Prioritizing Self-Care and Well-Being at Northwell Health

Every year, Northwell team members can rely on our employee wellness programs and trust in the implementation of new initiatives designed to create a happy, safe, and healthy work environment. Our well-being isn’t meant to be checked at the door when we finish our workday; several of the resources and activities available are devised with employees and their families in mind such as healthy recipes developed by our dietitians for home cooked meals. And in some cases, as with our annual walk challenges, the encouragement to get healthy has a ripple effect, inspiring family and friends to join in hikes for the sake of motivating our team members along.

This year’s walk challenge, Walk to the Caribbean, saw thousands of team members trek across state parks, local gardens, and sandy beaches, tracking their steps for a chance to win an all-expense paid trip to the Caribbean. Three lucky teams claimed the winning prize: a team from North Shore University Hospital, led by team captain Lydia Brown, a team from Northwell Health Physician Partners Long Island Jewish Medical Center, led by team captain Anna Costakis, and a team from Lenox Hill Hospital, led by team captain Jacqueline Pinksbennett.

Participation in the walk challenges always runs high and it is just one example of many programs aimed at promoting wellness both in and out of work by incentivizing team members to get active by rewarding them with myRecognition points which can be used to claim amazing products through our internal portal. The health and wellness of our team members is a top priority to leadership in the organization and because of that our initiatives are actively encouraged, such as Northwell’s Well-Being Credit Program which offers employees who are who enrolled in a Northwell offered medical plan the opportunity to earn a maximum of $2,080 in paycheck credits in exchange for four healthy actions. It is our belief that a healthy workforce is a happy workforce, and therefore a successful one. 

Read on to learn about a few more of the programs and resources that have made Northwell Health #2 Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America by Healthiest Employers®.

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From EMT to nurse, career growth at Northwell can take you in many directions

Career growth means different things to different people. At Northwell Health, we support all our team members’ career growths and aspirations, whether they are growing in their current role, taking their career on a different path, or expanding their skills with continued education. Meet Colleen McKenna who experienced her own career growth at Northwell that began as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and continued in nursing.

Her Northwell career began in 2015 as an EMT, where Colleen developed skills to stabilize and transport patients who are in need of emergency medical care. Within a year, she completed a paramedic program at Northwell Health’s Center for Learning and Innovation and was promoted into a new role as a paramedic.

As both an EMT and paramedic, Colleen was exposed to direct patient care that inspired her to pursue a nursing career. From that time, she knew that she wanted to provide those skills to her community. “I have always been the type of person that wants to help others and make a difference,” says Colleen.

As Colleen’s determination and passion for patient care grew, she received much support from her leaders to pursue her interest in nursing. She enrolled in prerequisites for a nursing program and was able to continue to work as a paramedic while going to school. With the support of Northwell’s tuition reimbursement program, Colleen obtained her Associate of Applied Science in Nursing. As her education journey continues, Colleen was accepted into the Farmingdale State College nursing program. “The support from leadership has been amazing. My direct supervisor checks in with me frequently to ensure I am on the right path to achieve my career goals.”

This upcoming December, Colleen will be completing her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree and is looking forward to becoming a registered nurse at Northwell. “Northwell Health is a great company to work for because the opportunity for growth is endless and the health system provides you with all of the necessary tools to help you achieve your goals.”

Discover a career well cared for at Northwell Health. Apply today!

How Holly grew her career and her family with the help of Northwell Health

At Northwell Health, Holly Wagner has found both professional and personal support. As her career grew throughout her nine years here, so has her family – thanks, in part, to Northwell’s fertility benefits.

Holly’s professional growth began when she first joined Northwell in 2012. That’s when the private practice she worked at as a medical assistant became one of the Northwell Health Physician Partners. She became a senior medical assistant in 2015 and through her hard work and dedication, she was able to grow into a new role as a coordinator of administrative operations for the Medicine Service Line in 2018. Two years later, she was promoted again into her current role of associate product services and management analyst with the Soarian Support team.

In her current role, Holly supports the system’s needs with Soarian, a clinical software that helps with patient scheduling. The team is not only responsible for helping to set up new providers or locations as they join the organization but they also create all schedule templates and support patient scheduling needs.

“The support to grow my career path within Northwell has been amazing,” says Holly. “When I worked at the practice level, I was involved in some quality projects which helped me gain contacts and when the coordinator position opened, my manager recommended me. The director of the medicine service line was talking to me about the position within hours of me showing interest.”

