By Chris Miller, Assistant Editor, Facility Market

Nationally recognized hospitals that have recently decided to raise the minimum wage to $15 include Cleveland Clinic, John Hopkins Health System, Jefferson Health, Duke University Health System, and Advocate Aurora Health. Utah-based health system Intermountain Healthcare is joining these hospitals in increasing its minimum wage to $15 as of Aug. 25, according to The Spectrum.

Intermountain Healthcare provides hospital and other medical services in Utah, Idaho, and Nevada and also offers integrated managed care under the insurance brand SelectHealth. The change will take effect Sept. 19 and affects around 2,200 employees who receive less than $15 an hour, with about 15,000 employees overall set to see a pay increase. Most of the raises would be 3-7 percent.

Intermountain Healthcare decided to make its decision after determining that market conditions warrant an off-cycle adjustment made outside of its usual annual pay assessments. In the past, the health system moved to a $13 an hour minimum wage in 2019. It operates 25 hospitals and 225 clinics with 42,000 employees. It is the largest healthcare organization in the intermountain West.

Springfield, Missouri-based CoxHealth is raising its minimum wage to $15.25, according to Becker’s Hospital Review. The pay change affects 6,500 employees, including 5,000 entry-level workers, and represents a $25.5 million investment. Workers making more than $15.25 per hour will also receive raises.

The pay increase becomes official in October. Another health system, Baptist Health, is investing $51 million in an effort to raise wages to $15 per hour in October. These health systems cited the need to remain competitive while attracting and retaining workers as their reasoning for the investments.