Fortune Magazine Names Scripps to National Best Companies List

Scripps is only San Diego company on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For

Healthcare workers celebrate Scripps Health being named to Fortune Magazine National Best Companies List for the 13th time.

Scripps is only San Diego company on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For

Scripps Health has been named among the top employers in the nation by Fortune magazine. Fortune’s 24th annual list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For ranked Scripps at No. 76. Scripps is the only San Diego-based company to make the list. 


The selection was announced online today and marks the 13th time that Scripps has been included on the list. 


With more than 15,000 employees at five hospital campuses and 28 outpatient centers and clinics, Scripps has created a high-performing, diverse workforce by accommodating the needs of its employees at the beginning, middle and later stages of their careers.


“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary people,” said Scripps President and CEO Chris Van Gorder. “Our employees proved that during the COVID-19 crisis, working tirelessly on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic while delivering and supporting lifesaving care through some of the toughest times we have ever seen in health care. And through it all, we cared for each other as the battle against COVID-19 drew us closer together. I couldn’t be prouder of our organization for receiving this well-earned national recognition from Fortune.”

"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary people."

Chris Van Gorder, President and CEO

With little warning and an evolving understanding of the dangerous new coronavirus, Scripps marshalled resources, equipped staff, increased its bedside workforce, built testing capabilities and provided care in the most harrowing circumstances.


  • A telecommuting program begun when stay-at-home orders were issued now supports 2,100 Scripps employees (13% of the workforce) who work remotely full-time.
  • To help care for the emotional needs of employees, Scripps launched Resilience in Stressful Events (RISE), a peer-to-peer support system available to all physicians and staff that provides psychological first aid to colleagues in need on a 24-hour, 7-days-a-week basis.
  • In order to help employees deal with some of the unexpected needs that arose during the pandemic, Scripps established COVID-19 Paid Time (CPT), a bank of up to 80 hours of paid time off for employees impacted by COVID-related situations. About 9,800 employees have received CPT so far.
  • Another need that surfaced during the pandemic was food assistance. After hearing from employees about colleagues who needed help in this regard, the Scripps Work-Life Services team enlisted support systemwide for a food drive that delivered milk, eggs, produce, nonperishable items, grocery store gift cards, nutritional supplements, hot meals and other food donations through three distribution events staffed by employees. In all, 26,575 pounds of groceries, 280 prepared meals, 285 gift cards, and $27,645 in payroll deductions from 343 employees and physicians were distributed to assist nearly 300 employees and nearly 2,000 total family members.


According to a survey by Great Place to Work, Fortune’s partner, 93% of Scripps employees say they are proud to tell others where they work. Scripps also provides an environment where employees want to stay, with 22% of its workforce having worked for the organization for at least 10 years. An additional 11% have been with Scripps for at least 20 years.

Developing talent 

Scripps develops its workforce through programs that engage and encourage contributions from all employees. Scripps employees in response say they are grateful for the many opportunities available to them to grow in their jobs and advance their careers.


As part of its career-destination philosophy, Scripps has developed several innovative practices for employees at different stages of their careers. Scripps offers career coaching services; various leadership development programs; and a professional education department that offers classroom training and online courses. It also offers a variety of employee recognition programs to celebrate job achievements and teamwork.


“Even during challenging periods like the pandemic, our primary goal at Scripps is to deliver the very best patient care, so naturally we want to give our employees all of the support they need to excel at their job at all times,” said Eric Cole, corporate senior vice president of human resources at Scripps Health. “We know that the quality of work rises when the workforce is motivated, educated and engaged. This was evident in the continually changing patient care processes required to support our COVID-19 patients.”

Encouraging career growth

Scripps supports the academic development of its employees by administering scholarships and tuition reimbursement. It also offers discounts for courses offered by universities that have partnerships with Scripps. Annually, Scripps invests nearly $34 million on training for its employees and provides $1.4 million in tuition reimbursement and scholarships.


Additionally, Scripps offers various programs to encourage movement across the organization, which is something that mid-career employees appreciate since it allows them to chart their career paths with organizational support.

Offering staged retirement

Scripps offers staged retirement to eligible, experienced employees who want to retire gradually, allowing them to reduce their current work schedule while maintaining their health benefits. 


Scripps encourages experienced employees to continue working in other ways. While traditional retirement packages at many other organizations max out at age 60, encouraging employees to leave at that point, Scripps lets retirement plans continue to grow past age 65. Older employees enjoy this benefit because it allows them to continue working without feeling financial pressure to retire.

About the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list

Great Place to Work based its ranking on a data-driven methodology applied to anonymous Trust Index survey responses from more than 650,000 employees at Great Place to Work-Certified organizations across the country. To learn more about Great Place to Work Certification and recognition on Best Workplaces lists published with Fortune, visit Greatplacetowork.com.

About Great Place to Work

Great Place to Work is the global authority on workplace culture. They help organizations quantify their culture and produce better business results by creating a high-trust work experience for all employees. Emprising, their culture management platform, empowers leaders with the surveys, real-time reporting, and insights they need to make data-driven people decisions. They use their unparalleled benchmark data to recognize Great Place to Work-Certified companies and the Best Workplaces in the United States and more than 60 countries, including the 100 Best Companies to Work For list published annually in Fortune.

Learn more about Scripps Health, an integrated health care system in San Diego, Calif.

Media Contact

Steve Carpowich
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