The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences plans to raise its minimum wage to $14 at campuses and clinics across the state, according to fiscal 2020 budget documents.
In a vote Thursday endorsing operating budgets for system schools, the University of Arkansas System board of trustees signed off on an approximately $1.6 billion UAMS expense budget that includes a $33 million uptick in compensation and benefits costs.
Amanda George, the UAMS vice chancellor for finance and chief financial officer, said part of that, between a 3% and 4% increase from the previous year, will go toward raising wages for the lowest-paid employees in the system.
"[For] some of them [the increase] will be a lot, and some of them it won't. It's just moving them all to that baseline of $14," George said in an interview.
"We're really excited to be able to do this."
Affected employees at the health sciences center and medical school include some people who work in nutrition services, shipping and receiving workers and access coordinators who work at the front desks in clinics.
After final approvals from the state, an estimated 1,587 employees' wages will be bumped up, a change that was prompted by the need to better recruit and retain staff members.
"We had some competition issues, and then just market issues, in retaining those employees at that lower level," George said.
An update to the minimum wage has been in the works since December and will be implemented "as soon as possible," George said.
With the move, UAMS matches at least one other area hospital -- Arkansas Children's Hospital -- which announced in October that it would set its wage floor at $14, reports said.
UAMS is the state's largest public employer, with more than 10,000 workers across facilities in 73 counties.
Across-the-board or merit raises aren't in the cards for UAMS employees during the fiscal year that begins July 1, according to a budget summary.
The last such increase was a cost-of-living adjustment in fiscal 2016.
UAMS Chancellor Dr. Cam Patterson wants to get to the point where the institution can offer merit increases, George said, but "we're still in the process of figuring out how we can make that work within our budget."
Finances at UAMS have been heavily scrutinized after anticipated losses in fiscal 2018, which ended with a $15 million deficit; layoffs that same year; and an internal audit that showed misuse of restricted funds at the Myeloma Center.
The summary provided with this year's proposed operating budget mentioned ongoing cost-cutting measures throughout the health system.
George said a "resource optimization" committee has been reviewing strategic ways to trim expenses, which include workforce management (such as minimizing overtime or use of temp staff), reviews of leases and travel reimbursement policies, more effective use of inventory and minimizing theft.
"We're looking at where we think there's opportunity, rather than saying across the board we need to a do a[n] 'X' percent cut," she said.
In the upcoming year's budget, expenses overall were expected to grow by about $40.4 million or 2.6%, which documents attributed to "increases in compensation costs related to commitments for clinical positions, new programs and critical personnel needs."
George also said wages have fallen behind the market for some roles, so there was a general need to be more competitive in that area.
Overall, operating revenue was projected to increase by 2.2%, from about $1.51 billion to $1.55 billion.
Officials have discussed some opportunities to encourage more growth, George said, including pursuing outside partnerships or shrinking the amount of time people stay in the hospital.
"If we can get our length of stay down and move patients through faster, then we can get more in," she said.
A few tuition increases also were accounted for in the UAMS budget presented to trustees, such as within the College of Health Professions, a graduate program within that school and in the graduate school.
Those increases, along with several others at most schools in the system, were approved by trustees at meetings at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock this week.
During those convenings, trustees praised UAMS officials' achievements in righting the health institution's books.
That includes balanced budgets for this and the upcoming fiscal year, as well as a performance for the first nine months of fiscal 2019 that Patterson called "exceptionally strong."
A Section on 05/24/2019