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For other articles and previous issues click here. January 12, 2004 Mommy’s
Dearest It’s axiomatic that working parents have no time. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day for them to get their jobs done, nurture their children, and keep their households running smoothly, let alone tend to their relationships and find time for leisure activities. With all of the demands upon their time and energy, they often feel torn between family and career. With so little time and pulled in so many directions, the modern parent may find that quality of life at home may be eroded, or job performance and satisfaction may be diminished. Increasingly, employers are coming to realize that it’s not enough to recruit the best and the brightest. Forward-thinking companies, recognizing that stressed and harried workers perform under par, are channeling their energies to ward retaining the most talented workers by relieving some of the strain. These days, attractive benefits are child- and family-friendly. Working parents look for more than health insurance and 401k plans. They want practical perks and programs that will help them get through the day, buy them time, and supply peace of mind. Innovative organizations are contributing to both employee and corporate wellness by creating an atmosphere that does more than pay lip service to family values. They are fostering corporate cultures that actually value family. Although women’s ranks and roles are ever closer and comparable to those of men, the burden of child rearing and family care continues to fall disproportionately upon working moms. As a result, while companies offer a range of programs that aim to help parents balance work and family responsibilities, many offer benefits and perks that demonstrate the company’s respect for a woman’s choice to have a career and be a mother. From on-site child care, lactation centers, and schedules that accommodate the challenges parents face on a daily basis, creative companies strive to be appealing to working moms. In October, Working Mother magazine published its 18th annual listing of the nation’s “100 Best Companies for Working Mothers.” Among the honored companies are a number of healthcare facilities that, with a majority of female employees, have stood out among the nation’s businesses for their mom-friendly practices. The magazine analyzes each company for a variety of factors that benefit working mothers— from corporate culture in general to specific programs that support family wellness or advance working mothers’ careers. This year, the judges favored companies that had an excellent track record of career advancement for women, child care benefits, and flexible schedules. Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago is one such employer. Honored by Working Mother since 2000, this 720-bed academic medical center has been on a mission to strengthen families and provide career advancement for women. According to 32-year-old Julie Bryant, RHIA, an 11-year veteran of HIM and now director of medical records and privacy executive, two of the hospital’s main objectives are to attract and retain the best people and provide the best patient experience. “As a corporation, Northwestern realizes that in order to attract and retain the best people, you need to provide benefits to those people who are meaningful and helpful and add to the lives of those individuals.” The majority of the facility’s employees—78%—are women, so catering to their needs has been a clear priority. This attentiveness is reflective of a shift in corporate attitude and practice in recent years. Says Cheryl Willis, a spokesperson for Working Mother honoree St. Mary’s Medical Center in Huntington, W.Va., “The hospital has really changed over the last three years, and not just for working moms, but for employees altogether. We’re just constantly seeing what we can do as a team to make the work environment a better place on both sides. We take surveys and measure all the time what can we do differently, what can we do better, realizing that we have to do this as a team. We strive to make it a pleasant work environment.” Following is but a sampling of the family-friendly features that are making lives easier for employees at healthcare facilities across the nation. Each of these organizations was recognized by Working Mother for their efforts and innovative programs. On-site Child Care The hospital has an open-door policy that allows parents to visit their children at any point during the day. Bryant says that this courtesy is especially important for parents of infants. The cost of company-sponsored day care is typically comparable to that of off-site care, but proximity, convenience, and trustworthiness give the Northwestern-sponsored care a decided advantage. Cathy Hogan, HIM manager at JFK Medical Center in Atlantis, Fla., has worked at the facility for 22 years. JFK opened its day care program when her daughter Alexandra, now 13, was an infant. “It’s an unbelievable place,” Hogan says. “She [Alexandra] went there from the time she was 18 months old until she went to kindergarten.” But, child care at JFK goes a step further. It’s created a charter school for older children that operates much like a regular elementary school. It began last year with kindergarten through first grade, and now it’s expanded