On May 8, more than 1,000 CHG Healthcare employees fanned out across the country to volunteer at 60 nonprofit organizations.
That was the annual Day of Purpose for the healthcare staffing and recruiting firm, a top performer in the Modern Healthcare Best Places to Work in Healthcare Community category for 2024.
“On that one day, we did 2,800 hours of community service,” said Leslie Snavely, the company’s president, who spent part of the day at a hospice facility for unhoused people and at Encircle, an organization that provides mental health services and other resources for LGBTQ+ youth.
Midvale, Utah-based CHG employs about 4,000 staff members. Most work in one of the company’s six offices, but more than a quarter work remotely. To encourage community service, each employee is allowed 16 hours paid time off per year to volunteer for any charitable organizations they are passionate about. In 2023, employees racked up 22,000 hours of volunteer time, Snavely said.
The company’s Making a Difference Foundation lets employees increase their impact on their favorite nonprofits. “If someone is a regular volunteer as a Big Brother, for example, they can request a local grant from our foundation for a couple thousand dollars to support the organization,” Snavely said.
Read more about the 2024 Best Places to Work in Healthcare
The foundation also supports service beyond the local communities in which CHG Healthcare workers live, sending employees, along with clinicians and interpreters, on medical missions around the world.
In Montevideo, Minnesota, CCM Health, which operates a critical-access hospital and outreach clinics, is feeding its neighbors by planting and maintaining a pick-your-own community garden. The garden, started by a nurse practitioner in 2019, is located near a mobile home park, a cluster of duplexes mostly inhabited by seniors, and the hospital’s day care center.