Working Mother Names Scripps Health a Top 100 Company

Working Mother praised Scripps for its commitment to family-friendly programs, including child care, flexible work arrangements, paid parental leave and advancement opportunities for women. Scripps allows its female workforce — 76 percent of its employee population — to adjust job responsibilities as family needs change.

The complete list of the 2016 Working Mother 100 Best Companies is featured in the October/November edition of Working Mother and on www.workingmother.com/best-companies.

“This year’s class of winning companies goes the extra mile to support working moms and all diverse families. In 2016, fully paid leave offerings have grown to an average of nine weeks, up from eight last year,” said Subha Barry, vice president, general manager, Working Mother Media. “The Working Mother 100 Best Companies continues to pave the way for employers nationwide to support their employees, both personally and professionally,” she said.

Scripps working mother to be honored

For the seventh year, Working Mother is recognizing one special Working Mother of the Year from each company named to the 100 Best Companies. Wendy Sweet is the 2016 Working Mother of the Year at Scripps. She is a risk management and patient relations manager at Scripps and will be honored along with the other recipients on Oct. 18 at Working Mother’s awards banquet in New York.

At 60, Sweet has taken on the responsibility of raising a child again, this time her 7-year-old granddaughter, Alexis. Sweet became Alexis’ foster parent last year after the girl’s home life became unstable. She is seeking to adopt her and become her legal guardian and is thankful for the support she is receiving from Scripps Health.

“As wonderful as it is to have her in our lives, it has certainly entailed a major change in our lifestyle and schedule,” Sweet said. “We’ve worked out taking care of her in the mornings and evenings and have arranged for after-school care, summer day camp and sports schedules.

“Scripps has been very supportive throughout this journey, especially with things like time off for court dates and random meetings with social workers,” Sweet adds. “The goal is always to complete my work by the end of the day but I have the option to work from home on a laptop and that has been helpful in my new role caring full-time for my granddaughter,” she said.

A satisfied workforce

In honor of the 100 Best Companies, Working Mother has declared Tuesday, Oct. 18, as National Flex Day to increase awareness of the importance of workplace flexibility. All companies are invited to participate by encouraging all employees to use flex policies on this day.

At Scripps, more than 70 percent of employees have chosen to work some type of alternative schedule, including flexible scheduling, part-time or reduced hours per day or week, or alternative schedules such as four 10-hour days or three 12-hour days per week.

“In order to recruit and retain top talent in today’s work environment, we offer flexible schedules, career development programs and benefits to support the lifestyles of our diverse workforce,” said Cara Williams, executive director of patient and employee experience at Scripps.

Second national accolade in September

In addition to being named to Working Mother’s 100 Best Companies list, Scripps was recently ranked No. 16 in Fortune magazine’s annual 100 Best Workplaces for Women list. Earlier this year, Scripps was ranked No. 42 in the magazine’s annual 100 Best Companies to Work For list.

About Working Mother Media

Working Mother Media (WMM), a division of Bonnier Corporation, publishes Working Mother magazine and its companion website, workingmother.com. The Working Mother Research Institute (workingmother.com/research), the National Association for Female Executives (nafe.com) and Diversity Best Practices are also units within WMM. WMM’s mission is to serve as a champion of culture change. Working Mother magazine is the only national magazine for career-committed mothers.

Learn more about Scripps Health, a nonprofit integrated health system in San Diego, Calif.