Cooper Hospital Increases Minimum Wage To $15 An Hour

Cooper University Health Care system will soon raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour, making it the first health system in New Jersey to pay that amoun to full-time, part-time and per diem employees.

The increase will impact about 10 percent of Cooper’s 7,500 employees when it goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2019, the health care provider announced on Tuesday. Cooper Board of Trustees Chairman George E. Norcross, III, said the increase in minimum wage is important to ensure that employees are making enough to “raise a family.”

Cooper anticipates the new policy will improve its ability to hire talented employees and reduce turnover in these positions. All other employee benefits and compensation will remain in place, according to the health care provider.

“We have an absolute obligation, as the largest employer in both the City of Camden and Camden County, to do the right thing and lead the way on providing a quality wage for our workers,” Norcross said. “In addition to being the right thing to do, we believe investing in our employees is a smart business decision that will pay dividends in the long run by helping us attract and retain talented people who will ultimately improve the health care experience for our patients.”

About one-third of those employees live in Camden, and 450 live in Camden County. Patient service representatives, food and nutrition staff, and critical care technicians are among the workers who benefit from the hourly wage increase, which equates to $31,200 annually.

“It is important that as the city continues to rise and the private sector continues to invest here, that Camden residents benefit and that the new jobs being created are paying wages high enough to raise a family,” Norcross said.

Norcross also announced that he was sending a personal letter to the chairmen and CEOs of health care systems in New Jersey and Southeastern Pennsylvania, calling on them to raise wages for their workers. In his letter, which was sent out today, Norcross noted that hospitals have “an affirmative responsibility to support the communities they serve, and that raising the wages of its lowest paid employees will directly benefit people who live in and around their facilities.”

New Jersey’s minimum wage is currently $8.60 an hour, but will go up to $8.85 on Jan. 1, according to nj.com. In 2013, voters approved a measure to increase the minimum wage to $8.25 from $7.25, and tied all increases thereafter to adjust for inflation.

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