When Priscila Feijo Mattingly took over the role of chief people officer at home-health care provider Compassus in 2023, she faced the challenge of
By tuning into their needs, she has
Finding out what benefits matter most
Thanks to a number of joint ventures and partnerships, including hospital systems and other large-scale healthcare providers, Compassus's employee population has recently grown from just under 5,000 to more than 8,000, with a further increase expected by year's end. They operate nationwide, providing essential services including in-home health, hospice and palliative care.
Thus, the mission to
"We've created a framework that [focuses on] the social determinants of work, meaning what are the main obstacles we can take out of the path of our current employees, but also the people who are in the communities in which we serve that would allow them to have better healthcare careers," she says.
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The company conducted a benefits survey at the beginning of 2024, "aimed at figuring out what was of greatest value" to its mix of hourly, salary and pay-per-visit employees, says Mattingly. From that, she was able to zoom in on some offerings employees wanted most, such as health and wellness solutions, higher mileage reimbursement and caregiving support.
"Ours is a workforce of caregivers by profession, which means that in their personal lives, they are also caregivers," Mattingly explains. "It was really important for us to marry those things, so we created a new caregiver leave benefit — a week of paid time off that people qualify for the same way in which they would qualify for FMLA leave, which would be unpaid."
Mattingly also received feedback about the need for there to be more affordable plans for families, so spouses, children and other dependents can receive quality care without a high financial burden.
"We're very affordable — free or almost free to employees — but the family tiers have become more and more expensive, so we invested some money, shifting that employee and employer contribution around to make family plans more affordable," she says. "We also realized that to meet the needs of the growing population, we had [to go from] two plans to three or four plans, depending on the geographic area, and that was our best way to meet the different needs."
The increase in plans and their features allows employees to find an option that works best for them. The company also added a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) along with their HSA and FSA options, which Mattingly notes has been very well received.
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Taking aim at women's wellness
Because 86% of Compassus's workforce is female, women's wellness has also become a major focus.
"We now have a program that [supports women] from fertility to menopause that seems to have gone really well," Mattingly says. "We also push the envelope for parental leave in our industry: Initially we had FMLA only, then we went to two weeks paid, and now we have four weeks 100% paid."
In the area of mental health and wellness, Mattingly made sure the available EAP includes offerings connected to psychological health and safety for employees and dependents, which she says has become increasingly valued following the lasting mental and emotional effects of COVID.
The company has also incorporated technology tools that take some of the administrative tasks off of employees' plates, leaving them more time for hands-on patient care and a better work-life balance.
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By putting together benefit offerings that help Compassus's employees achieve better care for themselves and their families, Mattingly knows the impact will extend to the company as well as the people it serves in their hour of need.
"We have a commitment to provide care and dignity in some of people's most stressful times," she says. "To ask our caregivers to provide that level of care and emotional support without doing the same for them is a paradox; you can't expect people to be the pillar of support in times of crisis if you are not supporting the pillar itself. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your clients, and everything else falls into place."
