DEAL One Loan helps recruit

Reed Reyman, President of CHI St. Alexius Health in Dickinson, recently shared his perspective on utilizing the DEAL One Loan as a recruitment tool. The DEAL One Loan allows North Dakota residents to consolidate all of their student loans, including federal student loans, into one loan and refinance them with a lower interest rate.

What are some of the challenges health care organizations are experiencing when recruiting?

One of the biggest challenges to recruitment is finding ways to assist incoming young professionals with a means to help them manage the large debt load that frequently occurs when completing any health care-related area of study. Most of the time the first question we receive during the recruitment process is, “Can you help with student loan repayment?” or “I would like to go on with more schooling. Is there any assistance for continuing my education?”

The idea of owing thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, is overwhelming for many families and is one of the main deterrents to the pursuit of additional education and training.

How are you sharing information about the DEAL One Loan from Bank of North Dakota with recruits?

During our recruitment process, we refer the candidates to the Bank of North Dakota website and encourage them to speak directly with representatives from Bank of North Dakota about the programs that they offer. Being the only state with a state-owned bank, almost all the candidates are not aware of the existing programs or services offered. In fact, my own family members who qualified, did not even believe me and did not take advantage of the programs until they were referred by another bank in Bismarck.

What are potential employees saying when they learn about the program?

Many potential employees are skeptical at first, but after working with representatives from Bank of North Dakota, they are very pleased with the options available and actually feel empowered because they are able to make their own financial decisions without interference from their employer. We are very fortunate to have the programs offered by Bank of North Dakota. It gives us a definite advantage in the recruitment process of healthcare professionals.

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