Saint Francis Healthcare System plans to raise its minimum hourly pay next month to ensure a living wage for all employees, according to president and CEO Maryann Reese.

Effective July 8, the system's new minimum hourly rate will be increased to $11.70, according to a news release.

Saint Francis pays some employees $8.55 per hour, said spokesperson Tyler Graef.

Missouri's state minimum wage is $7.85. Federal minimum is $7.25.

The move means raises for more than 200 employees, nearly 8 percent of the total workforce, the release stated.

Reese said by phone Wednesday that the increase will cost approximately $300,000, "but we have mitigated it (expenses) in other areas, decreasing our costs and being cognizant of our processes."

This has been in the works for some time, Reese said.

Even factoring in the cost increase, she said, the health system's fiscal year 2019 budget will still have a 3 percent positive margin.

The wage increase is not based on the external market, but is instead rooted in the mission and values of the Saint Francis Healthcare System, according to the release, and affirms the human dignity of employees.

"This decision goes to the core of our principles as a Catholic Healthcare System," she said in the release. "As we continue our efforts to lower costs and make the Healthcare System more efficient and functional for patients, we cannot risk overlooking our own colleagues in the process. Doing the right thing includes making sure we care for all members of the Saint Francis Family."

The new hourly rate is double what an individual would need to stay above the federal poverty rate, according to this year's figures, the release stated.

"From surgeons to support staff, each one of our colleagues provides the necessary services that allow Saint Francis Healthcare System to continue serving our communities," Reese said in the release. "They all deserve a wage that can sustain them, and we are proud to be able to provide that."

Rhiannon Martin, a tele-monitor attendant at the main hospital on the neuroscience floor, said the pay increase will help her with her expenses.

Martin monitors cameras in rooms of patients who are in an "altered mental status," she said, adding that her monitoring efforts help the nurses and nurses' assistants.

"I do a lot at my job, and it feels like they're recognizing that and rewarding me for all the hard work I do, working with the rest of the staff," Martin said. "I'm very thankful that they're choosing to do this."

Bishop Edward Rice, head of the Diocese of Springfield -- Cape Girardeau, said in the release that, in raising minimum wages, Saint Francis Healthcare System has strengthened its Catholic identity.

"The changes recently announced at Saint Francis show respect for the dignity of our workers," Rice said in the release. "It affirms their value and will promote the well-being of families."

Saint Francis Healthcare System was founded by Franciscan Sisters in 1875, and serves nearly 713,000 people across Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas, according to the release.

Reese said anyone who receives a paycheck from this health-care system is eligible for the pay raise.

"This is improving the local economy of the areas we serve," Reese said. Beyond that, this is great news for employees, she said.

"There's a sense of pride instilled in them, that we're taking care of our family," Reese said. "It's really important to them and all of us."

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630