VCU news

By Anne Buckley

The Virginia Commonwealth University Health System on Wednesday was named the Greater Richmond Area Employer of Choice. This is the fourth time the VCU Health System has received this honor since the awards program began 13 years ago.

The VCU Health System also received the national Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility. The award presentations were made today at the annual All Star Awards presented by the Greater Richmond Chamber, the Richmond Times-Dispatch and Richmond SHRM.

The Employer of Choice award recognizes that the VCU Health System, as the region’s largest employer with nearly 8,615 employees, embodies a set of principles that are honored, a culture that is well defined and most importantly, is characterized by satisfied employees. The award recognizes organizations that distinguish themselves as great employers.

The Alfred P. Sloan award is sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and was awarded to the VCU Health System for its creativity in addressing employee needs for work-week flexibility, which is critical to workforce effectiveness.

“This is a humbling honor for us. For the fourth time, we are proud to accept this award,” said Dr. Sheldon M. Retchin, VCU Health System CEO and vice president for VCU Health Sciences. “But really, this award acknowledges everyone in the room for their efforts to make Richmond a great place to live and work.”

The VCU Health System continues to be honored nationally and locally for workforce development initiatives, workplace flexibility and child and adult day care practices. The health system also has been recognized as one of the “100 Best Companies for Working Mothers” by Working Mother magazine, and the National Association of Female Executives as a Top Company, a top five in the non-profit category.

“We work hard to provide our employees with a full range of programs and benefits that help them balance their work and family lives, and we listen to their specific needs when we design new programs,” said Maria Curran, vice president, VCU Health System Human Resources. “A career in health care can be very demanding, so we make it a priority to take care of them because we know they can then take better care of our patients.”

The VCU Health System promotes a culture of caring within the organization through efforts like a leave sharing program, tuition waivers for employees and their families and the Rainbow Society, an employee-sponsored program to assist co-workers in financial hardship.

The health system provides innovative benefits such as adult day services, back-up sick child care and the Employer Assisted Housing Program, which helps employees purchase homes and navigate the home buying process. It also provides internal and community education and professional development, as well as a full array of work-life balance and benefits programs.

“Our workforce development strategy is a top priority that benefits our employees and allows us to maintain our position of preeminence in health care” said MCV Hospitals CEO John Duval. “I am proud that all of our workforce development programs make a notable difference in the lives of our employees and their families, the community and our patients.”