This investment in Holly’s development has continued to follow her throughout her career as she moved into a position she had never imagined herself doing – but her leadership did. “Throughout my roles, my leadership has always pushed me to advance my career, even if it meant looking for growth in a new position outside my department. I can’t thank all of the people Northwell has brought into my life enough for this.”

Beyond her professional growth, Holly also experienced personal growth as a result of the many benefits that Northwell offers, taking advantage of what she feels are some of the best health benefits out there. “For me personally, as I am in a same sex marriage and the health insurance benefits have helped me grow my family,” says Holly. “My son is going to be two this May and it was with the help of Northwell Health Fertility at Smithtown that we were able to have him via IUI (intrauterine insemination).”

“Finding a career that supports you professionally and personally is huge. Most of these doctors appointments can be done before work hours but you are going through a lot during these times,” says Holly. “I would not have been able to go through my first pregnancy if it wasn’t for the team of people I worked with. I am currently starting to go back to try for baby number two and couldn’t be more thrilled!”

Discover a career well cared for at Northwell Health. Apply today!

A rewarding career journey at Northwell Health

Meet Marina Gizzi, manager of operations in the Emergency Department at Long Island Jewish Medical Center (LIJMC). Starting at LIJMC as an A/R (accounts receivable) clerk, Marina didn’t just find a career opportunity here at Northwell, but a new confident outlook on her professional life.

“I always had a hard time in school, I struggled academically for many years and didn’t graduate college when all of my friends did. This affected my outlook on what the future would hold for me,” says Marina. “It wasn’t until I started working at Northwell that I was given the confidence I needed to continue pushing myself and my career goals.”

And push herself, she did. Since starting at LIJMC in 2013, Marina has gone on to earn her Bachelor of Science  and Master in Business Administration, both with the help of Northwell’s tuition reimbursement program. It was something she only imagined for herself after gaining confidence in her own potential. “I have been so blessed, from day one, to be part of Northwell because I can genuinely say they have gotten me to where I am today – two degrees and now four job opportunities later. With Northwell’s wonderful tuition reimbursement program and with the support of my ED family, I learned that it’s never too late to achieve your goals.”

Marina continued to develop her skills not only through continued education but in each of her roles on her journey. Her career has grown from A/R clerk to senior secretary to admin support associate before finally becoming manager, all within the ED.

Today, Marina manages concierge, the discharge lounge, ED unit receptionists, and case management assistants among others. Additionally, Marina works with position control, our recruiters and helps manage appreciation celebrations for our team members. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Marina also helped organize the influx of generous donations our community members sent to the hospital, a memory she holds as one of the most rewarding parts of her job so far.

It’s a role that wouldn’t have been possible without the support of her leadership and her family – both her Northwell family and her immediate family. “My ED leadership team and mentors at LIJMC are always encouraging us to better ourselves. The message that they have instilled in me is: never settle for anything less than what you deserve,” says Marina. “The support and opportunities that this organization provides are unlike any other. I know I will continue to learn and push myself because my future at Northwell will continue to be bright.”

Find a career well cared for at Northwell Health. Apply today!

Child care benefit programs support Northwell Health team members

Northwell Health is committed to our 74,000+ team members, creating careers well cared for that help them flourish professionally and also personally. Part of that commitment is providing a diverse selection of benefit programs that help our team members have a rewarding balance of workplace development goals and personal ones at home.

Child care programs are one of the benefits that Northwell offers to help support our team members as their families grow alongside their careers. “The COVID-19 pandemic really changed the way we look at child care,” says Diana Witkowski-Grubard, director of Benefits in Human Resources. “When schools began to close, we knew we had to change our vision. If schools are closed and our team members don’t have anyone to care for their children, then we’re not able to do what we do best – serving our communities.”

The Benefits team worked to develop new partnerships and programs that would support our team members during this unprecedented time. “Our focus shifted as we saw how vital child care services are and we knew we needed to help, whether through offering reimbursement or partnering with nationally recognized learning groups that can help support our team members.”

And these partnerships and programs are continuing to evolve through team member feedback from surveys that help us to continue to see what benefits might be necessary and get a better understanding of what benefits they want and need.

Learn about some of our child care benefit programs:

Back-Up Care Program: Through our partnership with Bright Horizons, eligible team members have access to 10 center-based or in-home, back-up care for child and elders in instances where a team member’s traditional care routine falls through, such as school closings, caregiver vacation or illness, unexpected shift cover, and business travel.

Subsidized Child Care: With a new partnership with the Learning Care Group, Northwell is now able to offer eligible team members 10 days per month of subsidized, in-person child care for the 2020-2021 school year. This child care is available within the areas our team members live and work for children up to 12 years old. In addition, Northwell has partnered with various YMCA locations throughout long island to offer similar subsidized child care services.

