is gravely ill and on a ventilator after contracting the virus. His wife said the hospital could not find the recommended protective mask to fit him properly so he spent days testing potentially infected patients with only a looser-fitting mask. A second person in the same emergency unit — a physician — also tested positive for the virus during the same general time period and is now recuperating at home, his colleagues said.
As part of the health system’s new financial assistance program, Houston area employees who work in patient care and are under quarantine after being exposed to the virus — “no matter where the exposure occurred” — will receive 100 percent of their base pay for scheduled hours. Those who do not work in patient care but are under quarantine after exposure are eligible for short-term disability while ill, the company’s statement said.
In addition, the health system announced that employees who lost hours because of canceled procedures or a decrease in patient volume will be reassigned to other duties or will receive 70 percent of their base pay for seven weeks.
“This pandemic is unique, and our colleagues’ concerns are real,” Villarreal said in a statement. “We want them to know that we care like family and stand with them. If we are to emerge stronger, more resilient
and more capable to meet our nation’s health care challenges, we recognize that this cannot happen without supporting all of our colleagues in these trying times.”
Sam Hazen, CEO of the Nashville-based parent company, HCA Healthcare, has also announced he will “donate 100 percent of his paycheck” for eight weeks to the HCA Hope Fund, an in-house charitable fund to assist employees across the hospital chain.
Hazen’s total compensation last year was $26.8 million, which includes a base salary of $1.4 million plus stock awards, pension benefits and other compensation, according to a 2020 proxy statement reported by Modern Healthcare. It is not clear if his donation would include all compensation or just his base pay. The health care system did not clarify.
HCA Healthcare, with 184 hospitals nationwide, reported $51.3 billion in revenue last year, according to financial records.
The parent company also said Friday its senior leadership will take a 30 percent pay cut until the pandemic passes.
Other benefits to Houston employees will include “scrub laundering” for those who care for COVID-19 patients to prevent possibly carrying the virus home to families at shift’s end. The company also said it is working with hotels to provide housing for those caring for infected patients and are worried about exposing their families.
“We are working hard to anticipate and address the very real concerns of our staff, patients and communities while organizing the resources needed to take appropriate actions,” Villarreal said in the staff email.