title: Close to home. Interview by Terese Hudson.
abstract: The hospital is an integral part of the community, according to James May, CEO and president of Legacy Portland (OR) Hospitals. May has put this principle to work concretely by loaning employees money for initial costs on homes near Emanuel Hospital and Health Center in northeast Portland. Now in its second year, the program has already helped 25 employees purchase homes in a 19-square-mile area targeted for redevelopment. Loans of up to $5,000 for homes with a purchase price of $65,000 or lower are available. The loans can be used for down payments, pre-paid reserves or closing costs. Legacy forgives 20 percent of a loan's outstanding balance each year to employees in good standing. This encourages employees to stay for at least five years. Only the interest payments on the outstanding balance are paid back to Legacy. May spoke recently with Senior Editor Terese Hudson about the program's genesis.
authors.affiliation: Legacy Portland Hospitals, OR.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: May
mesh_terms: D003159:Community-Institutional Relations / Q000191:economics*; D004649:Employee Incentive Plans / Q000639:trends; D005382:Financing, Personal / Q000379:methods; D006798:Housing / Q000191:economics*; D009922:Oregon; D010564:Personnel, Hospital / Q000191:economics*