COMP NEWS – A San Diego healthcare provider is offering up a staggering incentive payment structure – totaling $100,000 for nurses who commit to three years of service with their employer.

Palomar Health is offering its current and future registered nurses incentive payments of up to $100,000 that will be awarded “over a three-year commitment period,” the North County medical provider announced this week.

 

The public health care system cites recent nursing shortages as the main reason why it is pursuing what it says is an “unprecedented program” of compensation. Many local observers, though, are sure to note that Palomar has significant new competition rising in its backyard with Kaiser Permanente scheduled to open its $400 million, 206-bed San Marcos hospital in August.

 

In a written statement, Diane Hansen, Palomar’s CEO, does not mention Kaiser, saying that the payments are designed to “demonstrate our commitment” to nurses.

The incentive payment applies to both existing employees as well as new hires.

Palomar’s announcement indicates that its $100,000-per-nurse offer applies to both existing employees and new hires. On April 3, current employees could start enrolling in the incentive program and have until April 21 to make a decision. New hires became eligible Monday and will have the option available through July 17.

 

Palomar did not indicate how many nurses it expects will participate, though the California Nurses Association said it currently represents about 1,200 Palomar nurses.

 

It is difficult to calculate Palomar’s total financial exposure, given that the language in its announcement says that nurses can receive “up to” $100,000 over three years, but does not list the factors that determine the specific amounts that individual nurses would receive.

 

If 1,000 of Palomar’s roughly 1,200 nurses were to receive a full $100,000 incentive payment, Palomar would be on the hook to pay out $100 million in incentive payments over three years with the schedule of payments undisclosed.

Signing bonuses have become a popular method of attracting hospital staff after the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic caused many to leave the industry.

Signing bonuses have become increasingly common nationwide as health care organizations compete for the services of a workforce that dwindled during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some workers found themselves laid off in 2020 as patient traffic eroded due to stay-at-home orders and others left the profession after working in high-pressure units alongside a highly contagious virus.

Palomar’s six-figure offer, though, appears to be toward the upper end of the spectrum. A Google search shows that most incentive offers for registered nurses have been in the five-figure range, with one Arkansas health system offering signing bonuses of up to $25,000 for new nurses and Monument Health in Rapid City, S.D., offering $40,000. Locally, Sharp HealthCare lists $10,000 registered nurse signing bonuses for new hires and Scripps Health lists $7,000 payments.

To read more about Palomar’s incentive payments, click here.

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