Companies boost morale post-Katrina - New Orleans City Business

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12 2005 Best Places to Work KENNER REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER KATRINA HIGHLIGHTS • $3-million disaster relief fund for all impacted employees in which Tenet matched $2 for every $1 raised • 10 weeks of disaster relief pay; first two checks consisted of full weekly pay; last three checks equaled 50 percent of normal pay • Relocation assistance to other Tenet hospitals Source: CityBusiness staff research The Kenner Regional Medical Center Engineering Department team was critical to running the hospital during and after Hurricane Katrina. Registered nurse Erica Bellocq and Kenneth Custard, supervisor of endoscopy, treat patient Agnes White. KENNER REGIONAL from page 11 $3,000, based on need. “Tenet committed to New Orleans early. They were one of the first corporations to immediately state their intentions of returning here,” said Jack Khashou, Kenner Regional Medical Center’s director of business development. “They wanted to show the city and its employees they were committed for the long haul and make it work. It was nice to see corporate make such an important decision fast and cater to their employees’ needs.” Kenner Regional first reopened its emergency department Sept. 24. Employees who could not return to work in Kenner were offered relocation assistance to other Tenet hospitals. Khashou estimates the hospital has about 50 percent of its original employees back with 15 to 20 employees living in the hospital rooms because they had extensive damage to their homes. Vivian Reed, a laboratory phlebotomist at Kenner Regional, lost her home near the Industrial Canal and lived in the hospital for a period of time before moving in with a family member. “We had sheets, towels, uniforms, pretty much everything we needed at our disposal,” Reed said. “It was like an extended family, getting to know employees you really weren’t used to talking at length to, and everybody was asking each other if they could help each other out in any kind of way.” Reed said the hospital staff brought portable air-conditioning units to each department and provided food and water throughout the day for employees. Debbie LeBlanc, a registered nurse for eight years at Kenner Regional, said the ability for the hospital to reopen as fast as they did “restored some normalcy to our lives.” LeBlanc said her husband did not receive continued pay through his job after Katrina, so the nonstop payroll helped the LeBlancs pay bills. “I don’t know what we would have done if it weren’t for that. Most bills were deferred, but you still have to pay them,” she said. Debbie Alongia, a registered nurse in the infection control and employee health department, worked at the hospital during Katrina. Alongia said the camaraderie among employees was heightened to a degree she has never seen in her 20 years at Kenner Regional. “We worked very hard and were proud of what we did during the storm,” she said. “We put our best foot forward. There was not any job that was too low for any of us to do and we did whatever was needed to be done to get us through everything.” The acts of employer kindness from Katrina were not surprising to many Kenner Regional employees, who said the hospital has always been an employee-friendly place to work because of its small hospital atmosphere and an administration that is often visible catering to each department’s needs. Standard Kenner Regional employee benefits include Tenet stock at a discounted price; lump-sum accumulation of sick leave; vacation days that never expire; full-time benefits beginning for employees who average 32 hours weekly; a free fitness center; and a student loan repayment program. In 2004, Kenner Regional was ranked No. 2 in patient satisfaction among Tenet hospitals nationwide.•
CAME SO FAR. GOT A LONG WAY TO GO. — GUITAR GABRIEL — This year, our collective spirit has been confronted by a national tragedy. The nation asks how our wondrous city will respond to the challenge. Here at Apogen Technologies, we accept the challenge of helping others and building the future. Still got a long way to go New Orleans. Together, with our company values as our foundation — Employee Focus, Customer Focus, Integrity, Teamwork, and Innovation... we will get there. AIMING HIGHER www.apogen.com Rights to Guitar Gabriel’s lyrics were secured through a donation to the New Orleans Musicians Fund. For more information, go to www.musicmaker.org
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Companies boost morale post-Katrina - New Orleans City Business

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