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Saint Joseph Mercy Health System selected as a winner of the Detroit Free Press  2017 Top Workplaces Award

St. Joe’s is the only hospital system to make the list of 150 Michigan companies

 

CANTON, Mich. – (Nov. 6, 2017) – Saint Joseph Mercy Health System (SJMHS) has been named one of the 2017 Top Workplaces by The Detroit Free Press in the “large company”  category.  Winners were selected based on the results of an employee feedback survey administered by Energage,  a leading research firm on organizational health and employee engagement, which measured several aspects of workplace culture.

“We all know that health care is one of the most challenging and complex professions in the world, but a healthy workplace culture with caring employees makes the journey both easier and more enjoyable,” said Rob Casalou, regional president and CEO, Saint Joseph Mercy Health System. “Patients receive the best care when their caregivers genuinely care about their team and the work they do every day.”

The employee survey was conducted for six weeks from July to August 15, 2017 with SJMHS receiving an outstanding 56 percent response rate with 5,786 employee responses. 

Organizational alignment, including operating with strong values and ethics, was the highest-scoring theme at SJMHS.  Colleagues responded that they feel the health system is going in the right direction with good inter-departmental cooperation across the health system and limited negativity. 

Amanda Sweetman (center), manager of the Farm at St. Joe’s Ann Arbor, leads colleagues in a lunch n’ learn class on making “salads in a jar” for quick and healthy lunches. The Farm at St. Joe’s is one of the first hospital-based farms in the U.S.

“This recognition is first and foremost a testament to our colleagues who every day make St. Joe’s  a great place to work by embodying our core values of reverence, commitment to those who are poor, justice, stewardship  and integrity –all which are elements that support our mission to be a transforming, healing presence in the communities we serve,” said Ane McNeil,  regional chief human resource officer, Saint Joseph Mercy Health System. 

SJMHS is driven to create and maintain environments where colleagues feel appreciated, engaged and energized to do their best work.  St. Joe’s holds regular employee recognition events, most notably the Daisy Nurses award and the Be Remarkable award, as well as special celebrations during National Patient Safety Week and Nurses Weeks such as Mannequin Video contests and Nurses Olympics.  St. Joe’s encourages wellness for staff through Colleague 5K Walk and Fun Runs, Departmental Kickball  and Softball Leagues, onsite gym classes and gym memberships as well as hosting regular farmers markets inside its hospitals. SJMHS has the first hospital-based farm  on its Ann Arbor campus as well as salons and spas in each hospital providing services for colleagues ranging from hair styling to massage. SJMHS offers a generous benefits package including tuition reimbursement for full and part time workers, adoption assistance, onsite daycare at two hospitals, and retirement savings plan with company match.

Nurses from St. Joe’s Ann Arbor race in a bedpan relay, one of several events in the Nurses Olympics across St. Joe’s five hospitals during National Nurses Week in May.

Consisting of five award-winning hospitals and affiliated health centers serving southeast Michigan, Saint Joseph Mercy Health System hospitals include St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor, St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea, St. Joseph Mercy Livingston, St. Joseph Mercy Oakland and St. Mary Mercy Livonia.  Combined, the five hospitals are licensed for 1,553 beds, have five outpatient health centers, six urgent care facilities, more than 25 specialty centers; employ more than 15,300 individuals and have a medical staff of nearly 2,700 physicians.

In the last year at SJMHS:

-3.2 million patients have been served

-6,464 babies were born (1 in 10 babies in southeast Michigan)

-8,716 home care visits took place

-$109 million was given in community benefit support

 

“The Top Workplaces award is not a popularity contest. And oftentimes, people assume it’s all about fancy perks and benefits.” says Doug Claffey, CEO of Energage. “But to be a Top Workplace, organizations must meet our strict standards for organizational health. And who better to ask about work life than the people who live the culture every day—the employees. Time and time again, our research has proven that what’s most important to them is a strong belief in where the organization is headed, how it’s going to get there, and the feeling that everyone is in it together. Claffey adds, “Without this sense of connection, an organization doesn’t have a shot at being named a Top Workplace.”

 

About Saint Joseph Mercy Health System

Saint Joseph Mercy Health System (SJMHS) is a health care organization serving seven counties in southeast Michigan including Livingston, Washtenaw, Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Jackson, and Lenawee. It includes 537-bed St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor, 443-bed St. Joseph Mercy Oakland in Pontiac, 304-bed St. Mary Mercy Livonia, 136-bed St. Joseph Mercy Livingston in Howell, and 133-bed St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea.  Combined, the five hospitals are licensed for 1,553 beds, have five outpatient health centers, six urgent care facilities, more than 25 specialty centers; employ more than 15,300 individuals and have a medical staff of nearly 2,700 physicians.   SJMHS has annual operating revenues of about $2 billion and returns about $120 million to its communities annually through charity care and community benefit programs.

SJMHS is a member of Trinity Health, a leading Catholic  health care system based in Livonia, Mich. Trinity Health operates in 22 states, employs about 131,000 colleagues, has annual operating revenues of $17.6 billion and assets of about $24.6 billion. Additionally, the organization returns almost $1 billion to its communities annually in the form of charity care and other community benefit programs.

For more information on health services offered at Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, please visit www.stjoeshealth.org.

About Energage, LLC

Headquartered in Exton, PA, Energage specializes in employee feedback surveys and workplace improvement. This year alone, more than two million employees in over 6,000 organizations will participate in the Top Workplaces™ campaign—a program it conducts in partnership with more than 40 prestigious media partners across the United States. Energage also provides consulting services to improve employee engagement and organizational health. Energage is a founding B Corporation member, a coalition of organizations that are leading a global movement to redefine success in business by offering a positive vision of a better way to do business.