Family-Friendliest Award: Organizations seek to be the calm in the storm for employees during pandemic

For places like Marimn Health, addressing the needs and well-being of their more than 200 employees was a key component to handling the fiscal pressures caused by COVID-19. Located on an Indian reservation and owned and operated by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, the Idaho-based health system had established an employee benefits program that provided workers and their families a number of supports to address stress, anxiety issues or financial concerns well before the pandemic.

But as the threat of COVID-19 led to schools closing throughout the area, Marimn considered hiring its own teachers who could provide a makeshift school for employees’ children.

“If we could take that stress off of our employees so they could be here and perform better, that idea was absolutely on the table,” said Stacey Dunn, human resources director at Marimn.

After hearing from employees that they didn’t need that kind of support at the moment, Marimn did not go forward with the plan. But the fact that employees saw the organization’s willingness to take such actions to meet their needs helped increase the level of trust at a time when the system had to take all-hands-on-deck approach to addressing the health needs of their community, Dunn said.

Another factor that contributed to increasing trust between leadership and staff during this time has been Marimn’s commitment not to lay off anyone but to in

Marimn Health’s finance team shows off their custom coffee mugs.