Benefits

Other Benefits

Our employees work hard, so we’ve designed a progressive benefits package that balances their personal family needs as well as career growth goals. Our employees take pride in many of our unique benefits that include:

Adoption Assistance

VCUHS offers its benefited employees the opportunity to receive financial assistance for adoptions. VCUHS families are eligible for up to $1,500 of reimbursements for adoption expenses per child such as attorney’s fees, medical expenses for the child, court fees, immigration, immunization and translation fees for a foreign adoption or traveling expenses. Expenses for reimbursement requested must be incurred by the employee (and/or spouse), and directly related to, and the principal purpose of which is for, the legal adoption of an eligible child, not incurred in violation of State or Federal law or in carrying out any surrogate parenting arrangement, not expenses in connection with the adoption of a child who is the child of a spouse, and not reimbursed by any other plan. A $3,000 lifetime maximum limitation applies.

Breastfeeding Pump Room

The VCUHS Women’s Health Services is pleased to provide the services of a lactation consultant and pumping room for the employees of VCUHS to be used by nursing mothers while at work. The lactation room provides the following features to VCUHS employees.

  • Locked, private room
  • Hospital grade pumps
  • 18” flat screen TV with remote control
  • Comfortable chair with footstool
  • Soothing décor
  • Convenient location on Main 8, near L&D accessible 24 hours/day
  • Access to Lactation Consultant for Breastfeeding advice
  • Educational Materials and Community Resources available.

Child Development Centers

  • We take care of each other and our families.
  • Our three, NAEYC-accredited child development centers for dependents of health system employeesare open seven days a week for children age six weeks to five years.
  • Children in our centers have access to tremendous opportunity brought through a world-class university teaching hospital.
  • In our childcare centers, there is no fee for late pickups (even very late pickups that can span several hours) or stress to race the clock. Instead, little ones with parents who are caught in the demands of a life-or-death job are fed dinner, dressed in pajamas, and transitioned into an evening routine that feels a lot like home.
“Our staff is the reason we are able to provide so many extra services. Working here means that you will be asked to work long hours, and treat every single child as though he were your own. In return, our staff is rewarded by thankful parents who routinely tell us we are a cornerstone of their family and that reward has led to one of the lowest staff turnover rates in the city.”

Patsy Moon, VCUHS Child Care Center Director

Computer Purchase

The VCU Health System’s (VCUHS) recognizes the benefit to an employee to have access to a personal computer in his/her place of residence. Employees are encouraged to access organizational information via the inter/intranet and personal information via Employee Self Serve; however, many employees do not have readily available access to a personal computer during working hours or from home. VCUHS has established a Computer Purchase Assistance Program to aid employees in the purchase of computer hardware, software, and accessories through arrangements with a vendor of choice who will allow staff to make purchases on-line through a VCUHS loan repayment process. The VCU Health System will provide Eligible Employees with a personal loan of up to $2,600 for the purpose of purchasing computer related hardware, software and accessories from a VCUHS specified vendor. The computer loan must be repaid with 12-months through authorized payroll deduction or a one-time lump sum payment. An Eligible Employee is defined as a full or part-time employee who has successfully completed one year of employment in a benefit eligible position, who is in Good Standing with VCUHS at the time the loan is provided and who has no current wage garnishment(s), state, county or federal tax liens or bankruptcy mandated payments.

Dependent Tuition

To establish a benefit plan for eligible employees that will provide educational assistance to their dependents for traditional degree-seeking courses provided through Virginia Commonwealth University. A full-time Eligible employee may request to receive Dependent Educational Assistance toward degree-seeking program requirements each semester; however, assistance is limited to a maximum of six (6) credit hours per academic session at Virginia Commonwealth (VCU) University and shall not exceed a total of twelve (12) credit hours per academic year (Fall semester through Summer session). A part-time Eligible Employee may request to receive Dependent Educational Assistance toward degree-seeking program requirements each semester; however, assistance is limited to a maximum of 3 credit hours per academic session at VCU and shall not exceed six (6) credit hours per academic year. The Dependent Education Assistance benefit will cover the cost of in-state tuition charged by VCU including associated lab and administrative costs. All other costs, including but not limited to the cost of books, supplies, pre-placement tests, orientation fees, or other fees associated with admission to the school or pre-requisites for a course are the responsibility of the Employee and/or Employee’s dependent.

Employee Assistance: VCUHS Helplink

VCUHS Helplink is an employee-assistance program (EAP) to help employees and members of their immediate household with personal problems at an early stage, before the problem becomes more serious.
Clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, professional counselors and clinical nurse specialists provide the free, confidential services to assist with a wide range of personal issues including:

  • marital difficulties family and parenting issues
  • depression and anxiety
  • caring for aging family members
  • legal matters
  • financial matters
  • stress-related problems
  • alcoholism and substance abuse

Counselors work one-on-one with employees and/or members of their immediate household to:

  • clarify the nature of the problem
  • explore options for resolution
  • decide on the best course of action
  • assist with implementation of a customized plan

Services are available via the telephone and through face-to-face appointments at one of six area VCUHS Family Counseling Centers through the Richmond area. Appointments are scheduled from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Call 804-828-4EAP or 804-828-4327 or 804-232-0901 to access EAP services.

For emergencies during evening, weekend or holiday hours, employees can call the VCUHS HelpLink and leave a message. All calls are returned within 30 minutes.

Employees seeking services outside the Richmond area will be referred to a network of EAP counselors in surrounding communities.

