Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist raises minimum age for workers
Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist announced a substantial gift to its team this holiday season. The hospital chain has also announced a significant investment in its workforce by raising the minimum starting wage to $18.50 per hour, effective January 12, 2025.
Leadership stated that this increase acknowledges team members' contributions to community improvement and aims to enhance the health system’s impact on the local economy..
“We are incredibly proud of our teammates and recognize just how dedicated they are to caring for patients, leading research discoveries and training the next generation of health care professionals,” said Dr. Julie Freischlag, CEO and chief academic officer of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. “Our teams bring their best to work every day and are essential to our continued success as an academic learning health system. We are so grateful for their outstanding contributions to our patients and our communities.”
The initial salary increase is part of a $764 million investment, over 35% more than the previous year, in compensation programs throughout Advocate Health, which includes Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Lexington.
Increasing the minimum starting rate for teammates by 6% is part of a broader effort to care for the teammates who work around the clock. Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist teammates will now earn at least $11.25 per hour more than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. In 2024, Advocate Health provided $29.5 million in educational assistance to over 8,000 teammates and more than $253 million in annual merit increases.
Advocate Health Care is a faith-based nonprofit health system based in Illinois. In 2018, Advocate Health Care merged with Wisconsin's Aurora Health Care to establish Advocate Aurora Health. Then, in 2022, Advocate Aurora Health joined forces with Atrium Health to form Advocate Health, which is now the third-largest nonprofit integrated health system in the US. Several senior executives have left the company during the merger, according to the Milwaukee Business Journal.
“We are committed to creating an environment where teammates feel valued, supported and empowered,” said Nakesha Lopez, chief people and culture officer at Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit integrated health system in the nation. “Compensation is just one of the many ways we invest in, reward and recognize our devoted teammates. By prioritizing our investment in them, we can continue to foster a positive work environment that values long-term growth and development while also setting new standards for excellence in health care delivery.”
The health system vows to continue to invest in teammates' career growth by offering market-competitive pay, annual merit increases, compensation through an incentive plan, and premium payments for shift and on-call workers.
