by Tony Chen

We've been talking a lot recently about hospital culture - what makes it work? how can we change it? Another way to look at it is to look at the hospitals that made this year's list of Top 100 Companies to Work For. A record-breaking 10 hospitals made the list this year with some surprises (9 hospitals made the list in 2007 and 2006). Here's the rundown:

#10: Methodist Hospital System
#18: OhioHealth
#45: Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
#49: Griffin Hospital (was in top 10 two years ago)
#59: Mayo Clinic (check out Fortune's video on Mayo)
#63: King's Daughter Medical Center
#75: Southern Ohio Medical Center
#76: Arkansas Children's Hospital
#85: Lehigh Valley Hospital & Health Network (employees get $500 "wellness" dollars)
#94: Baptist Health South Florida

(Aside: It's unclear exactly how Fortune tallies the list, even if they did survey 10,000 workers. Obviously, there is quite a bit of subjective judgment. Nonetheless, the key criteria seem to be things like: pay, turnover, benefits/perks, and % minorities/women.

A few observations to make:
- I think employees know the difference between employers that really care versus employers that just try to appease / buy their loyalty. It takes real thoughtfulness and understanding of your employees (and the willingness to invest the $$$) to offer the types of benefits being offered to the employees on this Top 100 list. Just take a peek at some unusual perks here - everything from $ for buying hybrids to dollar-for-dollar matching of charitable contributions to 18 weeks paid maternity leave (7 for dads).
- I have to wonder whether the % women/minorities factor in Fortune's criteria gives hospitals an unfair advantage? Maybe that's why so many hospitals are on this list? Then again, maybe it's because many people in hospitals do view their jobs as truly meaningful work.
- Speaking of meaningful work, this is partly why Google is #1. Sure, it's nice to have great perks, financial security, lots of mobility, and a great campus. But Google gives employees 20% of their time (1 day/week) to work on anything they want.
- Mayo does seem serious when they say they want to "hire for life," but it does beg the question - where are the other prestigious hospitals?
- In my book, the true A-listers are those on this list AND the Magnet Status list: Mayo, Lehigh, Southern Ohio, and Baptist Health Florida. I know people have different views on the true value of Magnet, but irregardless, it does represent an organizational commitment to really invest in the nursing staff.