Three Rivers Health gets high marks in employee engagement survey

Three Rivers Health employees seem to be enjoy their work — and that satisfaction is showing not only the lack of turnover but also in a recent engagement survey administered to the 13 affiliates of Billings Clinic.

Tamara Sawyer, who handles human resources, compliance and risk at THR, told the board Wednesday night that the health care facility has gone three months without losing an employee and has just three open positions (radiology manager and two radiologic tech positions).

Since January, TRH’s employee count has ranged between 54 and 57, with six employee “separations” during those nine months. Five of the six left in the second quarter, including three in April.

In her presentation to the board, Sawyer shared data from a recent engagement survey that was administered to the employees of 4,605 healthcare facilities, including 22 in Wyoming and Montana that are operated by 13 affiliates of Billings Clinic.

From those 13 Billings Clinic affiliates came 1,418 responses, including 37 from TRH.

Three Rivers Health earned an engagement score of 4.15 on a 5.0 scale, which ranked in the 88th percentile of all Billings Clinic affiliates and in the 74th percentile among facilities surveyed nationwide.

Seventy-three percent of TRH employees were classified either “highly engaged” or “engaged.”

Sawyer added in her report that TRH “performs significantly higher for confidence in senior management’s leadership than any other affiliate location” and that “97% of its employees believe their work is meaningful.”

TRH received a 4.51 on the Leader Index, which measures a leader’s relationship with their direct reports in the areas of respect, communication, feedback and teamwork.  The 4.51 score exceeded the scores of the other Billings Clinic affiliates as well as the nation, both of which came in at 4.24.

The survey also evaluated resilience, a measurement of employees ability to recover from or adjust easily even in challenging work circumstances.   This early warning system for burnout has two components: Activation (finding means in the work) and Decompression (the ability to disconnect).

TRH came away with a 4.62 for Activation and a 4.08 for Decompression; both topped the averages seen at the other affiliates and nationwide.  In the latter, “a little more red” shows up on the graphic, Sawyer said, adding that it’s something TRH will try to address.

Among all 13 Billings Clinic affiliates that were surveyed, TRH’s engagement score of 4.15 ranked second; the top score was a 4.20.  Across the 13 affiliates, the average score was a 3.96.

“We had it rough for a while here,” Sawyer said, “but we were able to come out of it and now we’re doing well.”

Finances 

Jeff Petty, chairman of the board, reported “a lot of positive trends” in the financial report for September, mentioning a slight gain of $1,869 from operations and the health of the board designated account to about $1.24 million

Compared to September 2024, TRH reported more encounters (1,489, compared to 1,221 last year); clinic visits (628, up from 550), ER visits (130, up from 126) and inpatient days (31, up from 20).

Gross AR days were 69.5 in September, compared to 86.8 in September 2024.

During that one-period, TRH’s cash on hand has grown from 74.26 to 82.8.

Other news

In other hospital business:

• CEO Joel Jackson reported that $18,511 had been donated in the first quarter of the fiscal year to the Three Rivers Health Foundation, with another donation of approximately $8,000 expected by month’s end.  Wanting to ensure the operation’s long-term viability, TRH formed the foundation earlier this year and has been recruiting board members and soliciting support from the community. The next meeting of the foundation board will follow the November meeting of the TRH board.

Jackson also reported that TRH’s leadership team had begun developing a facility master plan.  A work session is planned for November.