FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – Florence has been ranked the sixth best small city in the country for nurses who are paying off student debt.
The study done by a group called Student Loan Hero reveals the average income of nurses in Florence and the low cost of living are the main contributing factors.
Now some local hospitals, including Carolinas Hospital, have programs set up to help out those employees in paying their loans back. At Carolinas Hospital, they give nurses loan payments on their paychecks. The amount of money they get back depends on how much their overall debt is.
“We look at each loan, person, Not necessarily differently, but we have a policy in the program that we follow based on the plan, based on the amount of debt that you have. So it’s not necessarily individualized but it is a tiered program according to the amount,” Human Resources Director Kay Douglas explained.
Douglas says employees who have debt can apply for assistance online. Those employees then meet with the Chief Nursing Officer and Nursing Director to talk about the requirements of the program and how much money they will get from the hospital. Douglas says this program helps the hospital recruit and retain nurses.
“It’s a big selling point as we go out to recruitment fairs and job fairs and we talk to schools. Obviously a lot of students are going to school now on their own and funding their own education so it’s a good point for them to want to come to work here as long as we will partner with them and obviously paying off the student debt while they were in school for that,” she said.
Douglas also explained how nurses work on a rotating schedule so that they are not overworked. Nurses also have the option to choose which shifts they work.
