Children’s Hospital Boston: Quality Healthcare with Heart
Children’s Hospital Boston, one of the largest medical centers in the country, is known worldwide for its pioneering role in children’s healthcare, medical research, and training. The primary pediatric teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School, it is the hospital-of-choice for sick and injured children from around the globe.
While Children’s reputation concerning the clinical care of its patients is legend, what is less well known is that this devotion extends not just to patients, but to employees.
A recognized leader
For 17 years in a row, Children’s has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the best hospitals in the country specializing in pediatric care. It was named one of the best places to work in Boston by the Boston Business Journal.
According to Margaret Geller, RN, Staff Nurse III in the Medical/Surgical ICU, “there are endless possibilities for nurses here–bedside clinical practice, research, administration, advanced practice roles–I’ve been here for 30 years and there is no place else I would rather work. Children’s gives me the tools I need to provide the best patient and family care, which is the first priority here.”
Christopher Farrell, HR Manager for Patient Services, remembers interviewing at Children’s Hospital Boston. “When I entered the lobby there was a palpable feeling of energy and commitment,” he recalls. He was impressed by the welcoming environment, bright colors, receptive staff, and the many translations of “Hello” and “Welcome” on the revolving door leading into the main lobby. “The activity, layout, and colors help you know that you are, in fact, at a children’s hospital,” he says. “It was unlike anything else I’ve experienced,” he says.
Children’s Hospital Boston embraces and values all of its patients and staff. The hospital is committed to cultivating diversity by improving access to services for all patients, promoting a varied workforce, and creating a welcoming environment. It ensures that staff understands and respects the different ethnicities, cultures, beliefs, values, and needs of patients and their families. And it has an unwavering commitment to employing a workforce as diverse as the communities it serves.
On the leading edge of research
“Every time I turn around, we are discovering or inventing something new,” says a proud Zuania Pomales, HR generalist in Administration and Support. Indeed, the hospital’s 1200 scientists aren’t the only ones who relish being part of medical history as it’s made.
This year, the hospital garnered a record $120 million in sponsored research funding, which will be used to accelerate the pace of medical discovery. Scientists are bringing genomics, proteomics, informatics, and other high-tech disciplines to bear on age-old diseases, including infections, hereditary illness, congenital disorders, and cancers.
These scientists are part of a long tradition. Scientists at Children's were instrumental in eradicating polio and other serious childhood illnesses. In 1947, Dr. Sidney Farber achieved the first successful remission of acute leukemia. Nearly 25 years later, Dr. Judah Folkman originated the idea that malignant tumors can be starved by cutting off their blood supply (antiangiogenesis). And just this year, Children’s was the site of the first tissue-engineered organs to be implanted in humans.
Big city hospital with a small town feel
Childrens’ is a city unto itself spread over ten locations including, Boston and the suburbs, with 800 active medical and dental staff, 700 residents and fellows, 1200 nursing and patient personnel, 1200 research staff, and 3,300 other full-time employees. It also has a trained staff of over 800 volunteers. But if you talk to employees, they say it feels more like a small town. The hospital holds regular “Town Hall” meetings, shares news with everyone, and is quick to recognize a job well done. The hospital’s President and COO are frequently seen in the halls, chatting with employees on a first-name basis, and asking for feedback. It’s no wonder the hospital’s employee satisfaction results go up every year.
Hope reigns
Children's combines its high-tech methodology with high-touch care. It employs clowns who entertain patients and recently built a $15,000 handicapped-accessible playground.
Doctors and nurses get into the act too–sometimes literally. During the American Idol TV show craze, for example, they dressed up and performed for patients in “Children’s Hospital Idol,” a spoof that let patients see their caregivers in another light.
To Joanne Doherty, HR manager of Research and Finance, the show exemplified the attitude at Children’s. “People laugh a lot here. There’s a great sense of humor that helps to ease the stressful situations people are in.”
Doug MacNeil, HR manager for the hospital’s Ambulatory Service finds the work of all his fellow Children’s employees inspiring. “You see kids who are in pretty dire straits, and they have a smile on their face,” he marvels. “They are hopeful because they know that of any place in the world, they have the best shot of getting well by being here. It makes you feel good to be part of that.”
