Many ASCs are focused on staff recruiting and retention this year, and part of those efforts include salary increases and additional benefits, according to the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association's 2021 Salary & Benefits Survey released Aug. 20.
Most surgery centers budgeted 3 percent raises for staff in 2021, but that may not be enough to compete with hospitals for top talent. Several health systems across the U.S. have instituted pay raises and signing bonuses for nurses amid the pandemic.
ASCs can offer dependable hours with no night or weekend commitments. Other benefits include:
- Retirement benefits: 92 percent of centers
- Profit-sharing plans: 34 percent of centers
- Paid time off for full-time employees: 97 percent of centers
- Median paid days off: 21
- Tuition reimbursement and continuing education: 47 percent of centers
Seventy-one percent of ASCs projected hiring would increase this year as compared to previous years. Employee turnover rates were 20 percent or higher in 2020 for about one-fifth of the respondents, and 35 percent said turnover rates were higher than in 2019.
ASCA gathered data from 600 member ASCs in June, with 95 percent of the centers having at least partial physician ownership.