Associate
Assistance Fund
_From
time to time, emergency events (the death of a loved one, a fire,
an acute illness keeping us from work etc.) happen and can cause
us unexpected financial hardship. We know it can be difficult
to ask for help.
__ The Associate Assistance Fund
was created as part of the 2002 ORHC/ORHF/RRL Associate Campaign.
This Fund is sustained by employee donations and matched by the
Ottumwa Regional Health Foundation. Applications are reviewed
and matched with the established criteria so the approval or
denial of requests is consistent.
__The EAP Counselor will serve as a liaison between
the applicant and the Associate Assistance Fund Committee as needed. The application
requires personal and financial information in order to ensure the situation
matches the criteria of the Fund. Unfortunately, given the limited amount of
funds, all requests may not be approved, even though there is a clear need
for assistance.
__ Assistance will be based on the defined criteria
and funds available. The EAP in alignment with the Associate Assistance Fund
Committee is charged with managing the funds.
The following guidelines include, but are not limited to:
__ 1. The applicant must be a permanent
full-time or part-time regular employee. The hardship must be resulting from
a temporary situation * occurring while a permanent full-time or part-time regular
employee at Ottumwa Regional Health Center/Ottumwa Regional Health Foundation
or Regional Retirement Living.
__*Temporary hardship – an acute definable specific event (e.g.
death of immediate family member, fire, acute illness, etc.) that has caused
the applicant temporary financial hardship. By temporary, it means that applicant,
who previously was able to manage his/her finances, now is approximately a few
hundred dollars in debt and with the committee’s possible approval could
get back on track within 1-2 months. Because the needs for assistance exceed
the available funds, this criterion was established in an attempt to be fair
and consistent in the administration of the limited funds. An applicant with
longer-standing financial problems, though clearly in need of financial assistance,
would not be considered a “temporary hardship” and therefore would
not be approved for funding.
__ 2. An employee can receive
assistance only once during a 12 month period and there is a lifetime maximum.
__ 3. Applicants
must have completed their 90-day probationary period and cannot be on probation
or in the disciplinary action counseling process.
__ 4. Applicants must meet with
the EAP Counselor and complete an application.To Apply
__ To apply to the Associate Assistance Fund,
the first step is an appointment with the EAP counselor who can advise the
employee as to community resources and eligibility for the Fund. Call the EAP
office at (641) 684-3138 to schedule an appointment and discuss your situation
further.
A PDF of
the Associate Assistance Fund Application can be downloaded here. |
