Your compensation begins with an evergreen base salary of $475,000 annually. This is not a temporary guarantee that converts to production-based pay after two years. The base salary remains your salary, reviewed at the end of each contract term with adjustments as appropriate. Leadership structured this arrangement deliberately to eliminate the anxiety that accompanies RVU-driven compensation models. You will not find yourself watching the clock, shortening visits, or stacking additional patients to hit productivity thresholds. The salary positions you near the 75th percentile for nephrology compensation nationally, a figure that physicians on the current medical staff with colleagues in nephrology have validated as highly competitive.
Franklin Medical Center offers a $20,000 sign-on bonus to help offset the transition costs associated with relocation and practice startup. This bonus is subject to pro-rata repayment if you leave before completing the initial contract term, calculated at 1/36th forgiveness for each month of service. Additionally, the hospital provides $10,000 in relocation assistance to cover moving expenses. Whether you are relocating from across the country or from nearby Monroe, these funds help ease the logistical burden of establishing yourself in a new community.
Louisiana operates a state retention program that provides annual loan repayment assistance to physicians practicing in underserved areas. Franklin Medical Center participates in this program, and eligible physicians have received between $15,000 and $25,000 annually toward outstanding educational debt. The exact amount varies based on your loan balance and the state's annual appropriation, but this benefit can meaningfully accelerate your path to debt freedom. This assistance comes on top of your salary and sign-on bonus, not as a substitute for competitive base compensation.
The hospital's health plan through UMR offers comprehensive coverage with remarkably low employee premiums. Single coverage costs just $25 per month, with in-network deductibles of $250 for individual coverage when using Franklin Medical Center providers. The plan covers preventive care at 100% with no cost sharing, includes prescription drug coverage with low copays, and provides access to telemedicine through Teladoc for minor medical issues. For a physician accustomed to paying hundreds monthly for health insurance, this benefit alone represents substantial annual savings.
Franklin Medical Center does not participate in Social Security. Instead, the hospital has established a 401A Social Security Replacement Plan that provides superior retirement benefits. You will contribute 6.2% of your salary (the same percentage that would go to Social Security), and the hospital matches with a 5% employer contribution. These funds go into an individual investment account that you control, rather than into the Social Security system where benefits depend on government formulas and political decisions. The remaining difference funds employer-paid long-term disability coverage.
Additionally, the hospital offers a 457B retirement plan with an employer match of up to 3% after one year of employment. Combined with the 401A plan, your total employer retirement contributions can reach 8% of salary, building substantial retirement savings alongside your personal contributions.
The hospital provides claims-made malpractice insurance with coverage limits of $100,000 per occurrence and $300,000 aggregate, consistent with Louisiana's medical malpractice tort caps. Tail coverage is included with a tapered structure: if you leave during the first year, you are responsible for 75% of tail costs; this decreases to 50% in year two and reaches zero if you complete the initial term or simply do not renew. For practical purposes, physicians who fulfill their commitment receive full tail coverage at no personal cost.
Paid time off accrues from your start date, with full-time employees earning approximately 151 hours of PTO and 75 hours of sick time annually during the first five years. These accruals increase with tenure. The hospital does not specify CME allowance in the standard benefits guide, so this should be confirmed during contract negotiation if important to your decision.
Perhaps the most distinctive benefit: Franklin Medical Center covers childcare costs at a local private school for children ages 1 through 12. For physicians with young families, this benefit can save $10,000 to $15,000 or more annually while ensuring your children receive quality care and education during work hours.
The initial contract term is 36 months with built-in flexibility. The 120-day without-cause termination notice protects both parties, giving the hospital time to redistribute patients and giving you adequate runway to secure your next opportunity if the fit proves wrong. Non-compete provisions are limited to rural parishes surrounding Franklin Parish; if you wished to practice in Monroe after leaving, that would not be restricted. This approach reflects leadership's philosophy that reasonable terms build trust, while overly restrictive contracts signal problems.
This compensation package was built to attract a nephrologist who wants to stay, not to trap someone who wants to leave. The combination of competitive base salary, minimal call burden, comprehensive benefits, and unique perks like free childcare creates a total compensation picture that competes favorably with opportunities in larger markets while offering a quality of life those markets cannot match.