IFMC Receives Compassionate Employer Award

April 7, 2006

The Iowa Foundation for Medical Care (IFMC) has received the 2006 Compassionate Employer Recognition Award for support provided to employee Joelle Miner, who lost her son to cancer last April.

The award, presented by The Compassionate Friends, the nation’s largest self-help bereavement organization, recognizes employers that show exceptional care and compassion when an employee experiences the death of a child, sibling, or grandchild.

IFMC is the only Iowa company to receive this award in 2006 and one of 65 companies nationally to earn this recognition.

The criteria for Compassionate Employer Recognition include:

• Policies that reflect a compassionate attitude toward bereaved parents, siblings, and grandparents.
• Additional time off beyond the familiar three days.
• Flexibility in work assignments and evaluation of job performance.
• Providing support services and/or time off to obtain counseling or seek a support group
• Other acts of compassion.

IFMC was selected after Miner wrote a nomination letter describing support she received. She had worked at IFMC for only six months when she learned her son Trenton’s brain tumor had spread to his spine. For two months, Miner’s manager allowed her to work from home. During his final days, her team members visited the hospital, called, e-mailed and attended his funeral. They donated money to cover travel expenses, and gave the family a gift certificate to plant a tree in his honor.

“I was immediately given permission to take the time I needed. Everyone shared my workload and I was never made to feel that it was an imposition. It was such a blessing because when you go through something like this, the last thing you want to worry about is losing your job,” said Miner. “My team members shared tears, hugs, sympathy and words of comfort and encouragement with me. After only six months on the job, my fellow employees became my friends,” she said.

In her letter to The Compassionate Friends she wrote: “I learned that true compassion is not a poster on a wall or implementing a ‘compassion’ customer service program. It is a philosophy with its roots at the top of an organization that flow down through the rest of the management and staff. It is not a policy; it is an attitude that becomes a tangible feeling when a company possesses it.”

IFMC is dedicated to health care quality improvement, medical information management and care management solutions. Headquartered in West Des Moines, IFMC has more than 750 employees and 30 years experience in forming collaborative relationships to improve health care quality, health education and health information management.

Media Contact:
Linda Ruble - (515) 223-2107