Bayfront Health St. Petersburg to increase starting wage to a minimum of $15 an hour in multi-step process

Orlando, FL (January 25, 2021) - Bayfront Health St. Petersburg and parent company, Orlando Health, have announced a raise in the company’s starting wages to at least $15 an hour in a multi-step process. Beginning January 31, 2021, the organization’s minimum wage will increase from $11 to $13. The minimum $15 an hour will go into in effect in 2023. The increase represents an annual investment in its team members of over $4 million by Orlando Health.

“Throughout even the most challenging of times, there continues to be nothing more important than the well-being of our patients and team members,” said David Strong, president & CEO, Orlando Health. “Our commitment to ensuring that Orlando Health is the best place to work begins with a commitment to ensuring our teams are supported financially. We know this wage increase will have a real, positive impact on team members and their families.”

The change from $11 an hour to $13 an hour represents a more than $4,000 annual increase for full time team members. With the January 31 effective date, team members will start seeing the increase in their February 22 paycheck.

“This starting wage increase will directly impact the lives of more than 3,000 team members,” said Karen Frenier, vice president, human resources, Orlando Health. “Ultimately, we believe it will also positively impact the recruitment of new team members, which in turn, will enhance the level of care and support for our patients and each other.”

About Orlando Health

Orlando Health is a private, not-for-profit healthcare organization with $6.5 billion of assets under management that serves the southeastern United States. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, the system was founded more than 100 years ago.

The healthcare system is recognized around the world for its pediatric and adult Level One Trauma program, co-located at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center, where more than 50 victims of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting were treated in June 2016. The system is also home to the only state-accredited Level Two Adult Trauma Center in Pinellas County at Bayfront Health St. Petersburg. Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies houses the nation’s largest neonatal intensive care unit under one roof and is the only facility in the southeast to offer open fetal surgery to repair the most severe forms of spina bifida. Orlando Health also operates the National Training Center for Olympic athletes and the Orlando Health Network, which is recognized as one of the largest and highest performing clinically integrated networks in the region. As a statutory teaching healthcare system, Orlando Health hosts more than 325 residents and fellows including more than 40 who are enrolled at Bayfront Health St. Petersburg’s OB/GYN, Family Medicine, Sports Medicine and Pharmacy programs. Orlando Health clinicians have pioneered life-changing research including therapies for end-stage breast cancer and identifying biomarkers to detect traumatic brain injury.

Orlando Health is a 3,200-bed system that includes 15 wholly-owned hospitals and emergency departments; rehabilitation services, cancer institutes, heart institutes, imaging and laboratory services, wound care centers, physician offices for adults and pediatrics, skilled nursing facilities, an in-patient behavioral health facility, home healthcare services in partnership with LHC Group, and urgent care centers in partnership with CareSpot Urgent Care. Nearly 4,200 physicians, representing more than 80 medical specialties and subspecialties have privileges across the Orlando Health system, which employs nearly 22,000 team members. Areas of clinical excellence are orthopedics, heart and vascular, cancer care, neurosciences, surgery, pediatric specialties, neonatology, women’s health and trauma.

Orlando Health hospitals are: Bayfront Health St. Petersburg, Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, Orlando Health Dr. P. Phillips Hospital, Orlando Health – Health Central Hospital, Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center; Orlando Health South Lake Hospital; Orlando Health South Seminole Hospital, Orlando Health St. Cloud Hospital and Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies. 

In FY19, Orlando Health served nearly 150,000 inpatients and nearly 2.7 million outpatients. During that same time period, Orlando Health provided more than ­­­$760 million in total value to the communities it serves in the form of charity care, community benefit programs and services, community building activities and more. Additional information can be found at http://www.orlandohealth.com.