PORTLAND, Ore.—PECAA, a nationwide alliance group for independent doctors, has “deepened its relationship” with strategic partner AmeriBen that will enable the alliance to offer an “expanded human resource support service” to its members, according to an announcement earlier this week. This new service grants PECAA members access to AmeriBen’s resource center hotline, sample employee handbooks, sample employment applications, a salary survey database, newsletters, webinars and training at no charge, the announcement noted. PECAA members also will receive a 10 percent discount on optional AmeriBen services, which include handbook and application reviews, on-site HR audits, training and other programs.

The enhanced AmeriBen program is a “direct result of members expressing their desire for human resource support,” PECAA member services manager Cindy Schmitt said in the announcement. (PECAA is the Professional Eye Care Associates of America.) “Since its launch, we have received very favorable feedback from our members who are taking advantage of the new resource center. It’s exciting to see a program that was requested by members in need of additional support in this area come to fruition,” she added.

Sharon Jutila, a human resources consultant at AmeriBen who works with PECAA, said members of the eyecare organization already have begun using the new services. The human resource support service went live to PECAA members Dec. 15, 2017, and AmeriBen has since experienced an upswing in calls and emails generated by PECAA members. “We are happy to be able to service PECAA members and are very excited to be a part of a bigger initiative to bring risk management and employee relations solutions to the industry,” Sharon said.

AmeriBen, a privately held company based in Meridian, Idaho, provides comprehensive services in human resource management and consulting, as well as retirement administration and third-party medical claims administration for self-funded and partially self-funded companies.

For more information on the new human resource support service, visit the PECAA member support center here.