Highland Health Care Center launches ‘Highland Essentials’ program to provide groceries, financial support services during difficult times
Skilled Nursing Facility Creates pioneering initiative to “care for their caregivers,” their families
Highland Health Care Center has launched “Highland Essentials,” an innovative initiative to care for employees and their families experiencing financial challenges.
Through its established employee assistance fund, the skilled nursing facility is offering expanded resources to help people manage rising expenses. Highland Essentials was conceived, in part, to help families navigate uncertainty related to the federal government shutdown late last year, including proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food support funding.
Through Highland Essentials, employees in need can access the following forms of assistance:
• Food Pantry Support: On-site access to essential groceries and household items, also open to employees’ extended families; plus employees are welcome to add to the supplies that might aid their fellow staff members’ families.
• Get Paid Before Payday: Staff can gain early access to earned wages in case of bills and other needs due between pay periods.
• Gas Cards: Provided to employees who need them to get to work, in times of budget pressure
• Employee Assistance Fund: Staff in immediate financial need can get economic help to tide them over during difficult times, via financial grants – which may range from $500 to $2,500 – to help meet expenses for unforeseen disaster or personal hardship.
“Our staff members are remarkable caregivers, and we realize they or their family members can benefit from care, too, especially when they have occasional financial pressures, like many people do,” said Debbie Langham, Highland Health Care’s CEO/Administrator. “Highland Essentials underscores our ongoing commitment to the well-being of our employees. Part of our mission is to treat every teammate like family, so to support that, we are ensuring assistance is available in times of need.
“When uncertainty around the federal SNAP food program surfaced during the shutdown, our staff had some anxiety about family members’ access to food and basic essentials,” Langham added. “The launch of Highland Essentials is one of the innovative ways we reinforce Highland Health Care as not only an employer of choice but also a place where people feel secure and supported.”
