Wellness Program •Employee Health Services •On-Site Fitness Centers •Lectures, Training & Workshops •Massage Therapy

Vacation, Leave & Time Off •Paid Time Off (personal, sick, holidays) with annual cash-out option •Extended Illness Bank •Family & Medical Leaves •Personal Leaves •Bereavement Leave •Paid Military Leave •Sunshine Fund (no interest loan & donations to employees in need) •Pension Plan with Employer Matching Contributions •Adoption Benefit (up to $4,000) •Credit Union (free checking, low cost loans)

Traditional benefit packages are not always sufficiently alluring to nurses. It is possible that employee benefits could be used more effectively to retain nurses and reduce costly staff turnovers One example is payroll reduction program commonly known as 125 Reimbursement Plan. Using this plan employee can allocate a pre tax dollar amount per year which is anticipated as potential expense to cover health and welfare expense. The employer avoids having to match FICA tax and workman compensation expense by reducing amount of income upon which these figures are calculated. Not only does employee net take home pay increases but employers matching FICA taxes and related pay roll expenses are reduced (consult your tax advisor for more details on this program).

Employee’s Voice •Annual Employee Survey •Roundtables with CEO, VPs •System and Divisional Townhall Meetings •Staff Meetings & Committees •Reward & Recognition Task Force

•Roving Cart (suggestion box) •Nurse Week Activities •VP Rounds on Nursing Units (all shifts) during Weeks On-Call and for Special •Employee of Month and Year Awards •Employee Service Awards •5&10 year plaques •15 year dinner •20+ year banquet •Special Performance Awards - Recognition at Annual Employee Service Awards Dinner •Celebrate, Motivate and Decorate Task Force

Collaborative efforts between health care organizations, societies, hospitals , private sector. Some examples: •In San Diego, six hospital systems have committed $1.3 million to support a program called, "Nurses Now", which will add faculty and additional student slots to San Diego University. •The American Hospital Association News reports that in Laredo, Texas, a hospital CEO worked with Texas A&M University to develop a four-year bachelor's program and is providing $425,000 in scholarships to local students over next five years. •In Morris County, New Jersey, Board of Freeholders offered scholarships to students who agreed to work in a long term care facility. •The Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council raised $600,000 to expand student enrollment at local schools.

Magnet Hospitals: This elite class of hospitals generally do not have problem with high nurse turn over and recruitment. These classes of hospital (only 1-2 % of all US Hospitals) attain and keep this designation only if they meet stringent standards and ongoing 4 yearly evaluations. "The label 'Magnet hospitals' originally was given to a group of U.S. hospitals that were able to successfully recruit and retain professional nurses during a national nursing shortage in early 1980s. Studies of Magnet hospitals highlight leadership characteristics and professional practice attributes of nurses within these organizations... Hospitals selected met following criteria: 1) nurses within hospitals considered them good places to practice nursing, 2) hospitals had low turnover and vacancy rates, and 3) hospitals were located in areas where there was significant regional competition for nursing services." (JONA, January 1999). Magnet designated health care organizations consistently outperform their peers in recruiting and retaining nurses, resulting in increased stability in patient care systems across organization. Foreign nurses/Importing nurses.

Philippines is largest source of foreign nurses. Nurses from many other countries including Europe have come recently and in last many years to work in US. WWW.CGFNS.ORG is a US based agency that has authority currently to screen foreign nurses for eligibility for state licensing boards and work visas. Acquiring services of foreign nurses is not new in US. Recently number of non-US origin nurses has increased significantly. A number of hospitals are using programs to hire foreign nurses. This is not an easy task as process is tedious and takes months and may be years. CGFNS (Commission on graduates of foreign nursing schools) is one source of information for this process. Hospitals generally use recruiters specializing in this area and immigration lawyers to hire foreign nurses. Foreign nurses have to show that their training is adequate, they are proficient in English language and are eligible for visa otherwise

To summarize it seems that major influences on recruitment and retention are salary and raises, benefits, shift rotations and scheduling flexibility , staff communications , tuition reimbursements, type of nursing care delivery system, nursing leadership, reputation of hospital and responsive management.

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Isolated soy protein (ISP) is also referred to as soy protein isolate on a label. ISP is prepared by removing most of non-protein components from soybeans. By definition, it is at least 90% protein and is essentially carbohydrate-free and fat-free. It is often added to pasta, fruit beverages and energy bars for extra nutrition.

Soy foods made from whole bean are an excellent source of Omega-3 fatty acids. The American Heart Association recommends that Omega-3 fats are beneficial for heart health. These fats are believed to help in many other conditions related to inflammation and disease.

Supplements are another source of isoflavones in diet. Soy isoflavone supplements are available at drug stores, natural food stores, and other retailers in various dosage forms, including tablets, powders, capsules, granules and liquids. Although some experts believe that taking soy isoflavones is supplement form could do harm by providing too much of a good thing, other experts point out that many supplements, if taken in recommended dosages, don’t provide more isoflavones than eating whole soy foods. For those who have been unable to figure out how to incorporate soy foods into their diet, this may be solution to getting more soy in their diet.

So, next time you are shopping, and start looking at all soy-related terms, use this list to help you sort it out. Experiment: For those of us who were not raised with soy foods, it’s just a matter of experimenting with different products that fit into our lifestyle, then developing a taste for a new food that can offer many healthful benefits.