through fifth grade. Just down the street from the facility, the charter school is run by the same individuals who staff the day care. “The kids can start out as babies at the day care and go all the way up to fifth grade with the same set of people,” according to Hogan. This arrangement is not only convenient for the parents, but it also helps build friendships among coworkers and a sense of family within the work environment. Northwestern Memorial caters to more than just the needs of parents with young children. It has also created programs for school-age children and activities such as summer camp and holiday care for children who are out of school. One benefit Bryant and her husband have often appreciated is parent’s-night-out care. Roughly once per month, the child care center opens for three hours in the evening so that parents can enjoy time alone. “We take advantage of that quite often,” Bryant says. “It’s a nice bonus, especially with the hospital being in the downtown area. It’s nice to just go out and have dinner.” Flexible Schedules St. Mary’s admissions desk clerk Kerri Atkins, the 26-year-old mother of 3-year-old Garrett and 4-month-old Carter, finds that flex time simplifies her life and takes the worry out of attending to the needs of her family. “If I need to leave early for something, it’s never a problem as long as we have coverage. When kids are sick or have medical appointments, I can leave and make up my time here, but many places aren’t so lenient.” At Inova Fair Oaks Hospital in Fairfax, Va., patient registration trainer Sarah Stuchlak says that flexibility within the company’s positions is especially helpful—a perk that she discovered after having children. “I was working 40 to 50 hours per week, but I found that I needed more time to be home with my family. I was thrilled to be able to find another position in Inova that was 20 hours per week,” she explains. “There are many opportunities available within the system. If you need to make a change like I did, you can start looking at positions that become available in your skill set and transfer without losing benefits. It’s great to be able to change positions but to still have the familiarity of the system and the people you already know.” Flexible Spending Career Advancement and Educational
Assistance Another way in which companies are attracting and keeping female employees is by providing generous and flexible educational assistance. Tuition reimbursement allows women to further their education and know that their new skills will be welcomed and compensated. Margaret Witherspoon, a 51-year-old supervisor of
physician services, release of information, and reception, has raised
three daughters—Shenita, Esther, and Shondale—during
her 20-year tenure at Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville,
N.C. Witherspoon, a divorced single mom, began her HIM career 19
years ago as a medical records clerk and then moved on to become
a health records technician. With a lending hand from the hospital,
she went back to school to earn a two-year degree in health information
technology and parlayed that education into a better position. Similarly, Lori Mayo, RHIA, King’s Daughters Medical Center, is working on a master’s degree in strategic leadership with full tuition reimbursement from her employer. This benefit is helping the 33-year-old move forward in her career at the same time as she and her husband, Steven, take responsibility for their two children, 7-year-old Chase and 3-year-old Emma. Convenience “At St. Mary’s, we have book sales, dry cleaning, and we can even buy some of our groceries here,” Atkins says. “I can grab a gallon of milk before I leave or bring my clothes to be cleaned.” Better still, all of these purchases are payroll-deductible, so they can be spread out over time. Mayo says similar time savers at King’s Daughters Medical Center include an on-site bank, coffee shop, pharmacy, and a Wendy’s. “We have lots of on-site conveniences that keep us from having to do a lot of running around, so we can get a whole lot done.” “We have a mechanic who will come and pick up your car, fix it, and bring it back to you while you’re working,” says JFK’s Hogan. “There’s also a detailing service that’s in one of our parking garages that will go into the garage, get your car, detail it, and bring it back. We can get meals to go from our cafeteria and drop off our dry cleaning on the way home. There’s absolutely nothing that they haven’t thought of that they can do for us.” Besides taking care of essential services, some facilities are going the extra mile. “Now they’re trying to get us manicures and pedicures,” Hogan laughs. “I tell people about this stuff, and no one can believe it.” R-E-S-P-E-C-T Northwestern’s situation mirrors that of the one at JFK, where the support for working moms has lasting effects. “Our CEO,” Hogan says, “knows everybody by their first name—just having that makes it a place where you want to work. I have three pregnant workers right now. They’ll all go on their maternity leave, they’ll come back, and things will be just as they were when they left. We’ll absorb their duties, and when they get back, they’ll be here. So we’ll manage.” It seems as though every mom at these six organizations is managing just fine. — Kate Jackson is a staff writer at For the Record. |
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