Family Medicine Clinic

In collaboration with the VCU Department of Family Medicine, VCUHS offers its employees an Employee Only Family Medicine Clinic. Family Medicine can address a multitude of primary care issues for you and your family. Reserved appointments will be available for VCUHS staff and their family members, regardless of which insurance plan they have. Family Medicine is located on location at our downtown facility. Our two physicians are here to see our employees and their family members.

Long Term Care

VCU Health System offers its employees valuable voluntary long-term care insurance. Long-term care insurance picks up where most traditional medical plans leave off- by offering benefits that help pay for extended custodial and supportive care, as well as a stay in a nursing home. The VCU Health System Long-Term Care Insurance plan is available to eligible actively-at-work employees as well as their eligible family members. Eligible family members of eligible actively-at-work employees include their spouses, parents, parents-in-law, grandparents, grandparents-in-law, siblings, adult children, and spouses of eligible adult children and siblings.

Postbaccalaureate Nurse Residency Program

This one-year program is for new graduates of baccalaureate nursing programs employed as staff nurses in clinical areas. The program’s focus is on the transition to professional nursing practice using Patricia Benner’s theoretical framework from her book From Novice to expert-excellence and Power in Clinical Nursing Practice. Program content and outcome measures are standardized throughout the participating organizations.

The program is facilitated by expert nurses with special emphasis on:

  • Critical thinking skills
  • Patient safety
  • Leadership abilities
  • Research-based practice
  • Professional career development
  • Written and verbal communication skills
  • Specialty orientation is included for nurses hired for specialty units.

Outcomes reported from the first complete year show that nurses participating in this residency program have high job satisfaction. The first year turnover rate of new graduates has been reported as high as 56%. The turnover rate of the nurse residents in this program was only 8.4%. Nurses who have completed the residency also report that the program helped them to improve their self-confidence and critical thinking skills.

This program was designed by a task force of University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) members and American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) members. Participating academic health centers in partnership with baccalaureate schools of nursing, are:

University Medical Center, Tucson
University of Colorado Hospital
University of Kentucky Hospital
New York University Medical Center
University of Pennsylvania Hospital
University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics
Oregon Health & Sciences University Hospital
University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center
The University of Kansas Medical Center
University of North Carolina Hospitals
University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston
Stony Brook University Hospital
North Carolina Baptist Hospital
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics
UCLA Healthcare
University of Missouri Hospitals and Clinics
LSUHSC-Shreveport
The Methodist Hospital (Houston)
Grady Health System
Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center

For more information about this exciting opportunity, contact:
Program Coordinators
Katherine Parker, M.Ed., RN – 628-0032 or kparker@mcvh-vcu.edu
Jacqui Broyles, MSN, RN – 628-0036 or jbroyles@mcvh-vcu.edu

Pre-Paid Tuition Assistance

Our Pre-Paid Tuition Assistance Program allows full-time employees to take up to six credit hours per semester and part-time employees can take up to three credit hours per semester, without having to pay the full cost of tuition out of their own pockets (books and other course fees are not covered).

About 10 percent of our workforce is utilizing this benefit.

Courses must be related to the employee’s position or the mission of the Health System to be covered by Pre-Paid Tuition Assistance.

And, starting soon through a truly innovative program, employees of VCU Health System will soon be able to take advantage of dependent tuition assistance. This program is designed to help with tuition for dependents enrolled in an undergraduate degree seeking curriculum at Virginia Commonwealth University.

“I have two young children and I work full-time. I’m currently enrolled in the Master’s nursing program, and receiving pre-paid tuition assistance makes going back to school possible for me.”

Janet Willersdorf, a Nurse Clinician in Orthopedic Surgery

We offer nearly every professional certification required by a professional in the healthcare industry. What this means for employees is not having to travel to other cities – or even across town – to maintain or acquire professional certifications.

“We are able to draw from all of the resources of the university and the medical college This allows us to offer our professionals top-notch training and certifications right inside the hospital. This access to professional growth helps us stay competitive when recruiting.”

Maria Curran, Vice President of Human Resources

Additionally, other professional development opportunities are offered through HR Office of Organizational Development. Topics normally offered include information on customer service skills, teambuilding, conflict resolution, change management, strategic planning, coaching and counseling, and diversity awareness/cultural competency. Special offerings now underway include:

  • Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute at VCU – Designed to help participants develop a “global” view of leadership (must be nominated to attend).
  • Leader Orientation – Designed for new leaders to create a common understanding of expectations among Health System leaders and to develop resources/contacts.
  • Sexual Harassment Prevention – Mandatory training concerning our sexual harassment policy.
  • Pre-Paid Tuition assistance – for course work-related to the VCUHS mission.

Virginia Credit Union

VCUHS employees are eligible to join the Virginia Credit Union which offers:

  • Affordable banking services (checking, savings, credit cards, ATMs, online banking, IRAs)
  • Lower fees and tips on how to avoid fees altogether
  • Lower rates on loans and mortgages
  • Attractive rates on savings
  • Free financial seminars
  • Educational information and online consumer resources
  • College scholarships
  • Discounts on car insurance, tax preparation and more
  • Lifetime membership

The Virginia Credit Union has 12 branch offices in Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico, Hanover, Colonial Heights, Fredericksburg and Stafford.

VCU Recreational Facilities

VCUHS employees can purchase full access to three conveniently located gyms and an aquatic center and have access to equipment rental for variety of outdoor pursuits.

Weight Watchers at Work

VCUHS supports ongoing sessions for Weight Watchers at Work in two locations. Series fees can be paid through payroll deduction.