COLUMN: CARMEL HOPKINS

One of my least favorite expressions is: "giving back to the community." Everybody from Realtors to athletes, from politicians to pundits uses that trite phrase. It makes me wonder what they've stolen that they feel compelled to "give back."

The expression also is overused by companies and, with very few exceptions, is always self-serving.

There's one nonprofit that doesn't speak with forked tongue -- the St. Rose Dominican Hospitals. There are two in Henderson. A third is under construction in the southwest valley.

Of course, the hospitals have the credibility of being run by the Dominican Sisters under the aegis of Catholic Healthcare West. For six years, St. Rose has received the highest community satisfaction rankings, according to a survey of residents who have been treated by one of the Las Vegas Valley's 11 hospitals. The survey was conducted by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

A major factor behind those high rankings is the quality of personnel St. Rose hires. As with every entity in the health-care field, the hospital spends lots of time, energy and money recruiting and retaining workers.

Recently St. Rose joined with Fannie Mae to establish an Employer Assisted Housing benefit.

"We ran numbers for them," said Cory Craig, senior deputy director of Fannie Mae's Nevada Partnership Office. "They travel all over the U.S. and Canada recruiting new employees. This type of program cuts back on turnover -- it pays for itself."

Craig pointed out that supporting the community is part of the Dominican Sisters' mission, and they do it religiously (all puns intended).

Under the housing program, the hospital provides eligible employees with as much as $2,500 to use toward a down payment and closing costs on the purchase or refinancing of a home. Free education is available to employees interested in learning more about homeownership.

As many as 1,500 of the hospitals' employees could use the program, according to Candy Wehrkamp, vice president of human resources for the hospital.

"We currently have 16 people in the program," Wehrkamp said, pointing out the program began quietly at the hospitals in February.

She said the hospitals' mission, which is to give back to the community, blends perfectly with Fannie Mae's mission, which is to provide homeownership to everyone.

"Our mission is to provide quality, accessible health care to the community," Wehrkamp said4.

Craig said three other employers in the valley -- Nevada State Bank, JD Construction and Opportunity Village -- provide this benefit to their employees. Congratulations to these enlightened employers and to the lucky people on their staff.

My thanks go to St. Rose Hospitals for such enlightened management. They truly give back to the community.

Carmel Hopkins, Real Estate Product Manager for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Las Vegas Sun, can be reached at 380-4574. Her e-mail address is Carmel_Hopkins@lasvegasnewspapers.com. Snail mail is P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.

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