UW Hospital and Clinics has been added the list of 100 Best Companies"" for working mothers in the October issue of Working Mother magazine for the first time in the list's history.
In the annual list's 22-year history, a Madison-area company has never been recognized, according to Kristin Kunz, human resources program coordinator for UW Hospital.
Kate Fleming, a public relations spokesperson for Working Mother, said the magazine usually looks for companies that go out of their way to improve employees' quality of life to ensure that they will stay.
""I think the biggest things this year that went into considering people were flexibility, which is huge, and then just family-friendly policies, like leave and childcare,"" Fleming said.
The hospital provides several childcare services, including a near-site childcare center for infants and toddlers as well as a referral program to help parents find other credible places to take their kids.
Kunz said the hospital allows job sharing, which enables two mothers to work half time at the same job.
Additionally, Kunz said it's easy for employees to switch from full to part time and back once a child is born.
Vicki Hill, a working mother and director in the Information Technology Services Department at UW Hospital and Clinics, said the flexibility mothers experience at the hospital does not only affect those with high-level jobs.
As a result, Hill said the organization is in a good position to get ahead of recruitment because of the benefits it offers women.
The hospital offers an ""exceptional"" Wellness Program, according to Kunz, where employees can sign up for exercise classes for $1.25 per class at the hospital and clinics.
Smoking cessation is another aim of the Wellness Program, which provides free medication and counseling to employees who want to quit smoking.
Kunz added that the sick time package the hospital offers is generous to employees, who can have 12 sick days per year that never expire.
Employees who are still in school can get up to 15 credits paid per year at UW-Madison tuition rates, Kunz said. Parents can also receive free counseling on how to plan for college savings for their children through the employee assistance program.
According to Hill, the family-focused attitude working mothers enjoy at the hospital is a large part of Midwestern culture in general.
""I'm extremely proud to work for an organization that supports working mothers in the way UW does,"" Hill said.
