VCU Health System named one of the country’s top 100 best companies for working mothers by Working Mother magazine

By Pamela DiSalvo Lepley

For the second consecutive year, Working Mother magazine has named the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System one of the nation’s top 100 best companies for working mothers.

On the 20^th anniversary of the Working Mother 100 Best Companies, the magazine said a survey it conducted found that despite the growing popularity of compressed work weeks, job-shares, telecommuting and other workplace flexibility options, two out of three working mothers believe there is still a stigma attached to using flextime options that their companies allow.

The VCU Health System is one of 21 hospitals and healthcare facilities in the United States and one of six companies in Virginia working to eliminate this bias by offering its working mothers flexibility and advancement options, according to the magazine.

“We salute the VCU Health System for their efforts on behalf of working mothers, and for making the 100 Best for the second time,” said Carol Evans, CEO of Working Mother Media. “It is my hope that other companies around the country learn from the best and experience first-hand the value of flexibility as a business imperative.”

The VCU Health System gained the recognition for several initiatives, including its “Weekend Scholars” program, which was implemented this year to allow registered nurses, practical nurses, operating room technicians and paramedics to attend nursing school.

“We pre-pay tuition and assure them full-time salary and benefits,” said Maria Curran, vice president of human resources. “In exchange, the weekend scholars work two shifts on weekends, which fits in nicely with their academic schedule and their home lives.”

Debbie Slayden, director of Workforce Development and Strategy, said that two of her staff are registered nurses who job share so they can pursue graduate degrees and take care of small children. “We truly exemplify an organization that makes our employees feel valued as staff and as family members,” said Slayden.

Acknowledging that the VCU Health System is part of an academic medical center, required to provide patient care 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the magazine recognized several approaches for staff balancing their work and home lives. For instance, part-time staff members are eligible for the same benefits as full-time staff, and many units allow staff to self schedule.

“Our most recent employee opinion survey indicated that over 70 percent of our staff work a flexible schedule and that these flexible schedules were one of the top three aspects of working here that they liked most,” said Curran. “We were even more pleased to see that the high scores for flexible work schedules were significantly greater than national norms.”

Further, the VCU Health System offers three, nationally-accredited, on-site childcare centers that offer extended hours and backup child care.

“Benefits and programs that stress the balance between work and home, as well as providing career paths and opportunities for professional advancement are some of the reasons that over 85 percent of our staff say they would highly recommend VCUHS as a great place to work and we are committed to that ideal as well,” said Curran. 

"This recognition speaks to a quality issue,” said Sheldon Retchin, M.D., VCU Health System CEO and VCU vice president for Health Sciences. “Retaining high quality employees is essential to providing the most effective healthcare."

In applying for the Working Mother 100 Best, the VCU Health System provided Working Mother magazine with detailed information on eight areas of work/life including childcare, culture, flexibility, parental leave, women’s advancement, total compensation, work/life culture and family-friendly programs.

The VCU Health System also completed a 550-question application, which checked the availability, tracking and usage of programs to support working mothers, the accountability of managers to implement programs and the successful advancement of women into top paying jobs, board positions and management ranks. In addition, the VCU Health System submitted benefits handbooks and results of employee surveys. 

Founded in 1979, Working Mother magazine reaches nearly 3 million readers and is the only national magazine for career-committed mothers. The complete list of the Working Mother100 Best Companiescan be found at www.workingmother.com.