Brian Frank works in the Accounting office at Yavapai Regional Medical Center (YRMC). His job is to collect data to help the nonprofit hospital make sound decisions regarding business expenditures.
This is a new career path for Frank. His dream of a career change came relatively late in life. He was a heavy equipment operator in a small, remote Arizona town for 27 years. While in his 40’s and still working full-time, he started taking online classes. After six years, he earned his MBA.
Kelli Catterlin was recently promoted to Patient Access Training Specialist at YRMC. She is responsible for developing educational materials and training the Admitting Department staff on processes, procedures and patient registration systems.
Catterlin’s undergraduate degree is in International Business and Japanese. But, as Catterlin says, life ‘took a turn’. Her husband, Michael was an Infantry Marine for 5 years. They traveled extensively. Upon returning home, Catterlin reevaluated her career path and decided to go back to school for a Masters Degree in Healthcare Administration.
Frank is 52 years old and looking forward to retirement. Catterlin is 28 and hopes to pursue a career as a hospital administrator. While in very different stages of their lives, Frank and Catterlin are both being helped by Fiducius, a YRMC benefits provider who helps employees take control of their student loan debt.
“I was paying back my student loans at $630 a month,” says Frank. “This is what I was ready to do for the next 20 years. I’ve always had a ‘pay your debt’ attitude. I figured that I made too much money to qualify for any assistance. That was mistake number one.”
The Human Resources Department at YRMC introduced Frank to Fiducius, who uses their Student Loan Financial Planning approach to educate employees about their student loan options. Frank worked with a Fiducius advisor to research and implement the best loan forgiveness solution for his particular circumstances.
“One of our goals in the HR Department at YRMC is to give our employees the tools they need to live the best life they can, both at work and at home,” says Brian DeVries, PHR, HR Manager, Benefits, Employee Health and Wellness at YRMC. “Much like Virgin Pulse MyHealth, which is the wellness platform we recently rolled out for their physical health, Fiducius can help our employees improve their financial well being.”
“My monthly payment was adjusted according to what I earn,” says Frank. “This cut my payment in half.”
In addition, if Frank continues to work at a nonprofit organization, the government will forgive 100% of the outstanding loan balance, including interest, after 10 years.
Catterlin is now on a similar program.
“I was absolutely blown away to the point of tears,” says Catterlin. “People my age are told that you have to go to school to live the American dream. But for so many of us, there’s astronomical debt and when we enter the job market, we’re not even using what we studied. It can be disheartening.”
Catterlin’s $600 monthly student loan payment has been drastically reduced. She has been guaranteed that her monthly payment will never be more that half of what she would be paying without the program. If she continues to work for a nonprofit, the remainder of her debt will be forgiven in 10 years.
Catterlin is the first member of her family to earn a degree in higher education. “I am so blessed to have the opportunity to go back to school and not be concerned about mounting debt,” she says. “My Masters program has truly expanded my horizons. It has made me a better employee and a better asset to YRMC.”
And as for Frank, retirement is closer than ever.
“I wouldn’t have known about Fiducius if it wasn’t for YRMC,” he says. “Continuing to pay $630 a month might have been the deciding factor for me to delay retirement. But now, looking forward to retirement with no student debt is huge for me.”
As the largest not-for-profit healthcare system serving the region, Yavapai Regional Medical Center is pleased to provide rewarding career opportunities and innovative benefit programs. To learn more about career opportunities available across the YRMC network, please visit https://careers.yrmc.org.