Maggie McKay (Host): Today, we're talking with Kim Spirdione about the benefits of working at St. Joseph Hospital. Welcome to Wellness First, a St. Joseph Hospital podcast where we hear and learn directly from the experts on all things health and wellness. I'm your host, Maggie McKay. Thank you so much for being here today, Kim. Would you please introduce yourself?

Kim Spirdione: Yeah, thank you, Maggie, for having me on. My name is Kim Spirdione. I'm one of the clinical recruiters here at St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua, New Hampshire.

Host: So, can you tell us about your role at St. Joseph Hospital?

Kim Spirdione: Absolutely. Yep. So, my role here really is specific to most of the nursing positions, whether it's RNs or LPNs, along with the medical assistants. Even though I am very able and willing to help recruit for any other positions, that is where my main focus is. And the goal of my position really is to interact with candidates, whether it's new grads that are coming in, experienced nurses, candidates that we've sourced through job fairs or any of the avenues online, and really help guide them in a career path that they feel is best suited for themselves and really help them hone in on their skill set and find a great place for them to join the family here.

Host: That's awesome. What are some of the key benefits that St. Joseph Hospital offers to its employees that set it apart from other healthcare facilities?

Kim Spirdione: One of the biggest things that sets us apart from other healthcare organizations is really our focus on our mission and community involvement here. That's a big piece to us, and we can touch on that as well after. As far as specific benefits for employees, we offer an array of different really great benefits for employees and their families.

Our biggest one that connects with their families is really the child care piece. We do offer a 50% child care reimbursement through any of the YMCA's, which is huge for parents who are really trying to fit in everything and get to work and have a safe environment for their kids while they're here.

Along with our healthcare benefits, we do offer a benefit that basically you don't pay your co pay or deductible when you're using specific parts of our healthcare plan, which is great, and that is if you're using a St. Joseph's contracted provider here with us, which is an additional cost saving benefit for families. Our tuition reimbursement is also an outstanding benefit for people to use when they're going back to school. That is huge. We do have loan forgiveness as well being that we are nonprofit. So, there's just a wide variety of benefits here.

Host: I want to work there. That sounds amazing, really. How does St. Joseph Hospital support the professional development and career growth of its staff?

Kim Spirdione: That's a great question. So, a lot of our employees here are always looking for growth. I think it is the nature of healthcare. People who come into this career are always looking for new ways to learn, new things to learn. We do have a school of nursing as well, that is very close just across the parking garage to us here. We have different programs there from LNA to phlebotomy, paramedic as well as nursing. So, there's certainly a way for employees here to grow their skills and get different degrees very close in proximity to their work environment, as well again as offering tuition reimbursement. And also with. Making sure that you're connecting with your managers and even your business partners if you are looking for professional growth in the career that you're in at that moment and kind of asking how do I get to where my goal is and really making sure that you're having those conversations and having them often so that your path is going the direction that you're really hoping for.

Host: It sounds like there are so many great options. Kim, can you share some examples of how St. Joseph Hospital fosters a positive and supportive work environment?

Kim Spirdione: Yeah, that's a great question. That's a big, big piece to this here. We're a small family community hospital here, which really hones in on making sure everybody feels involved, feels supported. A lot of that I see through really having open door policies. Making sure that you can have that clear, transparent communication between your co-workers, your managers, and even members of human resources as well, and just making sure, again, those lines are very open for people to discuss things so that you feel supported.

 Also, the leadership here is very hands on, very aware of their staff and what their needs are, what the patient's needs are, and making sure that that's all intertwined again to feel like everybody's very connected.

Host: Kim, what kind of community involvement and patient care initiatives does St. Joseph Hospital participate in? And how do these impact the work culture?

Kim Spirdione: Yes, great question, especially now this time of year. Again, I think it goes back to the other question that you asked as well about supporting that work culture. It's a family-driven community involvement. This time of the year, I believe it's been going for about 65 years or so now. Basically, it's like a Christmas basket family initiative. So, every unit adopts a family in the local community area, and we are able to provide really what their needs are at this holiday time, whether it's gifts, household items, a basket of food dropped off for their holiday meal. That is a huge initiative house-wide here. In the fall, we also do other things a lot. For example, for the cancer center here, we have our Survivor Olympics that they just did this past October, as well as the 5K that raised 100,000 for our Cancer Center.

Host: What a thoughtful place to work. I mean, the people there must be really special to even come up with these initiatives and ideas. What advice would you give to healthcare professionals who are considering a career at St. Joseph Hospital?

Kim Spirdione: I think my advice would be to be yourself. Make sure that you are really advocating for what your career path is looking like down the road for you and have those very transparent conversations. I think that everybody here is really open to hiring the right candidate and getting you into the family and the right fit for you to succeed going forward and make sure you're asking questions and make sure you have an idea of what the organization is all about. And read up on the mission and get to know people when you're coming in for interviews and ask about shadow opportunities just so you can really get a feel of what the environment is here.

Host: Kim, can you describe the process for new employees when they do join St. Joseph Hospital and how they're integrated into the team?

Kim Spirdione: Yeah, sure. So, you know, upon a new candidate's hiring, they are joining us for our orientation, and you're going to meet a ton of members of interdisciplinary teams and leadership during that first day of orientation. You'll probably forget the names throughout that, but at least you have a touch point for different areas here.

And then, during your orientation process, you're going to meet with members of your direct leadership, education, and mission, all of those things are going to be combined in there. And it's going to, again, bring that supportive feel and make sure you are ready to be successful here during your career.

Host: Kim, thank you so much for sharing your insight and your expertise. We really appreciate your time. It sounds like a wonderful place to work.

Kim Spirdione: Yeah, absolutely. I'm happy to be on.

Host: Again, that's Kim Spirdione. To find out more, please visit stjosephhospital.com. And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and check out our entire podcast library for topics of interest to you. I'm Maggie McKay. Thanks for listening to Wellness First from St. Joseph Hospital.