Children's Hospitals Today - Winter 2023 - 7

INNOVATION / ROUNDS
Raising retention
Child care centers reduce turnover rates
and increase staff satisfaction.
BY BRIAN BUSENBARK
H
ospitals around the nation are increasingly considering
on-site child care centers to bolster employee recruitment
and retention efforts amid staffing shortages. Still, only about
a third of U.S. hospitals offer any child care benefits-and just
a fraction of those include on-site child care services.
But for some employees of Arkansas Children's, its Child
Enrichment Center is practically a family tradition. " We have
several families who are now in their second generation of
attending the center-the parents came through when they
were children and now their children attend, " says Crystal
Kohanke, M.S., PHR, SHRM-CP, ACC, senior vice president and
chief people officer at Arkansas Children's in Little Rock.
That history began in 1986 when the center opened its doors
as a convenient, educational child care option for the hospital's
employees and their families. Today, it serves about 200 children
and has a lengthy waiting list of staff members looking
to enroll their children. " If we were able to double
our size, we'd fill it up tomorrow, " Kohanke says.
It's a similar situation at Driscoll Children's
Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas. Its Children's
Learning Center also operates at full capacity with
overflow demand-especially for placements in its
infant and toddler programs. Both centers meet
an important need: providing a high-quality,
education-based child care service located just
steps from where the children's parents work.
Kohanke says the waiting lists can sometimes
That means setting hours that accommodate nurses'
" TURNOVER IS
SIGNIFICANTLY
LOWER FOR THOSE
WITH CHILDREN IN
THE CHILD CARE
CENTER. "
dampen the Child Enrichment Center's allure as a
recruitment tool, but both she and the leadership
team can attest to the value of on-site child care in employee
retention. Bill Larsen, SPHR, vice president of human resources
at Driscoll Health System, says, " We have looked at turnover
rates for employees who are using the child care center versus
the rest of our employee population, and they are significantly
lower for those whose children are in the child care center. "
Aligning with staff needs
Both hospitals manage and staff their child care centers independently,
which provides important benefits, according to Kohanke
and Larsen. Not only does that aspect foster a cultural bond
across the organizations-with hospital employees teaching and
caring for their colleagues' children-but it allows the hospitals
to establish the parameters for the way their centers operate.
schedules and building in flexibilities to work around the irregularities
of a health care provider's schedule. The Children's
Learning Center at Driscoll Children's Hospital is open from
5:45 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. each weekday.
And they continue providing care when most centers
can't remain open. " Our child care center plays
a key role in our disaster plans-like hurricane
planning-when our employees are here in a
shelter-in-place situation, " Larsen says. " They
provide services to employees who are responding
in a hurricane so our folks can be here. "
Kohanke says Arkansas Children's is exploring
options to expand the Child Enrichment Center,
but the heavy demand means any institution
planning similar services must first conduct a
thorough needs assessment. " That's been our biggest
struggle-we are significantly underbuilt,
especially in the younger age groups, " says Angela
Craig, director of Children's Learning Center. " There were some
space limitations, but we could have perhaps looked at that more
closely, and that ties into making sure you know the need. "
Both hospitals' leaders acknowledge that building and maintaining
an on-site childcare center is a massive undertaking and
comes with its own set of challenges. It's crucial, according to
Kohanke, to have courage in your convictions-and communicate
them to your staff. " Our CEO has sent the message that this
is important to us, and we're committed to having a top-quality
child care center, " Kohanke says. " Really know why you are getting
into it, and stay close to that purpose, because that drives
you through some challenging or difficult times. "
Tell your hospital's story. Email magazine@childrenshospitals.org.
CHILDREN'S HOSPITALS TODAY Winter 2023
7
Children's Hospitals Today - Winter 2023

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