MaineHealth will hike wages for at least 18,000 employees across its system
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MaineHealth, including flagship hospital Maine Medical Center in Portland, will increase the minimum wage for employees from $14 an hour to $17.
Maine’s largest private employer and largest health care system in northern New England, MaineHealth, announced Wednesday it’s hiking minimum wages throughout the organization from $14 an hour to $17.
The raise and other pay changes take effect Aug. 8 and will cost MaineHealth $61 million, according to a news release.
More than 18,000 employees in non-executive, non-physician roles will receive at least a 2% bump in base wages. MaineHealth will also increase pay for a range of hard-to-fill jobs, including certified nurse assistants, medical assistants and registered nurses. The size of the increases will vary by position.
In total, MaineHealth has over 23,000 employees, working at nine hospital networks, clinics, labs, home health agencies, behavioral health care facilities and a 1,700-member physician practice.
The health care system said the sweeping compensation changes are a response to hardships posed by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as workforce shortages that have emerged in recent months.
“We are committed to our vision of ‘working together so our communities are the healthiest in America,’ and to achieve that, we must retain and attract the best people,” MaineHealth CEO Dr. Andrew Mueller said in the release.
“Our goal is to create a remarkable environment where each team member feels valued and fulfilled in the meaningful work we do to support our vision,” said Mueller, who was named CEO earlier this year.
“To do that, not only must we continue to provide an inclusive workplace where people have the tools they need to provide world-class care, but we must compensate them appropriately in what is currently a very dynamic labor market.”
Other health care providers in Maine and nationwide are also cutting bigger paychecks in order to keep pace with the market. However, it doesn’t appear that any of the state’s major care systems have yet equaled the new minimum at MaineHealth.
Under state law, the minimum wage in Maine increased slightly on Jan. 1 to $12.15 per hour.
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