Mount Carmel Health System has found an additional pool of entry-level candidates-and help in hiring them.
As a Welfare to Work business partner, Mount Carmel has, for two years, taken advantage of services offered by the Franklin County Human Services Department to hire about 50 former welfare recipients in areas such as housekeeping, nutrition services and patient care.
“We felt that would be a good pool for us, because we really wanted to recruit folks from the community,” says Sue Doud, staffing coordinator for Mount Carmel Health System.
Mount Carmel is working to build more support networks and improve training for the former welfare recipients, who often have difficulty finding reliable child care and transportation and practicing time management, Doud says.
The health system’s benefits, which include a payroll deduction for COTA bus passes, health insurance coverage with no waiting period and a network of child care providers with reduced rates, also help these workers, Doud says.
Because the human services department provides the initial employment screenings, the health system’s only investment is a recruiter’s time. To attract more candidates, the system holds joint job fairs through the human services department with other area hospitals.
Franklin County Human Services also offers subsidies for temporary placements and on-the-job training, as well as a federal tax credit for some businesses. For more information, call the department at 251-4941 or the Welfare to Work Partnership at (888) 872-5621.
