News and briefs: Hospitals considered great employer for older workers

AARP recently named its top 50 “Best Employers for Workers over 50,” and on the nationwide list were 18 hospitals. Employers were judged based on recruiting practices, opportunities for advancement, workplace accommodations, flexible schedules, employee benefits and benefits for retirees.

In an article on HealthLeaders Media, Bonnie Shelor, senior vice president of human resources at Richmond, VA–based Bon Secours Richmond Health System, says that hospitals put a premium on older employees.

"In our organization, we greatly value the kind of knowledge, experience, intellectual capital and wisdom that the older worker brings to us. You just can't replicate it. We see the older worker as a great mentor/guide/coach for the younger worker. A pairing of those two is the best of all worlds.

"Other industries, if they have not, need to wake up and realize that they have to respond with flexibility to the needs of the older workers," Shelor continues. "Not only are they able to keep workers in the workforce and reduce their vacancy rate, also, they get the advantage of the wisdom and history that older workers have."