Crisis Care Reimbursement: The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic created a need for a new program within Northwell. Northwell has partnered with PayFlex to administer our COVID-19 crisis care reimbursement program to team members.  Eligible team members receive daily reimbursement per child for up to 10 days during per eligible month for expenses incurred for childcare expenses.

Discounts: Northwell offers various discounts to summer camps throughout the New York region. We offer discounts to more than 10 summer programs/camps to help team members.

Find a career well cared for at Northwell Health. Apply today!

Celebrating our team members and their bundle of joy with new Baby Gift Program

Northwell Health’s new Baby Gift Program offers team members who have welcomed a new family member by birth or adoption a one-time delivery of gift items for both baby and parents.
Their delivery is celebrated with a delivery of our own – a care package that includes hand-picked items for baby and parents, including a Northwell-branded onesie, bib and tumbler. To further support our team members, a packet of information is included with related Northwell benefits and other well-being resources offered to our new parents.
On top of being an adorable gift, the Baby Gift Program also serves to help connect team members on leave of absence or paid family leave with their team members throughout their leave. And with Northwell feeling like one big family, it’s a fun way to celebrate our newest little team members.
“It felt great receiving a care package for my newborn and myself,” says Elena Popovski, marketing specialist on the Candidate Engagement & Experience team in Talent Acquisition. “Throughout my whole pregnancy, I felt support from my fellow coworkers and a special bond was created during that time. To receive this after delivery made it feel like he was being welcomed into my Northwell family too.”
This feeling of connection is more important than ever throughout the COVID pandemic when many new parents are celebrating their newest arrival in isolated and socially distant ways. By sending our team members a token of celebration, Northwell is able to promote our value of being Truly Together.
The Baby Gift Program is just one of the unique benefits that Northwell offers our new parent team members, on top of other offerings such as Baby Café, a free drop-in breastfeeding support group that has gone virtual to continue to offer support through the pandemic.
Join an organization committed to celebrating you throughout all your personal and professional milestones. Apply today!

*Please note that benefits for our union team members may differ and team members should reference their CBA for benefit information.

Carol Battaglia, AVP of Benefit Operations continues to grow her career with Northwell’s tuition reimbursement program

No matter what stage of your career, there’s always room for continued growth and development. Just ask Carol Battaglia, AVP of Benefit Operations, who is currently benefiting from Northwell Health’s tuition reimbursement program to earn her master’s degree.

Since starting here 18 years ago as the team lead of Benefits, she’s grown her Human Resources career with a passion for helping others. Throughout the years, she has overseen Benefits, the HR Service Center, HR Processing and the myRecognition program, which all help to engage and reward our team members.

Today, Carol is responsible for the oversight and management of the benefits, retirement, leave of absence, tuition and physician/executive total rewards teams, where she strategizes new ideas to enhance processes and techniques to improve the overall experience. In addition to her daily operations, she is also responsible for the employee discount program, system-wide-blood drives and child care offerings.

Continued growth at every step of her career

Benefiting from the programs she helps develop, Carol is currently enrolled in a Human Resources master’s program at St. Joseph’s College. “Obtaining a master’s degree has been top of mind and something I always wanted to accomplish,” says Carol. “Pursing this degree will provide a sense of personal accomplishment.”

Beyond tuition reimbursement, Carol has also been able to participate in various programs unique to Northwell, such as being a culture leader and participating in the High Potential Program that develops future healthcare leaders. She plays an active role in our Business Employee Resource Groups (BERGs) as co-chair of the GreenBERG and recently became chairman of the Caregiver Support Fund, which provides resources to team members in need including programs and services related to emotional, psychological and financial well-being. She was also published in Closing the Engagement Gap-How Great Companies Unlock Employee Potential for Superior Results, a book about how organizations can inspire, inform and reward employees in order to get superior results.

For Carol, earning her master’s degree is just one more way to better serve our team members. “With this degree, I hope to grow my career and broaden my knowledge within HR. I’m always looking to attend workshops and conferences to stay on top of best practices and look for new ways to enhance the team member experience. Knowledge is power.”

Her passion for continuous learning is something she hopes will inspire others. “There is so much opportunity within Northwell to advance your career.  My advice would be to learn what you love, enhance your skillset and connect yourself with leaders across the organization. Get involved in all that Northwell has to offer even it if may be out of your comfort zone. Learn more about the organization and understand how you can make a difference.”

Get moving with a career that grows with you at Northwell Health. Apply today!